Sunday, December 30, 2007

Drunk Manhattanites and Elephants.

This was a funny NPR story. Click "Listen Now" to hear it.

"Not a damn person doesn't love elephants sir."

How many days will you be away from home for Christmas?

According to my poll:

66% said 0 days
33% said 4-5 days

Fascinating poll, eh?

Saturday, December 29, 2007

Queens of the Stone Age?

When I woke up this morning, I heard this playing on NPR and was pleasantly surprised. Go here and click "listen now."

Upcoming Movies

There are two movies I'm really excited about. One is Cloverfield and the other is The Dark Knight.

Check out The Dark Knight previews. The first one really gets me fired up for this movie:


Wednesday, December 19, 2007

Which Power Would You Rather Have?

According to my poll:

50% said flight
50% said invisibility

Friday, December 07, 2007

Poll Results.

My last poll, found under my profile picture on the right, just ended. The results of "Where would you rather live?" are:

Tucson, AZ - 16%
Pittsburgh, PA - 16%
Pasadena, CA - 16%
Toronto, Ontario - 16%

and the winner:

Zurich, Switzerland - 33%

Happy Birthday To Me.

It's my birthday today! Yay!

Thursday, December 06, 2007

The 60's Live.

How awesome is this picture?

Tuesday, December 04, 2007

Sunday, December 02, 2007

Friday, November 30, 2007

Done.

Check this out:


This means that I'm officially done and will graduate on December 15!

Interviews.

I had two phone interviews yesterday. One was for an industry position and one was for a faculty position. The interview for the industry position went well, especially considering it was my first "professional" interview. All of my previous interviews were for low-to-no skill jobs like McDonald's or a data entry job. There was talk at the end of the interview of having me visit the company.

The faculty interview didn't seem to go as smoothly. Maybe it was my limited teaching experience. A big sticking point was that, if I'm offered the job, they would want me to start in January, which means that I would have to move pretty soon.

In any case, I wasn't officially offered either job, so the hunt continues.

Saturday, November 24, 2007

Are You Enslaved?

Here's one more of today's good comics.

An Interesting Approach.

If all else fails, I may have to use this approach.

Friday, November 23, 2007

Goodbye Myspace.

Today I received a comment from Scott on my Myspace page. It turned out to be a phishing scam. So far Megan, Becky, and Scott have all had their Myspace accounts hacked, which is a significant fraction of my Myspace friends. I think it's time for me to delete my account. I never really go on Myspace anymore anyway... although that would mean I'll never be friends with Tila Tequila. Damn.

Wednesday, November 21, 2007

Sometimes I Feel This Way.

The title of this shirt from Threadless.com is F*ck It. Awesome.

Tuesday, November 20, 2007

Wednesday, November 14, 2007

Beer Review.

Blue Moon's Full Moon Winter Ale is pretty good. Give it a try.

Monday, November 05, 2007

No Writers On These Shows.

Now that I have been spending more time at home while I am looking for a job, I have also been watching more daytime tv. Out of everything on during the day, I really enjoy the judge shows, especially Judge Alex. I even find myself watching Judge Judy, even though I can't stand her.

I also get to catch COPS, always a great show, and The Price is Right with its new host, Drew Carey. Drew's great. He's one famous person I would really like to meet.

Saturday, November 03, 2007

America's Least Green States.

I just read this article and it ranked the "green-ness" of all the US states. The five at the bottom of the list are:

  • 45 - Kentucky
  • 46 - Mississippi
  • 47 - Louisiana
  • 48 - Alabama
  • 49 - Indiana
  • 50 - West Virginia


They are at the bottom of the list because they "all suffer from a mix of toxic waste, lots of pollution and consumption, and no clear plans to do anything about it." At the top of the list are:

  • 1 - Vermont
  • 2 - Oregon
  • 3 - Washington
  • 4 - Hawaii
  • 5 - Maryland


Michigan is near the middle at number 24. Why are Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana always at the bottom of every list? Do the people of these states just not care about anything?

Some People Are Just No Good At Problem Solving.

