Scientific American editors apologize for endorsing Darwin – “Good journalism values balance above all else. We owe it to our readers to present everybody’s ideas equally and not to ignore or discredit theories simply because they lack scientifically credible arguments or facts. Nor should we succumb to the easy mistake of thinking that scientists understand their fields better than, say, U.S. senators or best-selling novelists do.“
People’s reactions to computer crashes: yelling, hitting, sweet-talking, throwing the computer in a deep fryer – It’s a press release in disguise, but amusing none the less.
The Joy of Lunch at Harvard
I’m sitting in the Harkness Commons, or “the Hark” as it is called here, munching on another wonderful meal. Derek insists that the selection gets old, but so far I have not gotten sick of it, so perhaps two meals a week is about the right amount.
Why is the Hark so good? Well, mostly because I’m comparing it to Brandeis. Here I have consistantly good food for equal or less than what it costs to get something comparable from Aramark. My chicken wrap was tasty and full of chicken, just like my hamburger had adequate meat, my pizza adequate toppings, etc. No skimping here. There are sauces and flavorings if you want them, so everything isn’t bland. There is a nice, fully stocked salad bar with vegetables that are actually fresh. And the desserts are generally pretty exciting concoctions.
What I love about the Hark is its just a dining hall done right. It’s not trying to be anything more than it is, and what it does it does well. Because the salad bar is actually good (despite lacking ranch dressing, grr!) I’ve stopped getting french fries or chips and am instead getting a small side salad full of tomatoes and artichoke hearts. The dining hall is helping me to eat healthier!
The food tastes better, the ingredients are higher quality, the service is quicker, the prices are cheaper.
Come on Brandeis, what part of this is hard?
Melon baller
Today Jeremy guided me to a really marvelous grocery store, and among other things I bought a pizza that caught fire in the toaster oven, which was interesting in part because it allowed me to find out that our fire extinguisher is not chaged, and a cantalope, along with a melon baller. A melon baller! Words cannot express my excitement at this! Jeremy says it must be a crazy California thing, but now I have melon, melon baller, cottage cheese, yogurt, and granola — all the ingredients for a yummy breakfast.
Not to mention I bought some more strawberries. Yum!
Especially because its a lot harder to set fruit on fire than it is pizza. And dad has already told me, in no uncertain terms, that he is very much against donating money to Brandeis to pay for a new dorm.
Just keep swimming
So Adam is getting married, but not the one you might think. Adam Batkin proposed to Jess Greenberg on Saturday and got an answer in the affirmative. Unlike a lot of the people at Brandeis, this is the first time one of my friends has gotten engaged. It is an awesome occurance — in that it inspires great awe. This year is just starting to fill up with awe. I’m not sure I like this whole “growing up” thing, and I’m not sure I like one of my good friends moving to Scotland for the next five years. I’m happy for you, Adam, and I’m happy at your happiness, but I’m sad that it means I won’t be seeing you much.
I’m staying in the Boston area in part because I like it here but in big part because the people I know are here. As people continue to split off and move away, I’m going to have to re-evaluate my priorities. I’m not sure I like this idea of people moving away. Everyone just needs to stay put!
My god, Adam is getting married! My head is still not comprehending this. It is just something that seems so remote and strange. People I know don’t go and get themselves married! People don’t move to other countries! People don’t grow up, damn it!
I’m ready to get the heck out of here and face the real world in all of its glory. I don’t expect it to be a terrible transition or a massive challenge. I don’t mind continuing to move forward. Things that have happened in the last few days have convinced me that it really, truly is time to get out of Brandeis. But my biggest problem with this whole thing is that I don’t make good friends easily, and I don’t like the idea of losing the ones I have.
We live in a time where the world is ever-shrinking thanks to the wonder of technology that allows us to reach around the globe in an instant, but nothing compares to just being with someone in person. We will never be able to replicate the experience of living near enough to someone that you can just wander over and knock on their door. The internet cannot compare to this reality. And I, not one who much understands how to keep up relationships with people far away, am completely baffled by this whole mess.
