So So Ghetto
I've upgraded to MT 3.2. I'm having issues importing my old entries. I'll probably focus on that before playing with the CSS and templates.
December 18, 2005
December 17, 2005
Two Roads Diverged in a Yellow Wood
A formerly full yellow moon hangs low in the sky. I bask it its glow for a moment and reflect on the days and weeks past. Lately my thoughts have been focused on the future Ð my future. Four graduate school applications have been fully submitted, only two more to go. Inside, I feel like IÕm about to graduate high school again, and the whole world is open to me again. All schools and states are possibilities; all programs lead me to an exciting future Ð in my imagination. Slowly, however, doubt begins to creep up on me. In this case, itÕs not doubt of my ability to choose a school and complete a grad program, but the doubt of whether or not itÕs the right decision to go at all.
Why? Why the doubt? IÕve already come to the conclusion that I cannot stay in my current job forever, and that I value intellectual freedom and the feeling that I am contributing to society in a way that eventually may leave a mark on the world. Unfortunately, warm fuzzy feelings do not pay the bills. A Ph. D. program is a 5 year commitment, with a high probability of 2+ years as a Postdoctoral Fellow just before getting a Òreal jobÓ. 7 years down the road is further than IÕve had to think. Ever.
After that, who knows what the future holds. The standard voices are speaking to me both internally and externally. ÒYou should be buying a house!Ó ÒYou should be traveling and having fun and partying and living your life now!Ó ÒYou should be dancing!Ó ÒJust get an industry job, or go work for a law firm!Ó ÒYouÕll be fine!Ó The voice that wins out every time is the one telling me to invest in myself, get a degree so IÕll have more options down the road. ItÕs a high price to pay, both in terms of dollars and hours. As rewarding as science is at times, it can be frustrating as well. Is it really worth putting so many years of my life into something that in the end might not pay me a great salary?
Maybe.
The problem with graduate programs in the sciences in general is that they train you to think scientifically, ask questions, and write grants. Basically you are groomed to become a university professor. The job options beyond that are not actively promoted, but they do exist, and they pay much better than academia, but would I still be happy? Only one way to find out, I suppose.
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I--
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
December 15, 2005
Courtyard Pomeranian
On Sunday afternoon, walking back towards 14th Street from DuPont Circle Tom and I spotted this cute little Pomeranian locked behind bars with no owner in sight. Also, the dog was less than interested in the two of us. I think the best description I've heard is:
"If it was possible, that dog would be smoking."
December 14, 2005
Tis the Season for Pimpin' Hos
I've got a collection of interesting images I captured while in DC and this is the first in the series. I call this "Santa Pimp and his Ho Ho Ho". I wonder if he ever got a cab. I wonder what kind of party they were heading to at 2 PM on Saturday. One thing's for sure: Bitch betta have my money!
December 13, 2005
Bartender Vixen
Here is the lovely and talented Amber, our bartender on Saturday night for Blowoff. She kept me and many others nice and drunk for the entire evening. Somehow I managed to get another great shot of her near the end of the night, and I think it looks even better in black and white.
December 12, 2005
Weekend Wrap-Up
My little car knows the way to Washington, D.C. these days doesn't it? Luckily I was able to fix my iPod just in time so I wouldn't have to resort to the old-fashioned CD. Friday night was drinks followed by sushi. These little guys were almost too cute to eat. Almost. Tom and I ate sushi and drank sake until we almost burst.
Saturday we went shopping for trendy t-shirts, and then to Resluts Results to work out. I tweaked my hamstring a bit on the smith machine but I stretched a lot and it's not bothering me anymore. Dinner was at the Old Ebbitt Grill, just across the street from the White House. That's quite a place! It feels very old world classic and we had a fantastic dinner including the Oyster Platter
After dinner we walked over to view the National Christmas Tree, along with throngs of other people. We literally had to weave in and out of the crowd to get anywhere. This was just a quick stop on our evening tour. Next stop: Cocktail Party! Not that we didn't already split a bottle of wine, plus a cocktail, plus a digestive at dinner... Bring on the signature drink. Peppermint Martini
= Absolute Peppar + Creme de Menthe + Candycane. Pretty? Yes. Delicious? No so much. I could have suffered through, but was offered mercy in the form of Champagne. The Christmas Spirit sines through!!!!
We couldn't stay at the party too long, it was almost time for Blowoff. Quick costume change and off we scurried to the Nightclub 9:30 backbar (which is more like underground-bar, but whatev). Bunquitia at the door stamped us with some nasty blue ink that I still am trying to scrub off and we said hello to the DJ's for the night, Bob Mould and Rich Morel.
