Oh, right.
The Pirates signed Kip Wells to a 1 year, $4.15 million contract. Whatever. I'd like him to do better than 8-18 5.09 ERA, but if we can either work out something where he's cursing other teams or we can do the whole "Kip Wells Complete Game" every time I see him pitch, we'll be ok. Unfortunately, that would be like... 3 times per season max at Wrigley, but if it has the side effect of making Cubs fans sad, I'm all for it.
AND: I'm not a fan of the Yankees by any stretch of the imagination, but I think I might have to get this, if only to track down Glen Rodgers while I'm wearing it.
-The launch of the Pluto mission "New Horizons" was scrubbed today after high winds. They'll try again today. It'll take nine years to reach Pluto, so I'm going to file this under "relative non-news".
Which is really most of what this blog is anymore.
Wednesday, January 18, 2006
Hot, Hot Cowher on Officiating action.
I'm remarkably tired, but I can't fall asleep because I'm a bit sick. So I'm going to do this really quick.
1. Monday, the NFL recognized that Pete Morelli's call didn't make any sense any way you look at it. The NY Post, in a really common observation, pointed out that had the Steelers not hung on to the lead, Joey Porter wouldn't be the only one screaming "Fix". Cowher came out today to call Porter's comments ridiculous while recognizing the severity of how off the call was, and ESPN's front page took the opportunity to make Porter look more and more insane every few minutes. The link to an article on Porter's "The whole world loves Peyton Manning." comments changed in the following manner:
My favorite by far is "Porter Livid", but I'd have liked to see it hang around the front page long enough to confirm that Joey Porter is the Hulk with the headline "Porter SMASH! GRAHGAAA!"
But that's just me.
In other Steelers: I thought I was having a heart attack as I watched Bettis' first fumble since November 2004, probably exacerbated by the Polamalu interception call, but didn't. This guy did. Thankfully, he's doing ok now but, and I'm being totally serious right now, who does that. Seriously.
Finally, I'd like to apologize. I won't give specifics, but let's suffice it to say I pulled a Collins (if you'd like an explanation, contact RJ or infer what it refers to knowing that KotOR2 is the subject). I tend to be very careful about spoilers, forgot myself today and presumed since I'd heard so much about a specific spoiler that came out in July that it was common knowledge by now. Evidently, no. Not that I really objectively know if the spoiler is true or not, but whatever.
1. Monday, the NFL recognized that Pete Morelli's call didn't make any sense any way you look at it. The NY Post, in a really common observation, pointed out that had the Steelers not hung on to the lead, Joey Porter wouldn't be the only one screaming "Fix". Cowher came out today to call Porter's comments ridiculous while recognizing the severity of how off the call was, and ESPN's front page took the opportunity to make Porter look more and more insane every few minutes. The link to an article on Porter's "The whole world loves Peyton Manning." comments changed in the following manner:
- Porter feels cheated
- Porter Upset
- Porter Angry
- Porter Livid
My favorite by far is "Porter Livid", but I'd have liked to see it hang around the front page long enough to confirm that Joey Porter is the Hulk with the headline "Porter SMASH! GRAHGAAA!"
But that's just me.
In other Steelers: I thought I was having a heart attack as I watched Bettis' first fumble since November 2004, probably exacerbated by the Polamalu interception call, but didn't. This guy did. Thankfully, he's doing ok now but, and I'm being totally serious right now, who does that. Seriously.
Finally, I'd like to apologize. I won't give specifics, but let's suffice it to say I pulled a Collins (if you'd like an explanation, contact RJ or infer what it refers to knowing that KotOR2 is the subject). I tend to be very careful about spoilers, forgot myself today and presumed since I'd heard so much about a specific spoiler that came out in July that it was common knowledge by now. Evidently, no. Not that I really objectively know if the spoiler is true or not, but whatever.
Sunday, January 15, 2006
Whew. Relief.
The good news is, I think, is that the heart condition I acquired during the Steelers-Colts game can be controlled with medications.
The bad news is that I have to waste more time on this stuff next week.
Really, I don't know what to say that's not already being said by everyone, everywhere. Personally, I'd just like a single playoff season to go by without the officiating being what's talked about after every single game. Yes, they screwed up the pass interference call. They screwed up whether Faneca moved and at the same time, took an inexcusable amount of time to make the call. Yes, they screwed up the Polamalu interception (an update to all of you who haven't seen the new NFL rules: in order for an interception to be an interception, you actually have to burrow into the ground a minimum of seven feet. This is why shovels are placed at strategic locations around the field) which could very reasonably have cost the Steelers the game.
That all ceased to matter following Bettis' fumble. Had we lost it following that, I might have been okay with that. If only because we'd have conclusively been beaten by ourselves, rather than the Officiating/Colts team.
I'm at 66.6%. Now the Bears just have to stop that whole "letting the Panthers go up 7-0 in the first minute or so of the game", and I might just improve this week.
Update: And I drop back down to 50%.
Let's say, for the Championship games next week:
Carolina over Seattle
Pittsburgh over Denver
The bad news is that I have to waste more time on this stuff next week.
Really, I don't know what to say that's not already being said by everyone, everywhere. Personally, I'd just like a single playoff season to go by without the officiating being what's talked about after every single game. Yes, they screwed up the pass interference call. They screwed up whether Faneca moved and at the same time, took an inexcusable amount of time to make the call. Yes, they screwed up the Polamalu interception (an update to all of you who haven't seen the new NFL rules: in order for an interception to be an interception, you actually have to burrow into the ground a minimum of seven feet. This is why shovels are placed at strategic locations around the field) which could very reasonably have cost the Steelers the game.
That all ceased to matter following Bettis' fumble. Had we lost it following that, I might have been okay with that. If only because we'd have conclusively been beaten by ourselves, rather than the Officiating/Colts team.
I'm at 66.6%. Now the Bears just have to stop that whole "letting the Panthers go up 7-0 in the first minute or so of the game", and I might just improve this week.
Update: And I drop back down to 50%.
Let's say, for the Championship games next week:
Carolina over Seattle
Pittsburgh over Denver
Saturday, January 14, 2006
Normalcy
Things have returned to normalcy. Every time I get on the Red Line, my car once again has some singing jackass, it's freezing here again, I'm once again overjoyed by the fact that I just used some giftcards to get around to owning yet another crappy movie, and the Seahawks have won their first playoff game since 1984.
Wait. That last bit isn't normalcy.
Hopefully, I can have a bit more accuracy in picking football games this week (over last week's .500).
Update: Pats down, Broncos up, and I'm back to .500. Here's hoping that the weekend ends at, oh, I don't know, 0.750.
Wait. That last bit isn't normalcy.
Hopefully, I can have a bit more accuracy in picking football games this week (over last week's .500).
Update: Pats down, Broncos up, and I'm back to .500. Here's hoping that the weekend ends at, oh, I don't know, 0.750.
Link.
As you might have guessed from, oh, reading anything I've posted on here ever (or, rather, even looking at the text without letting the sweet, sweet nonsense pass into your consciousness), you'll know I'm not one for short posts. That said, this'll be a short post. Links to brilliant other things, mostly.
If you're the kind of person that's been near a video game in the past decade, you may not be able to resist finding this quite hilarious. Well written in that Lore Sjöberg kind of way, slightly saddening because it predicts that people will be ever-so-slightly more consumed by World of Warcraft in 2010. Which doesn't actually count as "surprising", but you'll have that.
The world turned on its head as everyone everywhere realized that even the almighty Oprah can be hoodwinked, following the revelation that James Frey might not have been telling the truth. I cannot emphasize strongly enough the sense of "whatever" that I'm feeling toward this. A columnist for the Chicago Tribune's free tabloid-like Red Eye (which makes for a compact and free thing to read during the first few weeks of my daily trek to Northwestern on the CTA, before everyone gets into the whole cannibalism thing and we all abandon all hope of making it past Jarvis) contends that it matters a great deal that he made his story of drug-addicting and redemption up, as no one could expect a reasonable person to take away any inspiration from mere fiction. I happen to disagree strongly with the opinion that having a "nonfiction" lying renders it useless (I would disagree less were this, say, my organometallics book), simply because I think more people have been inspired by fiction over the years. And that I still can't quite conceive of the fact that there are things that exist beyond my own line of sight and the book very well may have simply materialized. In which case it doesn't matter if the void from which it arose is lying or not. Particularly because I've got far too many other things to read at the moment to worry about it.
While writing that paragraph, one of the two worst acted lines in the Star Wars series came out of my TV. Specifically, it's "We're coming in too hot." I'm not one to nitpick about the acting, and a long, long time ago I wrote a post defending the constantly attacked Prequel Trilogy, but that combined with the "No." that Palpatine says, like a defiant five year old (note: not Vader's "Nooo") are just... they just kill it.
Incidentally, while those two about tie, the third worst acted line is, as any self respecting geek should know, concerns Tasche station and power converters.
Incidentally, that thing at the top about this being short, or these all being links doesn't count.
Incidentally, while those two about tie, the third worst acted line is, as any self respecting geek should know, concerns Tasche station and power converters.
Incidentally, that thing at the top about this being short, or these all being links doesn't count.
Friday, January 13, 2006
Toasterssteelers
So that whole updating with more frequency thing was a complete lie.
I really should be reading organometallics, so let's do this quickly, possibly with some updates (including my opinions on actual news) after I go home.
Sports: I'm incredibly nervous about the Steelers-Colts game, which is to say I'm rather pessimistic about the whole thing. I'm beginning to think that's just how I approach sporting events (I'd counted the Steelers out of the Bengals game as early as the first quarter last week), mostly as a mechanism so that I can deal with imminent loss gradually. Rather than all at once. Still, Roethlisberger's healthy this time around, the Colts aren't invincible, and the guy that has the desk across from me said at about week 9 that he wouldn't be suprised if the Colts went 16-0 and lost the first game of the playoffs. I'm hoping that still holds with 14-2.
The Pirates front page is hilarious lately, mostly because they're devoting quite a bit of work to making things seem much better than they are through the methods they've always used. Hernandez (currently 41 years old) will "mentor the young'ns", the young talent will surprise everyone, and so forth. I'll believe it when I see it.
Music:
Having missed a Toasters concert on like, my second day in Chicago, I'm not missing the next one, dammit. The next one happens to be February 3rd at a reasonable time (read: 7pm opening, as opposed to 5pm) at the Beat Kitchen. I'm highly anticipating that I'll probably actually not be able to go, as my Organometallics class has tests on Friday evenings and, knowing my luck, Chris will probably set a test for that day, but I'm going if nothing academic stops me.
Any donations that would actually allow me to buy the $12 ticket would be greatly appreciated.
That's it. I'm getting back to work. I'll be back tonight with something.
I really should be reading organometallics, so let's do this quickly, possibly with some updates (including my opinions on actual news) after I go home.
Sports: I'm incredibly nervous about the Steelers-Colts game, which is to say I'm rather pessimistic about the whole thing. I'm beginning to think that's just how I approach sporting events (I'd counted the Steelers out of the Bengals game as early as the first quarter last week), mostly as a mechanism so that I can deal with imminent loss gradually. Rather than all at once. Still, Roethlisberger's healthy this time around, the Colts aren't invincible, and the guy that has the desk across from me said at about week 9 that he wouldn't be suprised if the Colts went 16-0 and lost the first game of the playoffs. I'm hoping that still holds with 14-2.
The Pirates front page is hilarious lately, mostly because they're devoting quite a bit of work to making things seem much better than they are through the methods they've always used. Hernandez (currently 41 years old) will "mentor the young'ns", the young talent will surprise everyone, and so forth. I'll believe it when I see it.
Music:
Having missed a Toasters concert on like, my second day in Chicago, I'm not missing the next one, dammit. The next one happens to be February 3rd at a reasonable time (read: 7pm opening, as opposed to 5pm) at the Beat Kitchen. I'm highly anticipating that I'll probably actually not be able to go, as my Organometallics class has tests on Friday evenings and, knowing my luck, Chris will probably set a test for that day, but I'm going if nothing academic stops me.
Any donations that would actually allow me to buy the $12 ticket would be greatly appreciated.
That's it. I'm getting back to work. I'll be back tonight with something.
Sunday, January 08, 2006
NFL Wild Card Weekend
Well, there's that. I did about as well at picking the wild card games as one could flipping a quarter, but I'm glad that at least one of those worked out. Next week, in the Divisional Playoffs, let's say (by say I mean guess):
Seahawks over Redskins
Bears over Panthers
Patriots over Broncos
Steelers over Indianapolis.
That last pick is called "being heavily influenced by emotion". Call me a dreamer.
Seahawks over Redskins
Bears over Panthers
Patriots over Broncos
Steelers over Indianapolis.
That last pick is called "being heavily influenced by emotion". Call me a dreamer.
Saturday, January 07, 2006
My Post About Sago
As I posted last night, many others have already covered this much more extensively and in a much timelier fashion than I will. And as the comment on my last post indicates (who mysteriously has knowledge of my ancestry), I, like many of those with semi-rural Pennsylvanian upbringings, have members of my family that have worked in mines. With that in mind, some comments about this whole deal and the remarkably odd series of events that's followed.
First, the actual accident. Without a doubt, terribly tragic, especially given recent evidence that lightning may have caused the explosion that trapped the miners, but it does highlight a need for an overhaul of safety protocol, and a rethinking of the methods used, particularly in dissemination of information during one of these disasters.