Today is the big LSU vs. Alabama football game in Tuscaloosa. I rode my bike through the chaos on campus so that I could workout at the student recreation center. It was utter madness. When I finally made it back home, I was about to put my key in the door when a girl dressed in Sunday-best asked if I would help her boyfriend put a keg in the back of their Jeep Wrangler so they can go tailgating. After riding up a very steep hill to get to my apartment, all I managed to get out was, "*huff* Sure. *puff* Let *huff* me *huff* just *puff* put *huff* my *puff* bike *puff* away."

I came back out of my apartment and proceeded to help the boyfriend, also dressed in his Sunday-best, put the keg in the Jeep. Their first idea was to put the keg (which weighs 160.5 pounds according to Wikipedia) in their Rubbermaid trashcan and then carry it out to the car. I suggested that we roll the keg to the car instead of carrying it. I was then told that "that's a good idea." It sounded like common sense to me. Once we made it to the car, the girl said that she wanted to put the keg standing up in the trashcan and suggested that we put it in and then lift it into the back of the Jeep. I then suggested that we put the trashcan in the car on its side, lift the keg sideways and slide it into the trashcan, then tilt the trashcan with the keg in it so that it's vertacle. They were both amazed at that idea. Again, I thought it was just common sense.

Both of these people are students here and they are a good example of the average student body.

Friday, October 26, 2007

The Dark Side.

So, I've given in to temptation. This blog is no longer free of advertising. If you look under the weather maps in the column on the right, you'll see text advertising from Google. I'm going to keep it on the blog for a while and see what kind of revenue it generates.

Tuesday, October 23, 2007

Saturday, October 20, 2007

The Job Search Begins.

I finally submitted my last two papers for publication and my dissertation is submitted to the graduate school. That means all that is left to do is actually look for a job!

Thursday, October 11, 2007

Reformat?!

I'm currently reformatting my entire dissertation so that it will conform to what the Graduate School wants. What a pain in the @$$!

Tuesday, October 09, 2007

Doctor.

I passed my dissertation defense yesterday! Woo Hoo!

Tuesday, August 28, 2007

Why Doesn't Everyone Have One?

This article says that the US has 90 guns per 100 people. That means that if you evenly distributed the guns in the US to every man, woman, and child, 1 out of 10 people WOULDN'T be packing.

It also said that 12% of those guns are registered with authorities. That means that only 11 of those 90 guns are registered, which also means that only 1 of those 9 people have a gun the authorities know about.

Sunday, August 19, 2007

More Joker Pictures.

Here's another scary drawing I found on the internet of the Joker:

Here are some recent pictures of Heath Ledger as the Joker in the upcoming film:


Friday, August 03, 2007

Summer of the Bridge.

According to this website, it seems like 27% of bridges in Alabama are either structurally deficient or functionally obsolete. In Michigan it's 28%.

Statistics are fun.

Thursday, August 02, 2007

If it ain't collapsin', don't fix it.

Would you pay more in taxes to fix America's aging infrastructure? Fox News' audience says no way. I guess a lot of people think that potentially collapsing bridges, exploding underground steam pipes, and failing levees aren't worth the cash to fix before they become problems.

I'm not a fan of Fox News, but I do like seeing the results of polls of their audience.

Saturday, July 28, 2007

Good Stuff.

This is the funniest thing I have seen in a long time.

Thursday, July 26, 2007

He Needs To Go.

As I said before, will someone please fire this guy?!

Saturday, July 21, 2007

Yup, that's irony.

From NPR:
The Golden State Fence Company was hired in the 1990s to build a stretch of fence along the California border. The purpose: to keep undocumented immigrants out. Now the president of the company faces jail time for knowingly hiring undocumented workers.

Can't Wait.

In 2008, the next Batman movie, titled The Dark Knight, will be released. I'm excited. In this story, Batman (Christian Bale) will square off against the Joker (Heath Ledger). The Joker portrayed by Ledger looks much darker and scarier than his previous incarnations, even the drawn ones. Check it out.

