SOPA/PIPA
Let those who sre suppose to be representing us that the Stop Online Piracy Act and Protect IP Act aren’t in our best interest.
Zip Code 98072
Zip Code 98125
Zip Code 98195
Zip Code 85295
or visit http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:CongressLookup?zip=xxxxx, replacing xxxxx with your zip code to find out how to contact your representatives.
Saying goodbye to 2011
Twenty-eleven has come and gone and looking back, I have been woefully inactive in the space. Had I waited another week, it would have been a year since my last update. In the past, this would be the point when I would offer apologies followed by a vow to try and do better. I know myself, however, and I know that no matter what I say, this space is likely to be ignored because that is just who I am. I don’t say much and when I do, it is neither profound or insightful so I tend to keep it to myself. I don’t think I will ever close down this space, as I do enjoy having a bit of the web to call my own, but I do not ever expect it to reach a point where I must divest a good portion of time to see to its upkeep and maintenance.
So here is to my second post of 2011 and when next I see you, a new year will have dawned.
Thoughts on my first official conference as a graduate student
First off, I am not mean enough for the DC area. While I have been to the DC area once or twice as a child, I was just that, a child and I was buffered from the reality of DC by my grandparents and the safety of their van. I didn’t have much trouble making it from my terminal to the metro. I believe I was even fairly successful in determining the route I needed to take to get to my destination. Where I did experience trouble was in determining wether the listed price was for my total trip, including a transfer from the Blue line to the Orange line. The lady at the metro stand wasn’t much help either. She appeared as if she hated her job and as if answering the questions of weary travelers was the last place she wanted to be. I know it is easier said than done, but if you don’t enjoy dealing with customers or providing them with a satisfactory experience, then you would be best to seek employment outside of the field of customer service.
By Jupiter’s Cock!
When first I began watching Spartacus: Blood and Sand, I felt it uninspired; an ill-concieved guise of cinematic bloodshed to cover what appeared to be little more than cock, and breasts and love-making. Each episode contained more nudity than an issue of playboy and sexual exploits to put Emmanuelle1 to shame. What follows is a discussion of my journey through the first season of Blood and Sand. It contains strong language and imagery that some may find offensive. But like the series, this is done in hopes of portraying a factual representation of the events that occurred. (more…)
First Year Down
More quickly than I would have anticipated, the first year of my graduate career has come to a close. What that means for me is that I no longer have to be plagued by the dual (or triple) task of research and class (or TAing, with any luck). It wasn’t bad until this past spring quarter when I actually began to spend more time in the lab. Seeing everyone else working, I wanted to work too and before I knew it, class had ceased to be this daily ritual that I enjoyed, but rather this chore that continually interrupted more important work to be done in the lab. With one small exception, I can now proudly say that shall no longer be the case. I finished a revision for my term paper, due Wednesday and as of this moment, I am a free man. My time is now my own, the spend in the lab as I see fit.
A good thing, too, as I’ll be getting a student to mentor for the summer and possibly more in the fall. It is an experience that I’m looking forward to. One of the things that I need to work on during these next four years are my managerial skills so the sooner I get my minions, the better. If I can find one enamored with organic synthesis, all the better, as I might be able to place all of that work on them, following some training. Which means that I will have to learn more organic synthesis than I currently do. That is something I’m not looking forward to, but I am stoked about the Steglich Esterification I’ll be doing next week. If all goes well, I’ll get my desired ester using a much simpler, and much more to my like, process than the two other proposed ways.
On a side note, I have a couch bum. I refer to him as a bum only because they have spent nearly the last month complaining about having no job while doing little (that I’ve been able to witness) to remedy the situation. Even a temporary outage of our internet connection wasn’t enough to get them out of the house and away from the slavebox. They simply changed to playing a game that was equally as fun on single-player mode as they multiplayer games they are now back to playing. What amazes me is that I stopped rooming with said individual over two years ago because of similar behavior. To think, well over two years later and there has been absolutely no growth at all. It really saddens me.
Charlese
Every now and then I go tooling around youtube. This is usually brought on by a desire to hear a specific song that I haven’t yet added to my library and I invariably get caught up in listening to covers of the intended song. Tonight was such a night and Moondance was the song I sought to delight my ears with. Being such an iconic song by Van Morrison
That is how I stumbled across Charlese, a British vocalist wishing to make a name for herself. The composition was simple, her vocals accompanied by an acoustic guitar played by Matthew Shaw. It wasn’t overworked or over done and I admit that I found it more engaging than the version by Mr. Bublé. Charlese has a deep, throaty sorta sensual sound that easily lends itself to a smokey (or not so smokey, given the times) jazz club in a hole-in-the-wall dive that everyone visits to hear the best music in town. If you don’t believe me, visit charlese.co.uk for yourself and give her a listen. (more…)
EBTG: Low Tide of the Night
There are times when you hear a song and it just seems to resonate so well with your current situation that you would swear that the lyricists peaked into your mind to find inspiration. That is how I feel about Low Tide of the Night by Everything But the Girl. Off of their album, Temperamental
When you’re down and troubled
You don’t tell you friends
You don’t tell your family
I won’t let them talk about me
I’m gonna let nobody down
It is as if, at that moment, we are both living our lives not for ourselves, but because we feel obligated to do so out of loyalty to our friends and family. We endure the pain, put on our mask and play the role that is expected of us so as to keep others from talking about us. As if we know that the talk won’t bring help, but only more pain and ridicule for being being weak or broken or just not right in the head. We have given over to altruism, leading a painful and thankless existence so that others may continue theirs unburdened. ”I’m gonna let nobody down,” except for myself.
But in the end it is worth it as you don’t force others to question if they did all that they could have. You don’t force them to doubt their actions, to wonder what more they could have done. (more…)