Second, the backlash from the public on hearing that the miners didn't survive. This one needs to be broken down into two sections.
I don't know. Perhaps while Randal McCloy, Jr. is in Pittsburgh in a hyperbaric oxygen chamber trying to recover, it might be a good time to reflect on such behind the scenes players as miners, without whom the rest of us couldn't sit around with fancy things like electricity and whatnot.
I'm going to go read now.
First, the actual accident. Without a doubt, terribly tragic, especially given recent evidence that lightning may have caused the explosion that trapped the miners, but it does highlight a need for an overhaul of safety protocol, and a rethinking of the methods used, particularly in dissemination of information during one of these disasters.
Second, the backlash from the public on hearing that the miners didn't survive. This one needs to be broken down into two sections.
- First, the jump to blame the media. While I'm not one to jump in front of a train for the media, they're not actually, technically to blame for this. The mixup, as I'm sure most of you have heard by this point, was a result of the mining company's attempts to stop something like this from happening, using code to avoid ever mentioning the words "alive", "dead" or "miner", lest it get to the media and the exact thing that happened occur. In a questionably callous move, they used "item" to refer to the miners, but whatever. They're more at fault for realizing that a mixup had occurred and that the families and media were given incorrect information, and not doing anything at all to stop it. They've apologized (claiming that they "alllowed the jubilation to continue for too long", which, considering the situation by any reasonable person, would be a very short time considering that only one survived), but it's nigh inexcusable to allow such sensitive information to continue. Perhaps this whole mixup, if anything, says something about the limitations of "breaking news" and fact-checking, but it appears that the mining company continued the "they're alive" statement over the three hours while they were checking, rather than saying, perhaps, "No, we have no information one way or the other, and have no evidence to support the belief that 12 are alive".
Or something - I've seen several calling for all of those in the mining industry to get out, citing the danger of the occupation, on several messageboards. Such a proposition is almost too dumb to mention, except for the fact that this is my blog and the phrase "too dumb for Murphspot" doesn't exist with any real meaning. It's dumb not because it advocates taking precaution when entering in to such a job (which isn't at all dumb) but that it, in a comment on our society and modern convenience, presumes that things would continue as normal if everyone followed that advice. Mining, dirty job that it is, is still essential, and it's because of people like the miners in the Sago mine, the miners in Quecreek, miners like my grandfather that modern life is possible in the way we experience it. If mines could become obsolete and humans were no longer needed, then that's sound advice. But while we're still reliant on fossil fuels for energy, we need miners.
I don't know. Perhaps while Randal McCloy, Jr. is in Pittsburgh in a hyperbaric oxygen chamber trying to recover, it might be a good time to reflect on such behind the scenes players as miners, without whom the rest of us couldn't sit around with fancy things like electricity and whatnot.
I'm going to go read now.
Friday, January 06, 2006
The Green Sayat Kontroversy
Continuing a series of remarkably far apart posts, this is evidently a weekly now. I'm going to try to write more in the upcoming weeks, though I can't make any promises as the winter quarter has just started, sparking a new era of balancing classes with teaching and now, research.
So, away we go.
Jenna's gone home, and if nothing else, her visit allowed me to justify going broke visiting things in Chicago that I probably wouldn't have done otherwise. Two things.
During orientation week for NU's graduate program, one professor or another (Lambert?) included the Green Mill in his presentation. It's a bar at Broadway and Lawrence and has a remarkably bright and flashy sign that's impossible to ignore walking to Borders. Meh. There are lots of flashy bars. But I can honestly say that I regret not taking whoever's advice about going to this place earlier. Alfonso Ponticelli and Swing Gitan were the evening's entertainment, a remarkable little combo in the gypsy/jazz tradition, and I believe it was at about the end of "Puttin' on the Ritz" that I was able to stop constantly fearing the bouncer with the handlebar moustache that warned us against that most heinous of crimes, making absolutely any noise whatsoever. Hooray.
Sayat Nova's odd. A little Armenian restaurant right off of Michigan on Ohio, I'd stop back again. Not much to say about this, really. Typical romantic night out right before Jendar heads back to NYU for the rest of eternity, highlighted, I think, by Jenna's reaction to the appetizer. Something about how she responds to raw beef covered in onions and olive oil is actually rather sweet. Well, relatively to her crying in horror at how she has no concept of how spicy things are actually going to be. The sarma dinner left something to be desired, but it was overall a very pleasant experience. Raw beef and all.
Enough of Murphy=Zagat's.
This semester represents a return to not only bonus-that-isn't-really-bonus-but-is-required-kinda, but two (which is one more than I've ever had) classes in which the professor wrote the text. I'm not sure how I feel about those. Hopefully, it'll work itself out after I actually get the books, but I'm always a bit nervous when that happens. Perhaps because I have no recourse if I feel either the book or course to be lacking. But the classes that are currently happening are both taught by (in the small experience I've had) pretty good professors. I'll update more on how my academic life is consuming my soul after I've had more than a week to get acquainted with everything.
I don't know. I'd rather not tackle subjects like the Sago Mine accident, Ariel Sharon's massive health problems (mostly because I know very little about the latter, and the former's been covered pretty extensively, though I might be on later) or what on earth is going to happen with the playoffs this week (though, in quick fashion, let's say I'll go ahead and pick the Bucs, the Pats, the G-men and the Stillers) as I'm remarkably tired. I'm off to try to read (to no avail, probably) about spectroscopy.
I'd just like to note that Jenna's love for the Kinks is undying. Until she picks another band to latch on to for about a year.
:D
I swear I'll get back to posting more often. Srsly.
So, away we go.
Jenna's gone home, and if nothing else, her visit allowed me to justify going broke visiting things in Chicago that I probably wouldn't have done otherwise. Two things.
During orientation week for NU's graduate program, one professor or another (Lambert?) included the Green Mill in his presentation. It's a bar at Broadway and Lawrence and has a remarkably bright and flashy sign that's impossible to ignore walking to Borders. Meh. There are lots of flashy bars. But I can honestly say that I regret not taking whoever's advice about going to this place earlier. Alfonso Ponticelli and Swing Gitan were the evening's entertainment, a remarkable little combo in the gypsy/jazz tradition, and I believe it was at about the end of "Puttin' on the Ritz" that I was able to stop constantly fearing the bouncer with the handlebar moustache that warned us against that most heinous of crimes, making absolutely any noise whatsoever. Hooray.
Sayat Nova's odd. A little Armenian restaurant right off of Michigan on Ohio, I'd stop back again. Not much to say about this, really. Typical romantic night out right before Jendar heads back to NYU for the rest of eternity, highlighted, I think, by Jenna's reaction to the appetizer. Something about how she responds to raw beef covered in onions and olive oil is actually rather sweet. Well, relatively to her crying in horror at how she has no concept of how spicy things are actually going to be. The sarma dinner left something to be desired, but it was overall a very pleasant experience. Raw beef and all.
Enough of Murphy=Zagat's.
This semester represents a return to not only bonus-that-isn't-really-bonus-but-is-required-kinda, but two (which is one more than I've ever had) classes in which the professor wrote the text. I'm not sure how I feel about those. Hopefully, it'll work itself out after I actually get the books, but I'm always a bit nervous when that happens. Perhaps because I have no recourse if I feel either the book or course to be lacking. But the classes that are currently happening are both taught by (in the small experience I've had) pretty good professors. I'll update more on how my academic life is consuming my soul after I've had more than a week to get acquainted with everything.
I don't know. I'd rather not tackle subjects like the Sago Mine accident, Ariel Sharon's massive health problems (mostly because I know very little about the latter, and the former's been covered pretty extensively, though I might be on later) or what on earth is going to happen with the playoffs this week (though, in quick fashion, let's say I'll go ahead and pick the Bucs, the Pats, the G-men and the Stillers) as I'm remarkably tired. I'm off to try to read (to no avail, probably) about spectroscopy.
I'd just like to note that Jenna's love for the Kinks is undying. Until she picks another band to latch on to for about a year.
:D
I swear I'll get back to posting more often. Srsly.
Saturday, December 31, 2005
Seamus?
It's been a total of ten days since I posted on this thing (almost to the hour, as the last post, about the "We'll kill you, Mr. Damon" thing was another one of these things where I post because I haven't in forever and am awake. Anyway, I'm back in Chicago, had an enjoyable little break back with the families in Russellton and Trafford respectively, and have convinced Jenna to love "Dawn of the Dead", meaning that my goal is now nearing completion.*
Some observations:
Having Jenna be in Chicago for a week is awesome. Unfortunately, I'm still going to sleep around 10pm, though in this case it's more because I'm on medicine for some residual pain from dental work I had completed rather than because grading labs sucks the very essence of life from my poor, withered body. It's a trade off. But walking around downtown is amazing, and I'm going to be very happy whenever she moves out here following her own degree completion.
Related note: Jenna has no concept of spicy. Every time we go out, it seems, she keeps ignoring the warnings issued by the waitstaff and hillbillies with banjoes that dangle from the ceiling about how the "Shrimp Voodoo Linguini" is kind of on the spicy side. That's fine. People like spicy foods, and it's fine that she enjoys spicy tastes. The problem is that it's invariably too spicy and I have to ride home on the El holding my crab cakes or milder curry chicken while a crying, sniffling, bleeding-from-the-forehead Jenna who looks like she's been jumped sits next to me and holds my arm. Thus are anecdotes born.
I'm going to have to get used to having a new phone. I've traded in the old one, which was a hand me down from my mother, for a new one, which I believe has a button that cures cancer. I didn't realize how compelling it is to take crappy little pictures until I was capable of doing so, nor did I realize how walking through a room filled with abstract mobiles and yarn sculpture could be made altogether different by adding some radio station's top some number of songs of the year through my phone's earpiece. As a result, I have no money, though.
The Museum of Contemporary Art is smaller than I'd expected, but generally works. Jenny Holzer's "Truisms" is hilarious, though I'm not sure it intends to be. For some reason, many artists are linked in my mind to pseudo-revolutionary thinking that doesn't actually work or make sense, so I'm not sure if her exhibit of just that scrolling across a screen is meant to be taken seriously. Either way, I'd recommend the MCA (especially for the $6 student rate), and have discovered that Sarah Sze may or may not be on medication to lower her blood pressure. Goal accomplished there.
I'm going to have to write some popular chemistry literature once I get out of here. I've noticed this for a while, and keep thinking I should blog about it, but it was reinforced with the seven thousand hours I spent in Borders over the past few weeks trying to figure out which books would be good gifts for the family, considering my unyielding non-creativity. Try this out. Walk over to the science section of your local major chain bookstore (Borders or Barnes & Noble seem to work). Look for the chemistry shelf. Compare its size to the biology or physics shelves. I don't know why this is, but for some reason, I consistently find that there are maybe one or two shelves of books dealing with chemistry (the majority of which are aimed at getting the student to pass, allowing them to forget about it), while there are cases and cases dealing with biology and physics. Anyone have any ideas on what on earth is going on there? It seems that chemistry is right in the middle, between the more observable (in everyday) phenomena that make up biology and the remarkably abstractness of physics, and that that space doesn't appeal to today's book store shopper. Hm.
In transferring the numbers in my old phone to the new phone (a service that the salesman offered for ten dollars, and which I was able to complete in a little under a half hour, which suggests to me that I get a job as an automaton for $20/hour), I noticed a memo I left on my phone. I'd been on the El, and in the black sharpie usually reserved for pseudo-spraypainted graffiti and notifications of who one can call for a good time, the phrase "It dont [sic] take a lost dog" was scrawled. I have no clue what it means, but it seemed like it should be posted on here. Perhaps, ten years from now, you'll be walking down the street confounded that whatever it is you want to do is somehow blocked by the mandatory lost dog donation only to realize that you could probably get by without whatever demands the lost dog, or that it really means a toy dog which you have access to, or that you should focus more attention on observing the world around you so that when little Seamus’ lost dog pokes its head out of the alley, you can alert our little friend. Or maybe crazy people ride the El. Whatever. It’s there now.
Before I head back to bed/watching Dawn of the Dead again, I'd like to comment that I'm not thrilled with the Joe Randa signing, but I'm not entirely angry about it, mostly because I don't really know all that much about how that's going to affect everything other than making Freddy Sanchez absolutely positively not play this year, which is a shame. Right now my attention's devoted to figuring out some hilariously complex scheme so that Littlefield doesn't make that whole rumor about signing Sosa come true. It'll involve a hangglider, I'm pretty sure.
Finally, I visited Ed's grave again when I was home. I'll not say anything as I'm trying to save that for a Jan 12/"my friend died six months ago" post, but I will note that he has a headstone now. Set in the ground (as most of the headstones at the particular cemetery that he's in, as with the cemeteries that my grandparents are in) with simply his name, his lifespan, a hockey player on the left and some kind of knight thing on the right and the phrase "Beloved Father of Ansley". I noticed that on occasion I'll still think to myself that he's out there somewhere setting up Burlington Coat Factories (or whatever the hell he claimed to be doing). But, enough of that sadness. Back to sleep.
*Goal not actual goal. Phrase used for comedic effect of scaring conspiracy theorists who have nothing better to do than form conspiracy theories about my blog. Meaning they are the worst conspiracy theorists of all time. For a look at conspiracy theories in a happy little humor/rating article, go here.