Here's a drawing of the Joker. It's the darkest and scariest I could find from a 3 second perusal of some google image search results:


Here's Cesar Romero as the Joker in the campy Batman tv show:


Here's Jack Nicholson as the Joker in the 1989 Batman movie:


Finally, here's Heath Ledger as the Joker in the upcoming movie. I love that his "smile" is actually scar tissue from, what looks to be, a nasty knife wound:

More Statistics.

I'm a numbers kinda guy and I like statistics. That is why you can find a lot of references in my blog to news articles containing rankings, statistics, polls, etc. Here's another one. This article said that 7% of people didn't rate faithfulness as very important in a relationship. This was a survey of 2020 people, which means that 141 people said it wasn't very important. Who are these people?

Also, only 12% of people surveyed said that sharing political beliefs was very important, while 49% said that sharing religious beliefs was very important. I guess people feel that tenuous, otherworldly phenomena are more important than real-world, life-altering policies.

Friday, July 13, 2007

It Doesn't Matter.

This BBC article said that the "US Senate has voted 87-1 to double the reward for the death or capture of al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden to $50m." According to this website, the per capita income of a person in Pakistan is $690. I think it's safe to assume that it's much less in Afghanistan. I don't think people making so little money were waiting for the US to increase its bounty before turning in Bin Laden. To them, there is no difference between $25m and $50m. It might as well be $1b. I don't think any amount of money is really going to matter when it comes to Bin Laden. Either people don't know there is a US bounty on his head, or they don't care. Either way, the Senate just wasted their time.

Beware of my huge head...

...and my tiny, stick-like legs!


Thursday, July 12, 2007

41%.

It's official, 41% of Americans are clueless. This article says so.

A Newsweek poll released last week found 41 percent of Americans still believe Saddam Hussein was directly involved in financing, planning or carrying out the September 11 attacks, though no such connection has been found.

Wednesday, July 11, 2007

Sounds About Right.

You Are 60% Cynical

Yes, you are cynical, but more than anything, you're a realist.
You see what's screwed up in the world, but you also take time to remember what's right.


Your Political Profile:

Overall: 25% Conservative, 75% Liberal

Social Issues: 25% Conservative, 75% Liberal

Personal Responsibility: 25% Conservative, 75% Liberal

Fiscal Issues: 25% Conservative, 75% Liberal

Ethics: 0% Conservative, 100% Liberal

Defense and Crime: 50% Conservative, 50% Liberal

Sicko.

I just got back from watching Michael Moore's Sicko and one of the points he makes really stuck with me. Why is just about everything socialized in the U.S. except for health care? Here is a quick list of some of the basic services that are socialized in the U.S.:

  • Police Department

  • Fire Department

  • Transportation Security Administration - the interesting thing is that after the Sept. 11th attacks, airport security was taken away from private companies and placed into government hands

  • K-12 Education - why it's limited to this education range, I'm not sure

  • Post Office - it's not completely paid for by tax money, but it's heavily subsidized and still cheaper than its private counterparts: FedEx, UPS, or DHL

  • Library - you can borrow books, movies, and music (even new stuff) instead of having to buy these things from stores

  • Military - I'm not sure this really counts as a socialized organization, but we don't hire our military from private companies (i.e. mercenaries) every time we want to fight a war. We do hire private companies, like Blackwater, to provide armed "security" though. Why they aren't considered mercenaries is beyond me.


Why is it okay to socialize these organizations and not health care? Would we be better off hiring private companies to protect us or fight our fires for profit like we let insurance and pharmacutical companies take care of our health for profit? Wouldn't we get better service from a private company's police force or fire department, or are we worried that the company might put profits ahead of what's important? Why is health care different?

Free Squishee.

Get a free 7.11 oz. sample of Blue Woo Hoo! Vanilla Squishee from 7-Eleven today.

Tuesday, July 10, 2007

Fire Him. Please.

I was just reading this article and I can't believe that Alberto Gonzales still has a job. Will someone fire this guy, please?! This guy has been caught red-handed lying to congress and lying about what he said to congress. The worst part is that Bush is trying to cover it up buy not letting aides testify about any wrongdoing in the firing of the federal prosecutors. Why are the American people letting Bush and Gonzales get away with that? Are we really that stupid?