In the words of Douglas Adams, time is beginning seriously to pass. Gotta hold on, gotta keep moving, can’t get swept up in the stream of memories where there is still so much left ahead undone. I’m so often the one pushing change, pushing people to go past the limits of their comfort, pushing new ideas and new experiences, but I find myself for once with the tables completely turned, with me sitting here, wanting to fight the future tooth and nail, but constantly having to restrain myself. Things have a habit of working themselves out, as has been demonstrated in my life time and time again.
We just have to keep swimming, and constantly be in awe of the possibilities available to us just around the next corner.
Protein that can block allergic reations – That’d be nice. I want a cat!
Workers playing solitare and MineSweeper on company time – Is it a sap on company resources, or a symptom of a bigger problem with the types of jobs people are forced into these days? (Of course, I think it’s more of the latter…)
The top 30 least-hot things you can say to a naked woman – I’ll keep that in mind. I mean…what?
Bantu Refugees Adjust to New Lives in America – Every once in a while you hear a story that helps you to remember the potential for greatness that America holds. This is one of those stories, and it is also a fascinating portrait of people adapting to a new land and a new culture.
The pressure on smart kids to get into top schools has never been higher. But the differences between these schools and the next tier down have never been smaller – “…for students bright enough to win admission to a top school, later income ‘varied little, no matter which type of college they attended.’“
Philip Greenspun on how Harvard Business School has bastardized the term “hacking” – “As progressively dumber programmers build progressively more complex systems we will see more of this kind of attempt to paper over coding mistakes with lawyers, sanctions, policies, and laws.“
A Shot in the Dark – The hidden cost of the chickenpox vaccine – Every child is vaccinated? When did this happen?
The ice tower has collapsed – A sad day indeed. It reached 152 feet high and weighed somewhere around 80,000 tons. The creator is already planning for next year.
Vacation is fun
Last day of classes is April 22, and as of then I believe I should be all finished. Ths is followed by a week of Passover Break, then a study day, then a week of final exams, then a few more days of final exams, then Senior Week, then commencement.
In real terms, that means school ends April 22 and I have four weeks of fun and games before commencement. That’s a lot of time to disengage from Brandeis. That’s a pretty nice setup.
Then, of course, I have to enter the real world.
But hey, if I still don’t have a job or a place to live, that means I have four weeks to stress over it…err…I mean, figure it out!
Lorna Doones
Yesterday at the market I picked up a box of Loran Doone cookies. Eating them now as I work on my paper, I’m drawn back to childhood memories of Lake Arrowhead — boating over to the village to pick up snacks, playing on the island, water skiing, swimming…cleaning the house. Man, that place was always full of cobwebs — and spiders!
Point is, I remember sitting out in the sun in the middle of the lake, eating these cookies. Its a nice memory.
And if I don’t stop soon, I’m going to end up eating the whole box.
Mommy, how do banks work?
My Bank of America savings account earns me 0.25% interest, which I kinda thought was strangely low, but haven’t really questioned until now. That’s because I saw an offer on TiVo to open up an ING Direct savings account with pretty much the same terms as my BofA one (i.e. no fees, no restrictions, etc.) except they pay 2.6%. One place pays 0.25% and another pays 2.6%. Head…exploding. I don’t understand why this disparity exists. Why would anyone in their right mind use BofA for personal savings with such piss poor interest rates? They’re high-end CD accounts with huge required balances, 5 year commitments, and monthly maintenance fees still provide a lower return. Can someone who understands these things please explain to me what I’m missing here?
Soon-to-pass bill will make it harder for people in debt to declare bankruptcy – Half of American’s bankruptcy filings come about because of the financial consequences of medical problems. A lot of the reason why people get so stuck that they can’t pay back their debt has to do with how credit card companies operate. Oh, and the bill isn’t closing the loopholes that allow the rich to declare bankruptcy and keep their mansions, either. Drinks all around!