Some observations:
Having Jenna be in Chicago for a week is awesome. Unfortunately, I'm still going to sleep around 10pm, though in this case it's more because I'm on medicine for some residual pain from dental work I had completed rather than because grading labs sucks the very essence of life from my poor, withered body. It's a trade off. But walking around downtown is amazing, and I'm going to be very happy whenever she moves out here following her own degree completion.
Related note: Jenna has no concept of spicy. Every time we go out, it seems, she keeps ignoring the warnings issued by the waitstaff and hillbillies with banjoes that dangle from the ceiling about how the "Shrimp Voodoo Linguini" is kind of on the spicy side. That's fine. People like spicy foods, and it's fine that she enjoys spicy tastes. The problem is that it's invariably too spicy and I have to ride home on the El holding my crab cakes or milder curry chicken while a crying, sniffling, bleeding-from-the-forehead Jenna who looks like she's been jumped sits next to me and holds my arm. Thus are anecdotes born.
I'm going to have to get used to having a new phone. I've traded in the old one, which was a hand me down from my mother, for a new one, which I believe has a button that cures cancer. I didn't realize how compelling it is to take crappy little pictures until I was capable of doing so, nor did I realize how walking through a room filled with abstract mobiles and yarn sculpture could be made altogether different by adding some radio station's top some number of songs of the year through my phone's earpiece. As a result, I have no money, though.
The Museum of Contemporary Art is smaller than I'd expected, but generally works. Jenny Holzer's "Truisms" is hilarious, though I'm not sure it intends to be. For some reason, many artists are linked in my mind to pseudo-revolutionary thinking that doesn't actually work or make sense, so I'm not sure if her exhibit of just that scrolling across a screen is meant to be taken seriously. Either way, I'd recommend the MCA (especially for the $6 student rate), and have discovered that Sarah Sze may or may not be on medication to lower her blood pressure. Goal accomplished there.
I'm going to have to write some popular chemistry literature once I get out of here. I've noticed this for a while, and keep thinking I should blog about it, but it was reinforced with the seven thousand hours I spent in Borders over the past few weeks trying to figure out which books would be good gifts for the family, considering my unyielding non-creativity. Try this out. Walk over to the science section of your local major chain bookstore (Borders or Barnes & Noble seem to work). Look for the chemistry shelf. Compare its size to the biology or physics shelves. I don't know why this is, but for some reason, I consistently find that there are maybe one or two shelves of books dealing with chemistry (the majority of which are aimed at getting the student to pass, allowing them to forget about it), while there are cases and cases dealing with biology and physics. Anyone have any ideas on what on earth is going on there? It seems that chemistry is right in the middle, between the more observable (in everyday) phenomena that make up biology and the remarkably abstractness of physics, and that that space doesn't appeal to today's book store shopper. Hm.
In transferring the numbers in my old phone to the new phone (a service that the salesman offered for ten dollars, and which I was able to complete in a little under a half hour, which suggests to me that I get a job as an automaton for $20/hour), I noticed a memo I left on my phone. I'd been on the El, and in the black sharpie usually reserved for pseudo-spraypainted graffiti and notifications of who one can call for a good time, the phrase "It dont [sic] take a lost dog" was scrawled. I have no clue what it means, but it seemed like it should be posted on here. Perhaps, ten years from now, you'll be walking down the street confounded that whatever it is you want to do is somehow blocked by the mandatory lost dog donation only to realize that you could probably get by without whatever demands the lost dog, or that it really means a toy dog which you have access to, or that you should focus more attention on observing the world around you so that when little Seamus’ lost dog pokes its head out of the alley, you can alert our little friend. Or maybe crazy people ride the El. Whatever. It’s there now.
Before I head back to bed/watching Dawn of the Dead again, I'd like to comment that I'm not thrilled with the Joe Randa signing, but I'm not entirely angry about it, mostly because I don't really know all that much about how that's going to affect everything other than making Freddy Sanchez absolutely positively not play this year, which is a shame. Right now my attention's devoted to figuring out some hilariously complex scheme so that Littlefield doesn't make that whole rumor about signing Sosa come true. It'll involve a hangglider, I'm pretty sure.
Finally, I visited Ed's grave again when I was home. I'll not say anything as I'm trying to save that for a Jan 12/"my friend died six months ago" post, but I will note that he has a headstone now. Set in the ground (as most of the headstones at the particular cemetery that he's in, as with the cemeteries that my grandparents are in) with simply his name, his lifespan, a hockey player on the left and some kind of knight thing on the right and the phrase "Beloved Father of Ansley". I noticed that on occasion I'll still think to myself that he's out there somewhere setting up Burlington Coat Factories (or whatever the hell he claimed to be doing). But, enough of that sadness. Back to sleep.
*Goal not actual goal. Phrase used for comedic effect of scaring conspiracy theorists who have nothing better to do than form conspiracy theories about my blog. Meaning they are the worst conspiracy theorists of all time. For a look at conspiracy theories in a happy little humor/rating article, go here.
Wednesday, December 21, 2005
Teehee
I'm not a fan of the Boston Red Sox. I was glad they won it in 2004, though that was probably helped along by the fact that to win it they had to take out the Yankees and the Cardinals, who I'm not a fan of to a greater degree (the Angels, Dodgers, Astros and Twins I could not care any less about). Then, some of the fans started to get to me. First there was the fact that everybody on the face of the earth was a Red Sox fan. Then the whole "Fever Pitch" thing. I could deal with the Dropkick Murphys remake of "Tessie", but that's based more on the fact that it's a pretty decent remake.
But I don't have any real ill will toward the Red Sox, other than the jealousy (as that's what it is) that goes with the #2 payroll team in baseball.
Still. The Red Sox Messageboards on MLB.com are, at this moment, incredibly hilarious. Calls for riots, assault, implementation of a salary cap (teehee? It's funny because the fans that are calling for it are fans of a team that would be strongly affected by it, what with the 2005 payroll at $124 million) and all around persecution complex induced by Johnny Damon's move to the Yankees for four years at $52 million. Some suggest boycotts (presumably because their front office wasn't the one that overpaid him by even more than the Yankees are overpaying him) and all out abandonment of the Red Sox.
I know. The people on mlb.com are not representative of most baseball fans, and the forums themselves are downright scary in their current state as a mess of thoughtless moderating (the word "shirt", as in a garment worn on the torso is banned) and the worst trolling I've ever seen. But assault?
I know. A Pirates fan complaining about any other team whining about anything is hypocritical. To that, "tu quoque" is my only possible reply.
But I don't have any real ill will toward the Red Sox, other than the jealousy (as that's what it is) that goes with the #2 payroll team in baseball.
Still. The Red Sox Messageboards on MLB.com are, at this moment, incredibly hilarious. Calls for riots, assault, implementation of a salary cap (teehee? It's funny because the fans that are calling for it are fans of a team that would be strongly affected by it, what with the 2005 payroll at $124 million) and all around persecution complex induced by Johnny Damon's move to the Yankees for four years at $52 million. Some suggest boycotts (presumably because their front office wasn't the one that overpaid him by even more than the Yankees are overpaying him) and all out abandonment of the Red Sox.
I know. The people on mlb.com are not representative of most baseball fans, and the forums themselves are downright scary in their current state as a mess of thoughtless moderating (the word "shirt", as in a garment worn on the torso is banned) and the worst trolling I've ever seen. But assault?
I know. A Pirates fan complaining about any other team whining about anything is hypocritical. To that, "tu quoque" is my only possible reply.
Lessons
Twice now, in the span of about 12 hours, I've learned two lessons.
1: Always Read The Instructions-
Having finished my Christmas shopping for the year, I decided to spend around $4 on a CD that I'd once owned, but that I'd lost years ago and have wanted to get back since. The CD?
The Toasters' 1996 effort Hard Band For Dead. Those of us that were youngish in the mid-to-late nineties will recognize tracks 1 and 13 (Two Tone Army and Skaternity) as the opening and closing themes of 'Kablam!', a strange little cartoon/anthology series on Nickelodeon, though they were credited as the Moon Ska Allstars. Additionally, the album marks the last, that I'm aware of, appearance of Coolie Ranx (later of the Pilfers, then a solo artist) as a vocalist, adding to track 3 ("Friends") and 8 ("Don't Come Running").
But enough plugging the album. I get back to the apartment yesterday and the mail has actually been delivered. I presume it's the CD I've ordered, but note that it's mostly styrofoam. That's when I read the note that's taped to the back. In a move that parallels every chemistry test I've ever taken that has needlessly complex instructions that are designed not so much for the purpose of testing whether students can provide the information but whether or not they didn't gloss over the negation thrown into the instruction, I see the phrase "As listed on Amazon, case not included. Liner Notes and CD included."
I'm not going to ask what on earth the purpose of that is, but it culminated in lesson 1. Read the "comments" section of anything you buy from Amazon. It's not a huge deal; I used another case that was sitting around. But it's kind of like buying a blender, only to realize upon its delivery that the power switch wasn't included.
Lesson 2: If you come in early to the lab to get some reading done, don't leave the lab without your keys. Being locked out isn't productive.
1: Always Read The Instructions-
Having finished my Christmas shopping for the year, I decided to spend around $4 on a CD that I'd once owned, but that I'd lost years ago and have wanted to get back since. The CD?
The Toasters' 1996 effort Hard Band For Dead. Those of us that were youngish in the mid-to-late nineties will recognize tracks 1 and 13 (Two Tone Army and Skaternity) as the opening and closing themes of 'Kablam!', a strange little cartoon/anthology series on Nickelodeon, though they were credited as the Moon Ska Allstars. Additionally, the album marks the last, that I'm aware of, appearance of Coolie Ranx (later of the Pilfers, then a solo artist) as a vocalist, adding to track 3 ("Friends") and 8 ("Don't Come Running").
But enough plugging the album. I get back to the apartment yesterday and the mail has actually been delivered. I presume it's the CD I've ordered, but note that it's mostly styrofoam. That's when I read the note that's taped to the back. In a move that parallels every chemistry test I've ever taken that has needlessly complex instructions that are designed not so much for the purpose of testing whether students can provide the information but whether or not they didn't gloss over the negation thrown into the instruction, I see the phrase "As listed on Amazon, case not included. Liner Notes and CD included."
I'm not going to ask what on earth the purpose of that is, but it culminated in lesson 1. Read the "comments" section of anything you buy from Amazon. It's not a huge deal; I used another case that was sitting around. But it's kind of like buying a blender, only to realize upon its delivery that the power switch wasn't included.
Lesson 2: If you come in early to the lab to get some reading done, don't leave the lab without your keys. Being locked out isn't productive.
Sunday, December 18, 2005
Notes to Self
Note to Self 1:
When you bother to clean your apartment, in the sense of picking up all the laundry that's everywhere and putting everything in a place that's actually somewhat structured as something that doesn't resemble what I think the death of the universe will look like, it becomes magically enormous. I might take up some kind of aerobics that require thousands and thousands of square feet, because it seems I have that now.
Note to Self 2:
When you're planning on putting in some good hard apartment cleaning but need something in the background so that you'll stop worrying that every sound you hear is the living dead inching closer, it's best to throw on a movie you haven't seen before. Last weekend, I tried to clean my apartment, but put on a movie I'd just purchased and hadn't seen before. Result: Marginally cleaner flatware.
This week: American History X and Princess Mononoke, both of which I've seen probably a dozen times. Result: I now live in the most awesome place ever.
Note to Self 3:
Sometimes, face recognition applications will tell you you look like Bette Davis. Which, even though I'm not particularly female, is fine by me. Bette Davis is pretty attractive. I'd much rather be told I look kind of like Bette Davis than be told I look kind of like Larry Bird. But that's just me.
Note to Self 4: Kimchi Bowl Noodle=Happiness
Note to Self 5: When the sportswriter for decidedly non-sports magazine Slate starts slamming the Pirates organization, you know you're not doing well. Hopefully, they'll get a chance to prove Mr. Peters wrong this year. The article's good introduction if you're completely unfamiliar with how the Marlins seem to like things (win World Series, sell players to anyone with anything, wait a few years, win World Series, repeat) but nothing really new. The Pirates slamming bit is at the end of paragraph seven, if you're interested in what it is, but not interested in the Marlins. I laughed.
Note to Self 6: Go to sleep, Ryan.
*Edit: Props to Meera on the face recognition software. Indeed, I was bored enough to find out that I look like some decidedly weird celebrities.
When you bother to clean your apartment, in the sense of picking up all the laundry that's everywhere and putting everything in a place that's actually somewhat structured as something that doesn't resemble what I think the death of the universe will look like, it becomes magically enormous. I might take up some kind of aerobics that require thousands and thousands of square feet, because it seems I have that now.
Note to Self 2:
When you're planning on putting in some good hard apartment cleaning but need something in the background so that you'll stop worrying that every sound you hear is the living dead inching closer, it's best to throw on a movie you haven't seen before. Last weekend, I tried to clean my apartment, but put on a movie I'd just purchased and hadn't seen before. Result: Marginally cleaner flatware.
This week: American History X and Princess Mononoke, both of which I've seen probably a dozen times. Result: I now live in the most awesome place ever.
