this is a land of mystery and wonder
A completely useless post because I’m sitting here and, wow, my week is already over. On Wednesday. I have four days until my next class, on Monday. There is certainly something to be said for all of these Jewish holidays, combined with not having class on Fridays. Well, I guess I should use these next four days to be very productive and catch up on a lot of homework.
Right.
The story about lies and fraud from the White House that CBS will no longer run – “60 Minutes” defied the White House to produce this report. But it could not survive the network’s cowardice — cowardice born of self-inflicted wounds.
Jon Stewart on “The O’Reilly Factor” – Abso-freakin-hilarious.
Nothing in North Korea is as it seems – I had gone there expecting to come out much better informed. Reporters like to believe that.
Trying to figure out how to catch up on my readings. Already! I’m just not sure it’s possible!
My class schedule is just about perfect. I have a block of classes midday on Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday, with only an early PE on Tuesday and nothing Friday. The best part is the three day weekends, which I am enjoying a lot. Like this one, for instance.
Friday was a lazy day. I did crosswords and read news in the morning and in the afternoon wandered around campus. I only bring this up because there are pictures. Oh, and one of Igor in his room between the time when his old windows were removed and his new windows were installed. Wouldn’t it be neat if windows were as clear and seamless as real life?
Between the crosswords and the wandering, however, Rachel took me to a small local organic farm. We took pictures (I like the one with the pumpkins), pet the dog, and picked raspberries from the vine. It was a neat experience, and I agree with Rachel that everyone should have the experience of picking their own food, if not growing it.
Today I went on an adventure of a different sort. Kevin‘s company consolidated two older offices into one big new one, and consequently a lot of old office furniture was up for the taking. While we missed a lot of the good stuff, we did find some useful bits and pieces. I rented a truck from U-Haul and we spent most of the day doing just that.
First we moved out some bookshelves for Kevin and a chair for Rachel, then got to work on table components for Igor to arrange in the Justice office. Kelli showed up to help with Natalie in tow after the two of them finished shopping for wedding dresses (now there’s something you don’t do everyday!). We did some heavy math and determined that it was impossible to fit the conference table that I had my eye on into the elevator. That did not deter us however, as we went on an expedition to find the various staircases and figure out which were safe to use. We eventually determined that staircase B held our answer, but in order to get the table out we would need to set off an alarm in the lobby. Kevin had the brilliant idea of calling (and negotiating with) the alarm company, Igor had the brilliant idea of sliding the massive table down on the banisters, and I had the brilliant idea of, well, providing a lot of heavy lifting. We tripped the alarm, got the table out, got the alarm fixed, and loaded everything up in the truck. Meanwhile, Kelli provided lots of taunting and other forms of moral support. We ended up with a pretty good haul.
At this point it was 9:00pm, we had missed Adam’s Break Fast, and the truck had to be returned by early the next (this) morning. A drive to Brandeis later, and Kevin, Kelli, and I took a break while Igor directed Justice and Union people in the unloading of the goods. We finally got it all wrapped up, bookshelves unloaded in Medford, truck returned, and me back to campus at around 1:30am. Phew! What a long day! Time for some must-deserved rest.
Oh, and I ordered a new radio for my car that will allow me to plug in my iPod. Yay! Life is pretty good. All right, good night, world.
CA Air Resources Board approves new smog standards – NY and others will soon follow.
Whither Afghanistan? – Every month or two some thinker reminds us about the trouble in Afghanistan, but we continue to refuse to listen.
Bank of American belives in branches – I was shocked by the (high) level of customer service when I visited two different BofA locations in California. They weren’t able to resolve my credit card issues, though.
California may spend up to $3 billion on stem cell research – Just one more example of how California takes the lead at making the world a better place.
The common room and kitchen area aren’t really nice enough to go online yet, but I’ve put up three images of my room. It’s a little hard to get good snaps due to its size — substantially smaller then my room last year — but you can see my bed, all the pictures I put up on the walls, the shelves I installed (above the fridge), and my computer setup, including my new printer.
AMST 137b: Journalism in Twentieth-Century America
Examines what journalists have done, how their enterprise has in fact conformed with their ideals, and what some of the consequences have been for the republic historically, primarily in the 20th century.
AMST 189a: Legal Foundations of American Capitalism
Surveys core legal institutions of property, contracts, and corporations. Examines how law promotes and restrains the development of capitalism and market society in America, from the era of mass production through the age of global trade and digital commerce.
HIST 80a: Introduction to East Asian Civilization
A selective introduction to the development of forms of thought, social and political institutions, and distinctive cultural contributions of China and Japan from early times to the beginning of the 19th century.
POL 111a: The American Congress
The structure and behavior of the Congress. Emphasis on the way member incentives for reelection, power on Capitol Hill, and good public policy shape Congress.
Sock on the door knob – The technical explanation (with examples for Windows and Linux).
Pensive as always (need to lighten up), reading lots of stuff for class, finally finishing a long-running assignment, constructing furniture. Wondering why no one posts comments anymore…
NYT suggests Kryptonite bike lock vulnerability may be more widespread then originally thought – Possibilities are almost endless: vending machines, alarm panels, laptop locks. Get those Bic pens ready!
Anti-depressants with no proven efficacy are still prescribed to children, despite doubling the risk of suicidal tendancies – And the FDA continues to suck.