Friday, June 29, 2007

A Little Sanity.

It looks like Mika Brzezinski tried to add a little credibility to an otherwise crappy morning news program. Kudos.




Who are these tools with her?

Saturday, June 23, 2007

My First Publication.

Last night, right before Becky and I were going to head out to dinner, I got an email saying that my first paper has been accepted by The Astronomical Journal. That's really exciting. I feel like a real scientist now. Now I have just 2 more to publish so I can graduate.

Friday, June 01, 2007

Free Donut.

You can get a free donut at Krispy Kreme today.

Thursday, May 31, 2007

Free $25 for the first 11 people.

If anyone wants to pick up a free $25 Visa debit card by signing up with a Sprint cell phone plan, like the SERO plan I just signed up for, leave your email address as a comment. I will email a referral to the first 11 people. If you write your email address as email(at)address.com you should be able to avoid those pesky spam-bots.

Wednesday, May 30, 2007

Phone Service Upgrade.

Well, I've finally done it. I decided to ditch the land phone line and go with only a cell phone. I read about a great deal on My Money Blog and decided to take advantage of it. Here's what I get: 500 minutes/month, nights and weekends start at 7p, unlimited text messaging, unlimited calls to anyone in the Sprint, Nextel, or Boost network; and unlimited data for my new Motorola Q phone for about $30/month. Also, this phone can be used as a modem for your laptop or desktop according to the Sprint site. What Sprint doesn't tell you, from what I've read on other sites, is that you have to purchase some software for the phone from them for about $40 to be able to use that feature. I've also read that software called PDAnet will also allow you to do the same thing for about $34. Does anyone know of a cheaper equivalent to this software?

Saturday, May 12, 2007

Netflix Downgrade.

I just downgraded our Netflix rental plan from 3 at-a-time (unlimited; $17.99/month) to 2/month ($4.99/month). I did this partly because I feel like getting 2 movies at a time (my share of the plan) is a bit much for me and I'm not getting my money's worth. I also feel like I should be doing more work and reading more books. I even have 2 computer games that I haven't even opened yet. These are all secondary reasons though. I mostly wanted to downgrade because I recently rediscovered the public library. I'm amazed at the dvd selection the library has. They not only have a lot of interesting documentaries but also a lot of Hollywood movies... and recent ones too. Best of all you can borrow them for a week for free! Just recently, I borrowed 16 Blocks starring Mos Def and Bruce Willis. Our library even has The Alien Quadrilogy! We also get "rent one, get one free" coupons from Blockbuster every so often, so I don't think we'll miss out on any new releases.

Tuesday, May 08, 2007

Thursday, May 03, 2007

Pictures of Oulu, Finland.

Here are some pictures I took of Oulu, Finland.

This is a lake near my friend's (Raine's) apartment, where I stayed.












Here's Raine hard at work in the living room.


These are pictures of a concert we went to at the best bar in Oulu, 45 Special. The band is called Viikate (Scythe, in English).

















May 1st is Vappu, a national holiday in Finland. The college students have a hazing ritual for the first year students that culminates on the day before Vappu with a "baptism" in one of the rivers in downtown Oulu. After having lunch downtown, we went to the park to check out the festivities.

Here's my friend A.J. trying to look suave.


Here's Raine giving the horns of satan.


Here's Pertti doing the same.


The divers didn't show up yet, so the "baptisms" took place in a pool filled with river water instead of the river itself. The scaffolding had a collapsible platform for the students to sit on. It was then released, sending the person into the pool of frigid water.













The divers finally show up and they are now setting up the slide for the real "baptisms."















I was told this says, "the police are your friends!"


After the festivities, we met up with some of Raine and Pertti's friends and went to a bar and played cards.

From left to right are Pia, Kari's girlfriend (I forgot her name, sorry), and Kimmo.


From left to right are Kari, Raine, Pertti, and A.J.


Here's my friend Eero.







This is Raine's good friend, Jyrki (I think that's how you spell it).