Note to Self 3:
Sometimes, face recognition applications will tell you you look like Bette Davis. Which, even though I'm not particularly female, is fine by me. Bette Davis is pretty attractive. I'd much rather be told I look kind of like Bette Davis than be told I look kind of like Larry Bird. But that's just me.
Note to Self 4: Kimchi Bowl Noodle=Happiness
Note to Self 5: When the sportswriter for decidedly non-sports magazine Slate starts slamming the Pirates organization, you know you're not doing well. Hopefully, they'll get a chance to prove Mr. Peters wrong this year. The article's good introduction if you're completely unfamiliar with how the Marlins seem to like things (win World Series, sell players to anyone with anything, wait a few years, win World Series, repeat) but nothing really new. The Pirates slamming bit is at the end of paragraph seven, if you're interested in what it is, but not interested in the Marlins. I laughed.
Note to Self 6: Go to sleep, Ryan.
*Edit: Props to Meera on the face recognition software. Indeed, I was bored enough to find out that I look like some decidedly weird celebrities.
Thursday, December 15, 2005
King Kong and 100
So I've gone to see King Kong. I'm not quite sure what to say about it.
So we'll do this.
Can you quickly adjust to Jack Black continuing to be Jack Black (a la School of Rock) with all the facial expressions and strong enunciation that implies?
Can you hold that up for the next three hours?
Really blatant tension between literary playwright types and the out of work vaudeville actresses: Do you dig it?
Are you happy when enormous primates are entertained by dancing, and then violence?
Can you pretty much ignore the tribe native to the mysterious island that's built a wall (inc. gate that Kong could, presumably, have smashed through at any given point) and that just kind of disappears after a while?
Can you pay attention to the screen through a solid hour of everything kicking everything else's ass?
Chloroform. Are you down with it vaporizing on contact with, well, anything?
Are you really into extended scenes with lots of bugs that are kind of unnecessary?
Do you like it when people are remarkably accurate with Tommy guns and airplane mounted machine guns?
Finally, are you ok with the explanation that, soon after its construction, it was possible to just walk the hell up to the top of the Empire State Building, stand there without being blown off by the wind or by the slight breeze that I imagine a 25 foot gorilla would create while he's falling?
If so, you'll probably enjoy King Kong. It's not something I'm probably going to watch in the three hour, seven minute block again, and I can't imagine I'll ever own it, but I wouldn't rule it out yet. It's entertaining. Meh.
Nothing else to say right now, and I need to get back to reading papers, but I thought I should point something out.
This post, right here, is the one hundredth post on Murphspot.
Hooray.
So we'll do this.
Can you quickly adjust to Jack Black continuing to be Jack Black (a la School of Rock) with all the facial expressions and strong enunciation that implies?
Can you hold that up for the next three hours?
Really blatant tension between literary playwright types and the out of work vaudeville actresses: Do you dig it?
Are you happy when enormous primates are entertained by dancing, and then violence?
Can you pretty much ignore the tribe native to the mysterious island that's built a wall (inc. gate that Kong could, presumably, have smashed through at any given point) and that just kind of disappears after a while?
Can you pay attention to the screen through a solid hour of everything kicking everything else's ass?
Chloroform. Are you down with it vaporizing on contact with, well, anything?
Are you really into extended scenes with lots of bugs that are kind of unnecessary?
Do you like it when people are remarkably accurate with Tommy guns and airplane mounted machine guns?
Finally, are you ok with the explanation that, soon after its construction, it was possible to just walk the hell up to the top of the Empire State Building, stand there without being blown off by the wind or by the slight breeze that I imagine a 25 foot gorilla would create while he's falling?
If so, you'll probably enjoy King Kong. It's not something I'm probably going to watch in the three hour, seven minute block again, and I can't imagine I'll ever own it, but I wouldn't rule it out yet. It's entertaining. Meh.
Nothing else to say right now, and I need to get back to reading papers, but I thought I should point something out.
This post, right here, is the one hundredth post on Murphspot.
Hooray.
Wednesday, December 14, 2005
Back for a second.
I just keep putting this off.
But we're back, here at Murphspot, just shy of a week since my last post, with some updates.
FOR YOU!
Now.
School:
Having spent the last week reading papers about zinc and trying to get all of my classes for next quarter in order, there's not been too much to report on the school front. My classes from last quarter, while they refuse to actually make good on the promise that my test is indeed in my mailbox, have been sufficiently rocked, and I'm feeling pretty good. If only because I can stop carrying around the twenty pound beast that is Modern Physical Organic Chemistry by Anslyn and Dougherty. I've not purchased books for Winter Quarter yet, but it's hard to believe that any of them will be bigger than this thing.
After 25 years, they've executed Stanley Tookie Williams, and many other blogs have covered this already, which you can be directed toward from Slate's blog survey. After watching some pretty persistent vandalism on Wikipedia's bio of Williams, I've tried to think about what I'm thinking about the execution, it's status as a cause célèbre and the specific debate this brings up about the death penalty, and I've decided it's probably just a lot safer to go on reading about zinc. But, since we're here, I'll say this. I'm not a fan of the death penalty as punishment and get at least somewhat repulsed by those members of the pro-death penalty bunch that seem to view it not as a simple punishment to be carried out in an ordered fashion after being mandated by the state, but rather as entertainment. While my opinion is that if California elects to have the death penalty as a valid punishment, their government should act accordingly, while persistently ensuring that, with such a harsh and irreversible penalty on the books, no one who doesn't deserve the penalty receives it. Williams killed four, the evidence has been scrutinized over 25 years by several courts, including the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, and everyone comes to that conclusion. So the Governator's statement denying clemency is actually a rational argument.
Had he been redeemed? Possibly, though not for the murders, as he maintained his innocence of them, and it's not really likely to be considered redeemed for something without admitting guilt. Possibly for his involvement in founding the Crips, and it's beyond doubt that his efforts after 1993 have been at least minimally successful, but I believe that might be too little, too late.
So, in summary:
I'm not a fan of the death penalty still being practiced in the United States, but this is not, as many pro-death penalty bloggers are claiming is true of all who have a problem with it, a pathway through which I'm getting my jollies, deifying murderers and rapists. Some may be. Not me. Probably not most. I'm not a fan of it because there's quite a lot that can go ridiculously wrong, and it's safer, in my mind, not to take that chance.
Without being happy that execution is still happening in America, if that's what the people of California want, that's what they should get. I find it hard to believe that the entirety of California is just trying to kill as many people as possible, but the government can only do what the people want, as long as it is consistent with the Constitution.
Williams did some good, but he also did much more bad, so I'm not inclined to feel sorry for him.
Tookie, according to Williams, is not a nickname. It's a middle name.
I'm glad my middle name isn't Tookie. I'd feel weird writing that on official documents. But maybe not. I suppose I'd get used to it.
Dr. John's playing in Chicago! But it's $55! So I'm not going!
The Pirates lost out on Mueller, which WHYGAVS's Pat points out is probably best for the Bucs, and nothing's taken place today that anyone should be getting really excited about.
Goodnight.
But we're back, here at Murphspot, just shy of a week since my last post, with some updates.
FOR YOU!
Now.
School:
Having spent the last week reading papers about zinc and trying to get all of my classes for next quarter in order, there's not been too much to report on the school front. My classes from last quarter, while they refuse to actually make good on the promise that my test is indeed in my mailbox, have been sufficiently rocked, and I'm feeling pretty good. If only because I can stop carrying around the twenty pound beast that is Modern Physical Organic Chemistry by Anslyn and Dougherty. I've not purchased books for Winter Quarter yet, but it's hard to believe that any of them will be bigger than this thing.
After 25 years, they've executed Stanley Tookie Williams, and many other blogs have covered this already, which you can be directed toward from Slate's blog survey. After watching some pretty persistent vandalism on Wikipedia's bio of Williams, I've tried to think about what I'm thinking about the execution, it's status as a cause célèbre and the specific debate this brings up about the death penalty, and I've decided it's probably just a lot safer to go on reading about zinc. But, since we're here, I'll say this. I'm not a fan of the death penalty as punishment and get at least somewhat repulsed by those members of the pro-death penalty bunch that seem to view it not as a simple punishment to be carried out in an ordered fashion after being mandated by the state, but rather as entertainment. While my opinion is that if California elects to have the death penalty as a valid punishment, their government should act accordingly, while persistently ensuring that, with such a harsh and irreversible penalty on the books, no one who doesn't deserve the penalty receives it. Williams killed four, the evidence has been scrutinized over 25 years by several courts, including the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, and everyone comes to that conclusion. So the Governator's statement denying clemency is actually a rational argument.
Had he been redeemed? Possibly, though not for the murders, as he maintained his innocence of them, and it's not really likely to be considered redeemed for something without admitting guilt. Possibly for his involvement in founding the Crips, and it's beyond doubt that his efforts after 1993 have been at least minimally successful, but I believe that might be too little, too late.
So, in summary:
I'm not a fan of the death penalty still being practiced in the United States, but this is not, as many pro-death penalty bloggers are claiming is true of all who have a problem with it, a pathway through which I'm getting my jollies, deifying murderers and rapists. Some may be. Not me. Probably not most. I'm not a fan of it because there's quite a lot that can go ridiculously wrong, and it's safer, in my mind, not to take that chance.
Without being happy that execution is still happening in America, if that's what the people of California want, that's what they should get. I find it hard to believe that the entirety of California is just trying to kill as many people as possible, but the government can only do what the people want, as long as it is consistent with the Constitution.
Williams did some good, but he also did much more bad, so I'm not inclined to feel sorry for him.
Tookie, according to Williams, is not a nickname. It's a middle name.
I'm glad my middle name isn't Tookie. I'd feel weird writing that on official documents. But maybe not. I suppose I'd get used to it.
Dr. John's playing in Chicago! But it's $55! So I'm not going!
The Pirates lost out on Mueller, which WHYGAVS's Pat points out is probably best for the Bucs, and nothing's taken place today that anyone should be getting really excited about.
Goodnight.
Thursday, December 08, 2005
What?
Some quick updates:
I'm done with finals, and they went... decently. I guess I'll find out on Monday how they really went, but for now, the sheer joy of being done with them is enough for me.
Are you a nation state that would like to participate in the International Red Cross and Red Crescent movement, but you're not sure you're down with the religious connotations that the symbols of Christianity and Islam respectively imply? Or, are you Israel's Magen David Adom, and you'd really like to hang out with those hip cats over in the Red Cross/Red Crescent Lounge? Your dreams have been realized, thanks to the adoption of a third symbol for the movement, the Red Crystal. Personally, I would have called that shape a diamond, and would have been more supportive of a red shaded diffraction pattern as a "Red Crystal", but whatever. Israel and Eritrea have indicated that they will use the Red Crystal, as opposed to the Cross or the Crescent.
Winner, Best Optimistic Statement Concealed In An Announcement On The El:
(Upon Arrival at Grand St., at 500 N.) "This... is Grand."
The Pirates no longer have Dave Williams (Reds), Mark Redman (Royals), Daryle Ward (denied arbitration), José Mesa (Rockies[!]), Rick White (denied Arbitration), Ty Wigginton (released) or Rob Mackowiak (White Sox). They've picked up Sean Casey (Williams), Jonah Bayliss and Chad Blackwell(Redman), Damaso Marte (Mackowiak), Victor Santos (Royals, Rule 5). As with many in the Pittsburgh area, I'm ok with the Casey trade, fine with sending Redman to the Royals for Bayliss and Blackwell, less than enthusiastic about acquiring Damaso "Need a heart attack? I'm your man" Marte, still less about losing Mackowiak in the process and reasonably ok with picking up Santos.
Freddy Sanchez is now our only option at third, but that might change.
I'm kind of sick. And need to clean my apartment.
:D
RCN refuses to let me pay them. Sad.
I'm done with finals, and they went... decently. I guess I'll find out on Monday how they really went, but for now, the sheer joy of being done with them is enough for me.
Are you a nation state that would like to participate in the International Red Cross and Red Crescent movement, but you're not sure you're down with the religious connotations that the symbols of Christianity and Islam respectively imply? Or, are you Israel's Magen David Adom, and you'd really like to hang out with those hip cats over in the Red Cross/Red Crescent Lounge? Your dreams have been realized, thanks to the adoption of a third symbol for the movement, the Red Crystal. Personally, I would have called that shape a diamond, and would have been more supportive of a red shaded diffraction pattern as a "Red Crystal", but whatever. Israel and Eritrea have indicated that they will use the Red Crystal, as opposed to the Cross or the Crescent.
Winner, Best Optimistic Statement Concealed In An Announcement On The El:
(Upon Arrival at Grand St., at 500 N.) "This... is Grand."
The Pirates no longer have Dave Williams (Reds), Mark Redman (Royals), Daryle Ward (denied arbitration), José Mesa (Rockies[!]), Rick White (denied Arbitration), Ty Wigginton (released) or Rob Mackowiak (White Sox). They've picked up Sean Casey (Williams), Jonah Bayliss and Chad Blackwell(Redman), Damaso Marte (Mackowiak), Victor Santos (Royals, Rule 5). As with many in the Pittsburgh area, I'm ok with the Casey trade, fine with sending Redman to the Royals for Bayliss and Blackwell, less than enthusiastic about acquiring Damaso "Need a heart attack? I'm your man" Marte, still less about losing Mackowiak in the process and reasonably ok with picking up Santos.
Freddy Sanchez is now our only option at third, but that might change.