The evening was a lot lot lot of fun fun fun. I will put up a gallery album of photos I took from the weekend that will include many (not all) of the paparazzi photos I took while too drunk to notice people being annoyed. Many a DC blogger was in attendance, and I'll try to remember who everybody is.
Sunday we had brunch at Cafe Luna, did a stroll around DuPont Circle, and then it was time for me to meet Assmunch and the family in Virginia. We ate noodles, and then I zipped my way home. Luckily, I only hit 15 minutes of traffic due to some accident involving a super-stretch Cadillac Escalade limo. Now I am tired and need sleep.
I'm not eating that!
Tonight the roommate bought a pork loin from the "ehSuper ehStop and ehShop". She calls me to the kitchen saying, "Come look at what I cooked for dinner!" I walk in the kitchen and say, "I am NOT eating Horse Cock for dinner."
*giggles*
Feel free to offer up your best caption.
December 08, 2005
Not another broken iPod
My first iPod was the First Generation 10 GB model, right after it was released. I used it every day at work. I loved it. And then, it had that obnoxious battery issue that they're now famous for having. Luckily, I moved to NY and had access to an Apple Store. The SoHo store hooked me up with a replacement, and that lasted all of 6 months, and then the Huntington store replaced it again, due to freaky battery/restarting issues. And then, THEN, the Play/Pause button stopped working completely. I gave up and bought a refurbished 3G 10GB iPod, which I'm still using... until yesterday. It had been acting up, and the center select button was less than responsive. Then it quit registering, and it's a solid state device. I figure I'm screwed, again.
I'm kind of enraged that I've broken 2 of these gizmos so far, so I figure what the hell, it's broken and wont be fixed for free, so I'm cracking this thing open. I go on the web and find a really helpful video from the folks at Other World Computing that gave me step-by-step instructions to open the case. I didn't have their fancy little tool, so I used a piece of wedge shaped plastic we had in the lab. It's quite a piece of engineering inside that little thing. The HD is tiny, the battery is tiny, it's all teeny-tiny! And now they have a Nano?
I take out the HD and notice that the software actually still works, which was surprising. Cool! But, the button still doesn't work. I can't see anything that's obviously burnt out or damaged, so I rub my finger all over the inside of it, on all the little capacitors and chips and everything. The little box made a bunch of squeaky chirping noises, and I turned it over to find that the button works again! Wheee! So I put it back together and everything's happy now!
Kiiiiick-Aaaasssss!
December 07, 2005
Did Someone Say Sunset?
Last week Jerry posted a photo of a cool sunset he photographed on his way home. This was the sunset yesterday from the window in the lab. I've got to put some photos up on Flickr one of these days.
In other news, this blog may disappear at some point next week due to site maintenance. I'm so so sick of getting bombarded with comment and trackback spam. My last attempt seems to have rendered the Blacklist plugin I use completely useless. It's not happening this weekend because I'll be travelling again, impending snowstorms notwithstanding.
December 06, 2005
Nor' Easter #1
As predicted, the north shore of Long Island received about 4 inches of snow. It's heavy and wet and will mostly melt into slushy mess during the day today, with our 38 degree high temperatures. I dug out my car and did some half-assed shoveling of the front porch and driveway. It wasn't really necessary, but I looked at it like a warm up for the predicted storm for Friday. I need good karma so I can get the heck outta dodge. I have places to be!
December 04, 2005
Bowl Game? What? Who?
*Godfather Theme on my Cell Phone*
>>>Josh Calling<<<
Hidden so Donor doesn't get spoiled...
Me: Yo! 'Sup?
Josh: Outback Bowl, baby! I'm buying the tickets, get your flight tonight. I'll see you in Tampa Bay.
*click*
Me: WTF?!?!
December 03, 2005
For real?
This evening I'm chilling out at home, watching some TV and surfing the web. I read this blurb on Slashdot about the Forbes Fictional 15 richest individuals. Santa is #1, Daddy Warbucks is #2, etc... I start with Daddy Warbucks and it's got a fictional biography listing his education as: SUNY Stony Brook. Uh-huh, I'm sure.
December 01, 2005
Found Artifacts
I did find one other picture when freeing up hard drive space. I bet that very few people who read this blog have seen it before. If you have and you're out there, leave a comment and let me know. Shield your eyes because this photo is overexposed and scratched up.
High School Graduation, May 1996. School colors are Purple and Grey. The white neck thing on Marianne and I is for having a high enough GPA, and the gold cord is for National Honor Society. The pin on Diogo's robe is because he's from Portugal. What a freaky thing to find on your computer at work.