I'm kind of sick. And need to clean my apartment.
:D
RCN refuses to let me pay them. Sad.
Sunday, December 04, 2005
Theremin Music Here
Two things before I get back to studying Inorganic.
1) Have you seen Big Fish? Nice little Tim Burton movie in which Ewan McGregor plays some guy from the South. Tall tales and lies and what have you. I realized yesterday that I am now in one of the first tales of the movie, which is essentially a rehashing of an old legend where the hero does something (in Big Fish, that something is looking into the fake eye of a witch living in an abandoned house) and is able to see how he will die. I've had the same basic experience, except that "witch's eye" has been substituted with "bicycle reflector." So how will I die? I'll be hit by one of these jackasses that feels the need to ride full speed down an ice covered sidewalk on their bike.
That isn't to say I'm against bicycling. Quite the contrary. Just... adjust for weather conditions is all I'm asking.
2) Damn Steelers.
1) Have you seen Big Fish? Nice little Tim Burton movie in which Ewan McGregor plays some guy from the South. Tall tales and lies and what have you. I realized yesterday that I am now in one of the first tales of the movie, which is essentially a rehashing of an old legend where the hero does something (in Big Fish, that something is looking into the fake eye of a witch living in an abandoned house) and is able to see how he will die. I've had the same basic experience, except that "witch's eye" has been substituted with "bicycle reflector." So how will I die? I'll be hit by one of these jackasses that feels the need to ride full speed down an ice covered sidewalk on their bike.
That isn't to say I'm against bicycling. Quite the contrary. Just... adjust for weather conditions is all I'm asking.
2) Damn Steelers.
Thursday, December 01, 2005
Röntgen!
I really need to get better at this whole updating thing. Unfortunately, the next week is going to be the most like hell since I came to Northwestern.
Outline for Next Week:
Monday, December 5:
Tuesday, December 6:
Wednesday, December 7:
Thursday, December 8:
Last things first, I'm not technically in a lab yet. I've got some ideas for a project working with zinc probes and fluorescent dyes in O'Halloran's lab, basically going on with the project of one of the graduating PhD students, but I've also got another option in the form of Nicola Pohl, a professor that's perhaps(?) moving to Northwestern to do some carbohydrate chemistry, which would be more heavily synthesis and whatnot.
I have no idea what to do, but let's not go into that now.
Instead, let's do a quick rundown here.
Can we interest you in a new face? France performs a face transplant. Well, doctors in France do. Touted by its proponents as a breakthrough that would allow people that have been disfigured to return to a state of normalcy (normalcy being "I have a face"), but criticized for the possiblity of rejection of the face, they're elective (though I think that that's more of a criticism for people that are undergoing cosmetic surgery that doesn't... give them a face where they have none,) and because they pose risks of identity confusion, as pointed out by Slate.
Again from Slate, Lawrence Krauss continues to be a pretty awesome guy. For those of you joining us late, Krauss is the physicist/author of The Physics of Star Trek and Atom, the latter of which I recommend strongly. Anyway, in a story that does kind of seem like science sensationalism, Krauss criticizes string theory for not actually being testable, which is kind of a huge component in the definition of science (as well as being the primary reason that Intelligent Design doesn't fit the definition of "science"). Good for you, Lawrence Krauss. Again, Slate plays it up a bit too much as "When Krauss Attacks," but whatever. Decent read.
On the subject of Intelligent Design, Lore Sjöberg's got a new Lore Brand Comic up and has resumed posting in his blog at The Slumbering Lungfish Dybbuk Hostel and All-Night Boulangerie. That's good.
Ok. I'm going to go home and read about X-Ray crystallography until either
a) my eyes fall out of my head and roll comically across the floor, having become detatched from the nerves and all that at some point between socket and carpet
OR
b) my eyes, having seen so much about X-ray crystallography, develop the nice, old-fashioned "X-Ray Eyes" ability thing, whereby I can find out what in my refrigerator needs has gone horribly, horribly wrong without actually opening any food containers therein.
Bye.
Outline for Next Week:
Monday, December 5:
- 12pm-Inorganic Final
- 2pm-Chem 210 Exam Grading
Tuesday, December 6:
- 9am-Chem 210 Exam Proctoring
- 12pm-Physical Organic Final
- 2pm-Chem 210 Exam Grading
Wednesday, December 7:
- 7pm-Organic Mechanisms Final
Thursday, December 8:
- Meeting with Thomas O'Halloran and Hillary Godwin to decide my fate
Last things first, I'm not technically in a lab yet. I've got some ideas for a project working with zinc probes and fluorescent dyes in O'Halloran's lab, basically going on with the project of one of the graduating PhD students, but I've also got another option in the form of Nicola Pohl, a professor that's perhaps(?) moving to Northwestern to do some carbohydrate chemistry, which would be more heavily synthesis and whatnot.
I have no idea what to do, but let's not go into that now.
Instead, let's do a quick rundown here.
Can we interest you in a new face? France performs a face transplant. Well, doctors in France do. Touted by its proponents as a breakthrough that would allow people that have been disfigured to return to a state of normalcy (normalcy being "I have a face"), but criticized for the possiblity of rejection of the face, they're elective (though I think that that's more of a criticism for people that are undergoing cosmetic surgery that doesn't... give them a face where they have none,) and because they pose risks of identity confusion, as pointed out by Slate.
Again from Slate, Lawrence Krauss continues to be a pretty awesome guy. For those of you joining us late, Krauss is the physicist/author of The Physics of Star Trek and Atom, the latter of which I recommend strongly. Anyway, in a story that does kind of seem like science sensationalism, Krauss criticizes string theory for not actually being testable, which is kind of a huge component in the definition of science (as well as being the primary reason that Intelligent Design doesn't fit the definition of "science"). Good for you, Lawrence Krauss. Again, Slate plays it up a bit too much as "When Krauss Attacks," but whatever. Decent read.
On the subject of Intelligent Design, Lore Sjöberg's got a new Lore Brand Comic up and has resumed posting in his blog at The Slumbering Lungfish Dybbuk Hostel and All-Night Boulangerie. That's good.
Ok. I'm going to go home and read about X-Ray crystallography until either
a) my eyes fall out of my head and roll comically across the floor, having become detatched from the nerves and all that at some point between socket and carpet
OR
b) my eyes, having seen so much about X-ray crystallography, develop the nice, old-fashioned "X-Ray Eyes" ability thing, whereby I can find out what in my refrigerator needs has gone horribly, horribly wrong without actually opening any food containers therein.
Bye.
Wednesday, November 23, 2005
Flying!
So, the thing about travelling is that I show up four hours earlier than the flight is supposed to leave in order to make sure that I can actually get through security, and then have to find something to do for the three and a half hours that are left over after I've gotten through security and eaten breakfast. So to this then. First of all, let's do some news.
It's old by now, but something still needs to be said about the fact that everyone with a myspace account will eventually inflict horrible crimes upon their fellow man. That's evidently a requirement for having an account. I say this only because a week or so after they brought David Ludwig and Kara Borden back to Pennsylvania (whose Xanga and Myspace accounts have been deleted since), Dominick Maldonado of Tacoma, Washington decides to go on a shooting spree at the mall in Tacoma, where fellow R&M moderator Scott works at a Baskin Robbins. Even more incredible than the fact that this guy would feel the urge to put on a shirt and tie and go into a mall to shoot some people and hold hostages without actually having any demands and moreso than the mall he decided to do this to employs Scott is the response to the negative comments on his Myspace posts. He'd only posted twice in his associated myspaceblog thing, and soon after he was arrested, the a few dozen people descended upon his posts to tell him what a waste he was.
Fine. Whatever.
That's understandable, as he's got a little corner of the internet that people can interact with and that they would do so after he goes out and injures six (one critically with several gunshot wounds) and holds some children hostage in a Sam Goody is only natural. What's odd is the response of one of his friends that had gained access enough to the account to change the biography but not to delete it and chose to respond to those posts, asserting that everyone "was just reacting to what the media was telling them" and that "Dominic is the victim of slander." Not only is that entirely false (as many people who were responding were at the mall he decided to shoot up, and so were probably responding more to bullets whizzing past
their heads than any media coverage), but... well... it's not hard for the media to portray you as a bad guy when you shoot innocent people.
But whatever. The only reason I really mention that is because of my shock that Scott was somehow entangled in this (being shot at and whatnot) and that it provides further proof that myspace and Xanga are either inherently evil or that people are
starting to commit this horrible violence for the blog traffic.
Oh, while I'm somewhat on the subject, prosecutors in the Ludwig case are not claiming that Kara Borden was kidnapped, but that she went willingly and so kidnapping charges will not be pressed. It's an interesting turn as I believe it saves Ludwig from a possible death penalty, but as that's most likely what happened, that's appropriate.
I've been watching/reading Fullmetal Alchemist recently, which passes the time. I think my original rejection of the series was simply because 1) I'm not now nor have I ever been a fan of anime or manga of any kind, as it struck me mostly as a fad/cultural envy 2) Inuyasha's spot on Adult Swim makes me cry, as I hate Inuyasha and 3) I was initially skeptical of the way they were using the word "alchemy". I'm ignoring all of that now and it's actually a decent series. Good for them.
As for information you might actually use, here's a tip. If you're tired and still not entirely comfortable with relying on Bernoulli's Principle to make sure you get to Pittsburgh, don't listen to Randy Newman's "God's Song (That's Why I Love Mankind)," particularly if the next song your computer selects at random from the playlist is "Magical Mystery Tour," followed by "Break Ya Neck." You are not prepared for that kind of shift. Trust me.
It's old by now, but something still needs to be said about the fact that everyone with a myspace account will eventually inflict horrible crimes upon their fellow man. That's evidently a requirement for having an account. I say this only because a week or so after they brought David Ludwig and Kara Borden back to Pennsylvania (whose Xanga and Myspace accounts have been deleted since), Dominick Maldonado of Tacoma, Washington decides to go on a shooting spree at the mall in Tacoma, where fellow R&M moderator Scott works at a Baskin Robbins. Even more incredible than the fact that this guy would feel the urge to put on a shirt and tie and go into a mall to shoot some people and hold hostages without actually having any demands and moreso than the mall he decided to do this to employs Scott is the response to the negative comments on his Myspace posts. He'd only posted twice in his associated myspaceblog thing, and soon after he was arrested, the a few dozen people descended upon his posts to tell him what a waste he was.
Fine. Whatever.
That's understandable, as he's got a little corner of the internet that people can interact with and that they would do so after he goes out and injures six (one critically with several gunshot wounds) and holds some children hostage in a Sam Goody is only natural. What's odd is the response of one of his friends that had gained access enough to the account to change the biography but not to delete it and chose to respond to those posts, asserting that everyone "was just reacting to what the media was telling them" and that "Dominic is the victim of slander." Not only is that entirely false (as many people who were responding were at the mall he decided to shoot up, and so were probably responding more to bullets whizzing past
their heads than any media coverage), but... well... it's not hard for the media to portray you as a bad guy when you shoot innocent people.
But whatever. The only reason I really mention that is because of my shock that Scott was somehow entangled in this (being shot at and whatnot) and that it provides further proof that myspace and Xanga are either inherently evil or that people are
starting to commit this horrible violence for the blog traffic.
Oh, while I'm somewhat on the subject, prosecutors in the Ludwig case are not claiming that Kara Borden was kidnapped, but that she went willingly and so kidnapping charges will not be pressed. It's an interesting turn as I believe it saves Ludwig from a possible death penalty, but as that's most likely what happened, that's appropriate.
I've been watching/reading Fullmetal Alchemist recently, which passes the time. I think my original rejection of the series was simply because 1) I'm not now nor have I ever been a fan of anime or manga of any kind, as it struck me mostly as a fad/cultural envy 2) Inuyasha's spot on Adult Swim makes me cry, as I hate Inuyasha and 3) I was initially skeptical of the way they were using the word "alchemy". I'm ignoring all of that now and it's actually a decent series. Good for them.
As for information you might actually use, here's a tip. If you're tired and still not entirely comfortable with relying on Bernoulli's Principle to make sure you get to Pittsburgh, don't listen to Randy Newman's "God's Song (That's Why I Love Mankind)," particularly if the next song your computer selects at random from the playlist is "Magical Mystery Tour," followed by "Break Ya Neck." You are not prepared for that kind of shift. Trust me.
Thursday, November 17, 2005
One Step Beyond.
Element.
I hate National City, except for one employee named Laeticia who's the only person I've been in contact with there that can get anything done. In summary, my card's finally been activated for use as a credit card, my cable bill went insane but has finally been paid (though they still don't send me bills or statements or anything) and I've got that more or less under control. Incidentally, in checking that I was giving them the right zip code (as I gave them the address when I'd just moved here and the whole zip code system in Chicago was still somewhat mindboggling), I noticed that the USPS zip code finder requests that you put enter a zipcode. It's not an actual inconvenience, but seems as though something that shouldn't be.
Two tests next week (Monday and Tuesday) followed by Thanksgiving, and the quarter system is becoming more and more effective at giving me an ulcer.
I don't usually comment about the whole Iraq thing, because there are thousands of other bloggers that already do that and I'm really not that interested in trying to add even more to that. That said, the US Army said today that white phosphorus incendiary shells were used in the fight for Falluja as weapon against insurgents (as opposed to the original stated purpose, illumination), which the BBC is claiming runs somewhat counter to the campaign against Iraq's use of chemical weapons. The WP rounds aren't banned by any treaties to which the US is a signatory and it is generally regarded as less bad than most true "chemical weapons" unless aimed at civilians, though white phosphorus does cause pretty nasty burns if it comes into contact with, well, anything. Daily Kos is freaking out about this whole issue, some others aren't saying anything and I'm trying desperately to land somewhere in the middle. WP weapons were used in the Second World War extensively by the British (in the Dresden firebombing campaign and in premade Molotov Cocktails assembled in case of a raid by the Germans according to Emsley's The 13th Element), but if your campaign lists "use of chemical weapons" as part of its raison d’être it's probably not the best idea.
Jason Bay agreed to a four year extension, which is...good. If the Pirates are actually going to try to build an offense, they'll need Bay.
New steroid policy, incidentally, which the players have agreed to which sets much harsher penalties for steroid use (50 games for the first offense, 100 for the second, set on fire for the third) which is long overdue. Pat of WHYGAVS is right in that it's only a start (as it doesn't include blood testing, which is the only way to detect Human Growth Hormone), but it's a good one. It shows that they're at least somewhat serious about trying to eliminate this problem.
Two tests next week (Monday and Tuesday) followed by Thanksgiving, and the quarter system is becoming more and more effective at giving me an ulcer.
I don't usually comment about the whole Iraq thing, because there are thousands of other bloggers that already do that and I'm really not that interested in trying to add even more to that. That said, the US Army said today that white phosphorus incendiary shells were used in the fight for Falluja as weapon against insurgents (as opposed to the original stated purpose, illumination), which the BBC is claiming runs somewhat counter to the campaign against Iraq's use of chemical weapons. The WP rounds aren't banned by any treaties to which the US is a signatory and it is generally regarded as less bad than most true "chemical weapons" unless aimed at civilians, though white phosphorus does cause pretty nasty burns if it comes into contact with, well, anything. Daily Kos is freaking out about this whole issue, some others aren't saying anything and I'm trying desperately to land somewhere in the middle. WP weapons were used in the Second World War extensively by the British (in the Dresden firebombing campaign and in premade Molotov Cocktails assembled in case of a raid by the Germans according to Emsley's The 13th Element), but if your campaign lists "use of chemical weapons" as part of its raison d’être it's probably not the best idea.
Jason Bay agreed to a four year extension, which is...good. If the Pirates are actually going to try to build an offense, they'll need Bay.
New steroid policy, incidentally, which the players have agreed to which sets much harsher penalties for steroid use (50 games for the first offense, 100 for the second, set on fire for the third) which is long overdue. Pat of WHYGAVS is right in that it's only a start (as it doesn't include blood testing, which is the only way to detect Human Growth Hormone), but it's a good one. It shows that they're at least somewhat serious about trying to eliminate this problem.
Tuesday, November 15, 2005
What the hell, PA. What the hell.
Back again.
I've acquired the strangest sleeping schedule, which I hope to try to persuade to be a bit more normal today. It's not really that big of an issue, so long as I spend a sizeable portion (read: all) of my waking hours preparing for next week's "Two Exams Before You Go Home So That You Hate Life Before Cranberry Sauce Happens" Thanksgiving special. By far the more important is Monday's Inorganic exam, mostly because I'd like to improve my score in that class, and I've been doing well on the Mechanisms tests.
Things for today:
If you're like me, you often sit on the edge of your futon, wondering how it's possible that it's yet again time to do the laundry and thinking that everything would sort itself out if only you could have a way to simultaneously spend eight thousand dollars and give some poor UPS guy a hard time by making him carry 700 pounds of packages. If so, your dreams have come true. Available on Amazon, those Penguin Classics books. All of them. Every last damned one. 1,082 volumes. Why? I don't know. My favorite bit is where they suggest that it's the perfect addition to any "home, office or institutional library." Presuming I get into a lab, that's just what whoever my advisor will be is going to see. I come in on Day One with a computer, a bagged lunch, and seven hundred pounds of books.
I have fond memories of the Waterfront. From using it to find my way back home after oh... three hours lost in the suburbs of Pittsburgh to the dinner that Pitt bought when a few of us visited the Graduate school to my birthday with Jenna at Rock Bottom and Dave and Busters to watching Tim Burton's Big Fish in the Loews Cineplex and running into RJ at the screening. That good ol' Waterfront. Incidentally, while I'm going on about it, you should head on down to Loews if you're going to see a movie while you're in Pittsburgh. Huge place. Nice. Watch out for shootings, though. I don't know what to make of this. The part of me that says "video games and rap don't make people kill people, otherwise Corey would be in jail" thinks that this is probably unrelated to Get Rich Or Die Tryin', but then you don't see many shootings at Doom premiers. It's odd, anyway, if only because it's a place that I actually went to more than once.
Oh, one more thing.
They caught this bastard, which is good. They can't talk to the 14-year-old girl whose parents were killed in this incident because she's 14 and they need a legal guardian before they can talk to her. So they're not sure if she was going along with David Ludwig or if she was kidnapped. This stems from the fact that the 18-year-old Ludwig was out all night with the 14 year old and when the parents questioned him about it, he shot and killed them in front of a 15-year-old sister of the allegedly kidnapped. He's waived his right to an extradition hearing and will return to Pennsylvania (Lancaster County) to face charges on two counts of criminal homicide, one count of kidnapping and one count of reckless endangerment.
Warning: Pennsylvania has gone batshit insane.
I've acquired the strangest sleeping schedule, which I hope to try to persuade to be a bit more normal today. It's not really that big of an issue, so long as I spend a sizeable portion (read: all) of my waking hours preparing for next week's "Two Exams Before You Go Home So That You Hate Life Before Cranberry Sauce Happens" Thanksgiving special. By far the more important is Monday's Inorganic exam, mostly because I'd like to improve my score in that class, and I've been doing well on the Mechanisms tests.
Things for today:
If you're like me, you often sit on the edge of your futon, wondering how it's possible that it's yet again time to do the laundry and thinking that everything would sort itself out if only you could have a way to simultaneously spend eight thousand dollars and give some poor UPS guy a hard time by making him carry 700 pounds of packages. If so, your dreams have come true. Available on Amazon, those Penguin Classics books. All of them. Every last damned one. 1,082 volumes. Why? I don't know. My favorite bit is where they suggest that it's the perfect addition to any "home, office or institutional library." Presuming I get into a lab, that's just what whoever my advisor will be is going to see. I come in on Day One with a computer, a bagged lunch, and seven hundred pounds of books.
I have fond memories of the Waterfront. From using it to find my way back home after oh... three hours lost in the suburbs of Pittsburgh to the dinner that Pitt bought when a few of us visited the Graduate school to my birthday with Jenna at Rock Bottom and Dave and Busters to watching Tim Burton's Big Fish in the Loews Cineplex and running into RJ at the screening. That good ol' Waterfront. Incidentally, while I'm going on about it, you should head on down to Loews if you're going to see a movie while you're in Pittsburgh. Huge place. Nice. Watch out for shootings, though. I don't know what to make of this. The part of me that says "video games and rap don't make people kill people, otherwise Corey would be in jail" thinks that this is probably unrelated to Get Rich Or Die Tryin', but then you don't see many shootings at Doom premiers. It's odd, anyway, if only because it's a place that I actually went to more than once.
Oh, one more thing.
They caught this bastard, which is good. They can't talk to the 14-year-old girl whose parents were killed in this incident because she's 14 and they need a legal guardian before they can talk to her. So they're not sure if she was going along with David Ludwig or if she was kidnapped. This stems from the fact that the 18-year-old Ludwig was out all night with the 14 year old and when the parents questioned him about it, he shot and killed them in front of a 15-year-old sister of the allegedly kidnapped. He's waived his right to an extradition hearing and will return to Pennsylvania (Lancaster County) to face charges on two counts of criminal homicide, one count of kidnapping and one count of reckless endangerment.
Warning: Pennsylvania has gone batshit insane.
Thursday, November 10, 2005
Trains, Firefox, Psychopaths and Dave Littlefield
Andrea Yates gets another trial after having the first decision overturned based on false testimony by an expert witness of the prosecution; he claimed she patterned her crime, which if you'll remember was drowning her children in a bathtub, on an episode of Law and Order. No such episode exists. The defense is going to try for the "innocent by reason of insanity" again, the same defense that was rejected the last time through. It seems likely that she'll end up in a mental institution, which seems fine by me. She'd still be out of the public, she'd actually probably be getting help and considering her mental state and the fact that she's already tried to off herself in prison... an institution seems like the more appropriate place.
Every so often I remember how much I love the Greasemonkey extension. I've posted about this already, somewhere back there, but I wanted to point out once again that it's just really freaking useful.
And sometimes I think "Wow, I really am not a big fan of the L", mostly when it's running a few minutes late and I've convinced myself that I urgently need to be somewhere like Borders. Evidently, I have no idea. Often it's happened that I hear the piercing *ding* and the louder-than-Krakatoa announcement that my train is being delayed due to signals ahead/workers on the tracks/spite, but it's never occurred to me that a response (not appropriate, but just possible) might be to just get off and burn the sucker. Evidently, the thought sprang to the minds of some commuters in Johannesburg. I just... wow.
Incidentally, it seems that the Metra got $30,000 for their assistance in making the soon-to-be-released Derailed. The Metra, you may remember, actually did have a fatal derailment two months ago.
And, on a related note, the CTA has voted to screw people that pay with cash and disabled riders increasing the former's fare by $0.25 to $2.00 and doubling the disabled rider fare (I believe restricted to busses, but I could be wrong) to $3.50 one way. The CTA does, actually, need more money, but doubling the disabled fare? Seriously? This doesn't affect me, as I buy the 30-day unlimited rides pass (and am keeping track this month of how much I can save like this, though it seems I'll be foiled by that whole "Thanksgiving" thing).
The Pirates seem to be trying to calm fans by noting, emphatically, that this offseason will be different. Hopefully, they're right here and Littlefield will be able to do something positive.
Oh, also, evidently, Dover PA voted to oust the board members that voted for including the inclusion of intelligent design in biology classes. I'm down with that, if only because, as I've argued before on this blog, Intelligent Design doesn't fit the necessary parameters for being a science. So it shouldn't be taught as a science. That doesn't mean it's not true, and I lack enough information to say whether or not it is, but it doesn't follow scientific requirements. I have no problem with directing kids toward Of Pandas and People and I would encourage parents to discuss the origins of life with their kids in the interest of getting as much information about the various theories as possible, but I just can't see how you can present it in a science class without turning it into a theological argument, which isn't the place of a public school science class.
That, and I don't like it when ID-ers (as opposed to simply "D-ers", I guess) try to portray the fact that Darwin's theory of evolution is a theory as something negative. It ignores the actual meaning of the word theory, and that just irks me.
Every so often I remember how much I love the Greasemonkey extension. I've posted about this already, somewhere back there, but I wanted to point out once again that it's just really freaking useful.
And sometimes I think "Wow, I really am not a big fan of the L", mostly when it's running a few minutes late and I've convinced myself that I urgently need to be somewhere like Borders. Evidently, I have no idea. Often it's happened that I hear the piercing *ding* and the louder-than-Krakatoa announcement that my train is being delayed due to signals ahead/workers on the tracks/spite, but it's never occurred to me that a response (not appropriate, but just possible) might be to just get off and burn the sucker. Evidently, the thought sprang to the minds of some commuters in Johannesburg. I just... wow.
Incidentally, it seems that the Metra got $30,000 for their assistance in making the soon-to-be-released Derailed. The Metra, you may remember, actually did have a fatal derailment two months ago.
And, on a related note, the CTA has voted to screw people that pay with cash and disabled riders increasing the former's fare by $0.25 to $2.00 and doubling the disabled rider fare (I believe restricted to busses, but I could be wrong) to $3.50 one way. The CTA does, actually, need more money, but doubling the disabled fare? Seriously? This doesn't affect me, as I buy the 30-day unlimited rides pass (and am keeping track this month of how much I can save like this, though it seems I'll be foiled by that whole "Thanksgiving" thing).
The Pirates seem to be trying to calm fans by noting, emphatically, that this offseason will be different. Hopefully, they're right here and Littlefield will be able to do something positive.
Oh, also, evidently, Dover PA voted to oust the board members that voted for including the inclusion of intelligent design in biology classes. I'm down with that, if only because, as I've argued before on this blog, Intelligent Design doesn't fit the necessary parameters for being a science. So it shouldn't be taught as a science. That doesn't mean it's not true, and I lack enough information to say whether or not it is, but it doesn't follow scientific requirements. I have no problem with directing kids toward Of Pandas and People and I would encourage parents to discuss the origins of life with their kids in the interest of getting as much information about the various theories as possible, but I just can't see how you can present it in a science class without turning it into a theological argument, which isn't the place of a public school science class.
That, and I don't like it when ID-ers (as opposed to simply "D-ers", I guess) try to portray the fact that Darwin's theory of evolution is a theory as something negative. It ignores the actual meaning of the word theory, and that just irks me.
Wednesday, November 09, 2005
Elections and A Kid
Incidentally, Ken Bartley, Jr. becomes the latest school shooting suspect (I use suspect here in the same way that the article I've linked to uses it; a way to avoid saying the guy that they wrestled to the ground with the gun shooting people was guilty before he's actually tried). I'm surprised, actually, that there hasn't already been a glut of commentators alleging that he's been influenced by this hot topic or that, but I'm sure it's coming. Before anything comes out, I can't really say his motives, but these cases have, in recent years, been mostly about kids that seem to take high school and reputation in high school far too seriously. More on this when more exists.
The NYTimes claims that the recent gubernatorial defeats spell trouble going into the 2006 elections. Democrats are playing the elections up as a referendum on Bush's job in the office, Republicans are claiming it has no national significance and is a result of purely local issues and the truth is probably somewhere in between. I tend to actually agree with the Republican viewpoint here (!), that most people going in to vote for governor will, hopefully, be doing so based on issues that are actually involved in the election. There'll be some that vote purely because they're a member of one party or another, but I keep thinking that maybe, somewhere out there, there are people that actually think about how their elected officials will affect them.
On the two articles themselves, considering that the NYTimes article's is commentary more than news reporting and FoxNews uses the term "crowing" to describe Democratic response to Bush's eleventh-hour visit to Virginia, they more or less even out.
EDIT: I've got to include this, only because it shows that this particular form of Godwin's Law works, and because I'm still somewhat bitter about a similar argument costing myself and my partner a debate in 10th grade. Jerry Kilgore, Republican nominee in the VA governor's race invoked Hitler in ads aimed against Democratic candidate Tim Kaine. I'm sorry, Jerry, but it's not relevant, and while it's not exactly the reductio ad Hitlerum fallacy (which is ridiculously "fun with Latin", isn't it?) as it doesn't actually say Kaine is Hitler, it implies sympathy with Hitler which is just appealing to emotion rather than trying to discuss facts. So again, I'm sorry Jerry, but that's game over right there.
Of course, this isn't to say that Kaine didn't release ads that were ridiculously fallacious that I haven't found yet, but the Hitler-in-debate thing strikes a nerve with me.
The NYTimes claims that the recent gubernatorial defeats spell trouble going into the 2006 elections. Democrats are playing the elections up as a referendum on Bush's job in the office, Republicans are claiming it has no national significance and is a result of purely local issues and the truth is probably somewhere in between. I tend to actually agree with the Republican viewpoint here (!), that most people going in to vote for governor will, hopefully, be doing so based on issues that are actually involved in the election. There'll be some that vote purely because they're a member of one party or another, but I keep thinking that maybe, somewhere out there, there are people that actually think about how their elected officials will affect them.
On the two articles themselves, considering that the NYTimes article's is commentary more than news reporting and FoxNews uses the term "crowing" to describe Democratic response to Bush's eleventh-hour visit to Virginia, they more or less even out.
EDIT: I've got to include this, only because it shows that this particular form of Godwin's Law works, and because I'm still somewhat bitter about a similar argument costing myself and my partner a debate in 10th grade. Jerry Kilgore, Republican nominee in the VA governor's race invoked Hitler in ads aimed against Democratic candidate Tim Kaine. I'm sorry, Jerry, but it's not relevant, and while it's not exactly the reductio ad Hitlerum fallacy (which is ridiculously "fun with Latin", isn't it?) as it doesn't actually say Kaine is Hitler, it implies sympathy with Hitler which is just appealing to emotion rather than trying to discuss facts. So again, I'm sorry Jerry, but that's game over right there.
Of course, this isn't to say that Kaine didn't release ads that were ridiculously fallacious that I haven't found yet, but the Hitler-in-debate thing strikes a nerve with me.
International Edition
Venezuela: So, I might not be the biggest fan of Pittsburgh pitchers. Wells can make me positively infuriated and the stupidity that leads to spending what, half your season on the DL because you couldn't keep yourself from breaking your toe on a laundry cart... you get what I'm saying here. That said, at least none of them have tried to kill anyone. Granted, he didn't actually succeed, and there's a chance he didn't do anything wrong and the charges are false, but there's also the chance that yes, he did try to light people on fire.
France: French bloggers have been arrested and placed under investigation for "inciting harm to people and property over the internet". The two bloggers arrested so far with the pseudonyms "sarkodead" (a reference to French Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy, criticism of whom has been a rallying point for French rioters after disparaging remarks about the rioters) and "hardcore" (a reference to being "hardcore") don't indicate that there's a coming sweep of French bloggers who are taking the side of the rioters, but it could be in the cards as the French government tries as hard as it can to get some semblance of order back after the thirteenth night of rioting. 6,400 vehicles have been burned, though the rioters appear to be trying to avoid causing damage to private buildings and looting. Personally? I'm somewhat surprised at how long it took Chirac to do something other than kind of refer to it in press conferences before finally calling for a cabinet meeting to declare a state of emergency so that curfews could be enacted on November 8, the thirteenth day into the ordeal.
Austrailia: In lighter things, Gregor's got a =>blog he's being paid for now, and which I enjoy enough to talk about here. He's Austrailian, so you'll have a problem if you can't recall where that is, but the recent posts have been relatively global in nature, as in they cover worldwide news. It's satire-y, so, you know. Expect that. Mostly, this inclusion is more of just a way to somehow associate myself with people who are actually good at writing and have a readership that's actually sizeable, and to express my appreciation for those of us that have jobs that involve either writing smart-ass remarks on the day's news or riding really dangerous things at high, high speeds.
France: French bloggers have been arrested and placed under investigation for "inciting harm to people and property over the internet". The two bloggers arrested so far with the pseudonyms "sarkodead" (a reference to French Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy, criticism of whom has been a rallying point for French rioters after disparaging remarks about the rioters) and "hardcore" (a reference to being "hardcore") don't indicate that there's a coming sweep of French bloggers who are taking the side of the rioters, but it could be in the cards as the French government tries as hard as it can to get some semblance of order back after the thirteenth night of rioting. 6,400 vehicles have been burned, though the rioters appear to be trying to avoid causing damage to private buildings and looting. Personally? I'm somewhat surprised at how long it took Chirac to do something other than kind of refer to it in press conferences before finally calling for a cabinet meeting to declare a state of emergency so that curfews could be enacted on November 8, the thirteenth day into the ordeal.
Austrailia: In lighter things, Gregor's got a =>blog he's being paid for now, and which I enjoy enough to talk about here. He's Austrailian, so you'll have a problem if you can't recall where that is, but the recent posts have been relatively global in nature, as in they cover worldwide news. It's satire-y, so, you know. Expect that. Mostly, this inclusion is more of just a way to somehow associate myself with people who are actually good at writing and have a readership that's actually sizeable, and to express my appreciation for those of us that have jobs that involve either writing smart-ass remarks on the day's news or riding really dangerous things at high, high speeds.
Sunday, November 06, 2005
Riots, Cartoons and Selecting an Advisor
Here we go.
So, ideally, I'd be able to strike a compromise between tedious rehashing of current events based on a few quickly scanned articles and frightening threats from crazies on the El. Ideally, and that's what I'll try for now.
In Ryan's Life:
This week has a few important meanings for my career as a first-year graduate student. Two of those important things are tests, which only matter so much in that I'd rather not fail them. One of them is a quiz which seems somewhat less like a graduate school exam and more like an extra credit assignment in high school chemistry, memorizing the Periodic Table of the Elements, minus the f-block metals. It shouldn't be too difficult, and I'd advise you to visit that link to play with the little html toy I've been using to study for this deal. More importantly by far is Friday's ceremonial "turning in of the advisor request forms", which demands that everyone settle down on a priority list of the people they'd like to work for. In the interest of bringing you up to speed on that, and without any order other than "alphabetical", the professors that will be on my list are:
In Other News:
The Boondocks starts in a little under three hours, and I for one will be tuning in. Various sources, from the New York Times (which won't let me read the article online without actually having a subscription) and Chicago reader, a hefty, hefty, hefty free paper have expressed concerns that Boondocks on television will lose its bite in an attempt to avoid being "dated", but we'll see how that works out.
Chirac has gotten around to promising to restore order in Paris after the tenth night of rioting, which spread inward to Paris' historic 3e Arrondissement. An estimated 3,300 vehicles have been burned and ten officers were wounded yesterday by shotgun fire from protesters, two of whom required hospitalization.
I'm going to go study some more Physical Organic now.
So, ideally, I'd be able to strike a compromise between tedious rehashing of current events based on a few quickly scanned articles and frightening threats from crazies on the El. Ideally, and that's what I'll try for now.
In Ryan's Life:
This week has a few important meanings for my career as a first-year graduate student. Two of those important things are tests, which only matter so much in that I'd rather not fail them. One of them is a quiz which seems somewhat less like a graduate school exam and more like an extra credit assignment in high school chemistry, memorizing the Periodic Table of the Elements, minus the f-block metals. It shouldn't be too difficult, and I'd advise you to visit that link to play with the little html toy I've been using to study for this deal. More importantly by far is Friday's ceremonial "turning in of the advisor request forms", which demands that everyone settle down on a priority list of the people they'd like to work for. In the interest of bringing you up to speed on that, and without any order other than "alphabetical", the professors that will be on my list are:
SonBinh T. Nguyen, who does some remarkable catalytic work and, incidentally, got his PhD at the California Institute of Technology with recent Nobel Laureate Robert Grubbs, and which consisted primarily of developing Grubbs' Catalyst (I). He's currently looking at some surface supported catalysis, and, unfortunately, has no web page detailing his research, so I can only suggest that you look up the papers if you're actually genuinely interested in what I might be trying to do over the next five years.
Thomas O'Halloran, whose work is perhaps the most removed from my research at any point as an undergraduate. Fairly bioinorganic and I'll direct you to the page for any specifics. There are Several projects of interest here, and my only hangup about working in the O'Halloran lab is that I've never really studied in-depth the kind of chemistry that's done there.
Karl A. Scheidt, whose work is quite the opposite of O'Halloran's in that it's the closest to what I've worked on in the past. Scheidt's chemistry involves, primarily, methodology and reaction development, though his further establishment is leading to some diversity in projects in the field of total synthesis of natural products.
Richard Silverman, whose work is primarily in the field of what they're calling "medicinal chemistry", he's responsible for Lyrica, which Standard and Poor's investment branch estimates could make $1 billion annually, which would bring over $60 million to Northwestern University in Royalties.
In Other News:
The Boondocks starts in a little under three hours, and I for one will be tuning in. Various sources, from the New York Times (which won't let me read the article online without actually having a subscription) and Chicago reader, a hefty, hefty, hefty free paper have expressed concerns that Boondocks on television will lose its bite in an attempt to avoid being "dated", but we'll see how that works out.
Chirac has gotten around to promising to restore order in Paris after the tenth night of rioting, which spread inward to Paris' historic 3e Arrondissement. An estimated 3,300 vehicles have been burned and ten officers were wounded yesterday by shotgun fire from protesters, two of whom required hospitalization.
I'm going to go study some more Physical Organic now.
Saturday, November 05, 2005
The Bad Side
In relaying this story about the wonders of public transportation and the people that use this service to someone at Northwestern, it occurred to me that I don't think I'd covered it on Murphspot. And as the whole Matt Lawton thing, while good for a quick chuckle and all forms of the "but aren't steroids supposed to make you good?" comment, it's over. Whatever. I'm not a Yankees blog, so I don't care what happens.
Anyway, back to the CTA. This was...I believe, the day of the VIDEO TOWN post and I quite possibly was simply so excited to have a copy of Land of the Dead in my (albeit temporary) possession that it didn't occur to me to go over what had happened. So here, a review.
Deciding to bypass the local video stores, which I didn't believe would be carrying Land of the Dead, I walked to Thorndale (Red Line) to go two stops south to Berwyn, where the Blockbuster I'd been frequenting was situated. This in itself is a bit of a variation from the norm, as I use Granville for most of my platform-standin', mostly because it's been recently renovated and has relatively few boards that look as though they really shouldn't be able to stay up there. So, anyway, Thorndale. As soon as I get to the top, a woman comes up to me, slightly panicked. I tend to make others slightly panicked, so it wasn't really that much out of the ordinary. She proceeds to tell me the sad tale of her 7-day pass, which is now sitting next to the tracks, below the platform, and how the train that's coming in six minutes will most likely blow it away. Trying to calm her down, I press the button to summon assistance from the CTA attendant while she's trying to persuade myself and another young gentleman to jump down onto the tracks to get her pass. We'd established that the platform was probably too high for either of us to be able to reach the pass without getting on the tracks. Before the attendant showed up to tell us that someone would be by who professionally walks on the tracks getting stuff people have dropped will be by shortly, while myself and this other guy are trying to see if it's at all possible to reach this thing (incidentally, the track is a straightaway at that point, and we could see the approaching train leaving Loyola (one stop further north than Granville, which itself is one stop from Thorndale, just so you don't think we're sticking our heads somewhere at train is about to be), another gentleman (age about 40) shows up behind us.
He gets our attention.
He continues to indicate that his message is pertinant to me.
His message is (as close as I can remember):
"They're going to get me! They're going to take me to jail! And I hope they bring you to my cell when you get there. Because I'm going to rape you. You better hope they don't bring you to my cell, because I will rape you."
...
Completely unsolicited, completely confounding, probably not a compliment so much as a much less computer-oriented version of a troll screaming "U will B PWND".
Disturbing, but only if you view it outside the context of "crazy guy on the L". I just thought that, because I post about most good things that happen here, I'd include this. Plus, I want to see what comments this garners.
Incidentally, and completely unrelated to that, I made it back around to visiting Slumbering Lungfish again, and at the risk of sounding like a fan/hack, I'm glad to see that regular posts are, once again, being produced.
Anyway, back to the CTA. This was...I believe, the day of the VIDEO TOWN post and I quite possibly was simply so excited to have a copy of Land of the Dead in my (albeit temporary) possession that it didn't occur to me to go over what had happened. So here, a review.
Deciding to bypass the local video stores, which I didn't believe would be carrying Land of the Dead, I walked to Thorndale (Red Line) to go two stops south to Berwyn, where the Blockbuster I'd been frequenting was situated. This in itself is a bit of a variation from the norm, as I use Granville for most of my platform-standin', mostly because it's been recently renovated and has relatively few boards that look as though they really shouldn't be able to stay up there. So, anyway, Thorndale. As soon as I get to the top, a woman comes up to me, slightly panicked. I tend to make others slightly panicked, so it wasn't really that much out of the ordinary. She proceeds to tell me the sad tale of her 7-day pass, which is now sitting next to the tracks, below the platform, and how the train that's coming in six minutes will most likely blow it away. Trying to calm her down, I press the button to summon assistance from the CTA attendant while she's trying to persuade myself and another young gentleman to jump down onto the tracks to get her pass. We'd established that the platform was probably too high for either of us to be able to reach the pass without getting on the tracks. Before the attendant showed up to tell us that someone would be by who professionally walks on the tracks getting stuff people have dropped will be by shortly, while myself and this other guy are trying to see if it's at all possible to reach this thing (incidentally, the track is a straightaway at that point, and we could see the approaching train leaving Loyola (one stop further north than Granville, which itself is one stop from Thorndale, just so you don't think we're sticking our heads somewhere at train is about to be), another gentleman (age about 40) shows up behind us.
He gets our attention.
He continues to indicate that his message is pertinant to me.
His message is (as close as I can remember):
"They're going to get me! They're going to take me to jail! And I hope they bring you to my cell when you get there. Because I'm going to rape you. You better hope they don't bring you to my cell, because I will rape you."
...
Completely unsolicited, completely confounding, probably not a compliment so much as a much less computer-oriented version of a troll screaming "U will B PWND".
Disturbing, but only if you view it outside the context of "crazy guy on the L". I just thought that, because I post about most good things that happen here, I'd include this. Plus, I want to see what comments this garners.
Incidentally, and completely unrelated to that, I made it back around to visiting Slumbering Lungfish again, and at the risk of sounding like a fan/hack, I'm glad to see that regular posts are, once again, being produced.
Wednesday, November 02, 2005
The Juiced-Up Slaw-o
Remember that lazy guy that the Pirates sent to the Cubs (without much of Pittsburgh caring, though much of Pittsburgh didn't really care for Gerut, who was acquired in the trade and promptly spent the rest of the season not playing baseball), who were shocked when it didn't pan out (read: he wasn't that good) in the month or so they had him before shipping him off to the Yankees?
What was his name.
Slaw-o?
Law-dog?
Oh. Right. Former All-Star outfielder Matt Lawton. Who, incidentally, tested positive for steroids and has been suspended for 10 days, which will, of course, take effect when baseball is played again.
How about that?
What was his name.
Slaw-o?
Law-dog?
Oh. Right. Former All-Star outfielder Matt Lawton. Who, incidentally, tested positive for steroids and has been suspended for 10 days, which will, of course, take effect when baseball is played again.
How about that?
Riots, T-shirts, and Literal-ness.
So we'll try to get this thing pubished in the next few minutes, such that I can get back to "studying" for my "organic mechanisms exam" so that I don't fail out of "grad school" and have to return to "McDonalds" again. But I should post. Why not.
Blogs that are somewhat interesting:
Blog Of Death which, ok. It attempts to eulogize most of the celebrities that pass away and serves as a commentary of sorts (though less comprehensive, not that they should be criticized for not eulogizing everyone) to the Recent Deaths page on Wikipedia. Decent idea, and I dig it.
Literally, A Weblog, which chronicles incorrect uses of the word "literally" in public media. It's clever and has some good visual puns, though it's interesting that they chose to restrict themselves to the word "literally" alone.
In news:
Paris keeps going, in this case not referring to the infinitely irritating hotel heiress, but rather the rioting in Paris, France, following the electrocution death of two teenagers in a suburb after they touched a transformer in trying to escape from the police, who weren't (according to police) actually chasing them. They claim to have been chasing someone else. It's been escalating like mad following the initial backlash of gangs who blamed police for the teens' deaths and after a tear gas canister (which was the same type used by French riot police) was launched into a mosque.
Chicago's RedEye (an edition of the Tribune) suprised me today with an article on a "girlcott" (which is to say, boycott) by Schenley High School freshman against Abercrombie and Fitch in an attempt to get them to stop selling shirts which degrade women. You'll remember that Abercrombie and Fitch gets in trouble for this all the time and probably won't care. It appears Emma Blackman-Mathis is also a very young gay rights activist. Good for her.
I'm going to go do office hours now.
Yes.
Blogs that are somewhat interesting:
Blog Of Death which, ok. It attempts to eulogize most of the celebrities that pass away and serves as a commentary of sorts (though less comprehensive, not that they should be criticized for not eulogizing everyone) to the Recent Deaths page on Wikipedia. Decent idea, and I dig it.
Literally, A Weblog, which chronicles incorrect uses of the word "literally" in public media. It's clever and has some good visual puns, though it's interesting that they chose to restrict themselves to the word "literally" alone.
In news:
Paris keeps going, in this case not referring to the infinitely irritating hotel heiress, but rather the rioting in Paris, France, following the electrocution death of two teenagers in a suburb after they touched a transformer in trying to escape from the police, who weren't (according to police) actually chasing them. They claim to have been chasing someone else. It's been escalating like mad following the initial backlash of gangs who blamed police for the teens' deaths and after a tear gas canister (which was the same type used by French riot police) was launched into a mosque.
Chicago's RedEye (an edition of the Tribune) suprised me today with an article on a "girlcott" (which is to say, boycott) by Schenley High School freshman against Abercrombie and Fitch in an attempt to get them to stop selling shirts which degrade women. You'll remember that Abercrombie and Fitch gets in trouble for this all the time and probably won't care. It appears Emma Blackman-Mathis is also a very young gay rights activist. Good for her.
I'm going to go do office hours now.
Yes.
Saturday, October 29, 2005
A Survey of Saturday
So, Saturday. End of the week. In a little over two hours, a new week begins, and I'm that one week closer to the five years (260 weeks) I'll put in to graduate from Northwestern with a PhD, on average. With that in mind, it seems as though it would be prudent to relay to you, the reader, what I think of tonight's surroundings.
Blockbuster Video: Who told these people they could blockbust? This would be the second week in a row that I tried to rent something from them and failed. The first was last Tuesday, when Land of the Dead was released. They didn't have it because of some dispute between the Blockbuster higher-ups and Universal and whatever. Go to the Video TOWN entry if you'd like to read more. Today's movie (Batman Begins) is theoretically at Blockbuster sometimes, but through the fact that it's a relatively popular movie and the whole "don't worry about getting our movies back to us" advertising scheme, it was entirely gone. I got a raincheck and left. Determined to see this movie tonight so that RJ doesn't come to Chicago for the express purpose of snapping my neck, I decided to go to Borders.
CTA: To get to Borders from Blockbuster, I had to take the Red Line (once again) for the short trip between Berwyn and Lawrence. Which made me want to point out something. First, I'd like to shake the hand of the person who worked at a Ponderosa Steakhouse and, sick of refilling the little chicken bits in the buffet decided to get out of there and do something. Charged with a hatred of cheap food and a cardboard box full of dreams and wiring, this great person of indeterminate gender went to the massive gothic headquarters (office building) of the CTA and proposed the idea that would eventually morph into a landmark of the elevated train platform. Without them, it would be impossible to stand on the platform, warmed by the healing rays of fast food heat lamps which have been affixed to the roof. Second, I would like to applaud the decision to go with no roof for part of the platform. In addition to allowing the commuter to take in a wonderful night more fully, this section also provides an escape from the thousands of damn spiders in the rotting roof of the Berwyn stop. Go CTA, as it were.
Borders: Are you addicted to cigarettes, gambling or cocaine? Would you be cured of your addiction if only someone would take your vice and hide it, making it nearly impossible to find even with considerable effort on your part? Well, my friend, take your cigs/dice/blow to the Borders on Lawrence, where nothing is where it seems. I went there not knowing what I would buy, but having two possibilities. "Either," I thought, "I'll get Batman Begins on DVD, or I'll get that 1602 graphic novel by Neil Gaiman I've been reading about." Two problems.
The DVDs for sale in Borders are arranged more strangely than the contents of my apartment. Categories like "Horror" and "Mystery" and "Comedy" vaguely point to the section you'll need, but the alphebetization system changes from A-->B horizontally to vertically to diagonally in some places, depending on which shelf you're talking about. After coming upon Batman Begins in the bottom row of the "SciFi" Section (which precedes "Action, where BB was probably supposed to fit"), I decided I'd go to try to find that 1602 thing.
This particular Borders has got two floors and a directory that's probably more helpful if you ignore it entirely. It was near the DVDs, so I looked at it and, noting that "Graphic Novels" was listed as being on the top floor, went up the stairs. Lies! After twenty minutes of doing laps around the top floor, discovering that things are more haphazard than I thought (Automobiles next to Comedy? Metaphysical Studies in the "Art and Architecture" section? Why is the first shelf of "Romance" completely filled with Star Wars novels and figurines? Why on earth is there an entire section on Menopause, and why is it immediately after the Language Reference and before the "How To Buy Wines" books?), I gave up, went downstairs to find the graphic novels stuffed between the bargains and the magazines (which makes sense, I suppose). As I don't know that much about Marvel comics and was more interested in 1602 for the concept of it, I took a pass on that and got Batman Begins, which I'll start watching now, while I do some homework.
Yes.
Blockbuster Video: Who told these people they could blockbust? This would be the second week in a row that I tried to rent something from them and failed. The first was last Tuesday, when Land of the Dead was released. They didn't have it because of some dispute between the Blockbuster higher-ups and Universal and whatever. Go to the Video TOWN entry if you'd like to read more. Today's movie (Batman Begins) is theoretically at Blockbuster sometimes, but through the fact that it's a relatively popular movie and the whole "don't worry about getting our movies back to us" advertising scheme, it was entirely gone. I got a raincheck and left. Determined to see this movie tonight so that RJ doesn't come to Chicago for the express purpose of snapping my neck, I decided to go to Borders.
CTA: To get to Borders from Blockbuster, I had to take the Red Line (once again) for the short trip between Berwyn and Lawrence. Which made me want to point out something. First, I'd like to shake the hand of the person who worked at a Ponderosa Steakhouse and, sick of refilling the little chicken bits in the buffet decided to get out of there and do something. Charged with a hatred of cheap food and a cardboard box full of dreams and wiring, this great person of indeterminate gender went to the massive gothic headquarters (office building) of the CTA and proposed the idea that would eventually morph into a landmark of the elevated train platform. Without them, it would be impossible to stand on the platform, warmed by the healing rays of fast food heat lamps which have been affixed to the roof. Second, I would like to applaud the decision to go with no roof for part of the platform. In addition to allowing the commuter to take in a wonderful night more fully, this section also provides an escape from the thousands of damn spiders in the rotting roof of the Berwyn stop. Go CTA, as it were.
Borders: Are you addicted to cigarettes, gambling or cocaine? Would you be cured of your addiction if only someone would take your vice and hide it, making it nearly impossible to find even with considerable effort on your part? Well, my friend, take your cigs/dice/blow to the Borders on Lawrence, where nothing is where it seems. I went there not knowing what I would buy, but having two possibilities. "Either," I thought, "I'll get Batman Begins on DVD, or I'll get that 1602 graphic novel by Neil Gaiman I've been reading about." Two problems.
The DVDs for sale in Borders are arranged more strangely than the contents of my apartment. Categories like "Horror" and "Mystery" and "Comedy" vaguely point to the section you'll need, but the alphebetization system changes from A-->B horizontally to vertically to diagonally in some places, depending on which shelf you're talking about. After coming upon Batman Begins in the bottom row of the "SciFi" Section (which precedes "Action, where BB was probably supposed to fit"), I decided I'd go to try to find that 1602 thing.
This particular Borders has got two floors and a directory that's probably more helpful if you ignore it entirely. It was near the DVDs, so I looked at it and, noting that "Graphic Novels" was listed as being on the top floor, went up the stairs. Lies! After twenty minutes of doing laps around the top floor, discovering that things are more haphazard than I thought (Automobiles next to Comedy? Metaphysical Studies in the "Art and Architecture" section? Why is the first shelf of "Romance" completely filled with Star Wars novels and figurines? Why on earth is there an entire section on Menopause, and why is it immediately after the Language Reference and before the "How To Buy Wines" books?), I gave up, went downstairs to find the graphic novels stuffed between the bargains and the magazines (which makes sense, I suppose). As I don't know that much about Marvel comics and was more interested in 1602 for the concept of it, I took a pass on that and got Batman Begins, which I'll start watching now, while I do some homework.
Yes.
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