Right on the Money

Hey, remember way back when I said Google was evil? Well, that's proving itself to be true again. This time the great innovator is cutting deals with Verizon, essentially giving the finger to any hopeful entrepreneur with the next great idea. You know, like Google.

I'm not alone in thinking that Google is being kind of a dick. They're buying into the corporate viewpoint of making money. Not that there's anything wrong with that, but this feels like a knife in the back coming from a company that has its roots in smalltime internet. Tiering the internet is a horrible idea. Seeing Google partner with Verizon against net neutrality (another company for which I have no warm and fuzzy feelings) is even worse.

When Google comes for your first-born, don't say I didn't warn you.

Growing Old

On Friday I turned 21. 20 years of living in Ohio, although I've been doing it part time for 3 years now. I went to get my license renewed last weekend, and the woman at the BMV asked the standard questions: criminal record, driving impediments, etc. When we got to state of birth, I said I wasn't born in Ohio. Which is true; I was born in Philadelphia. The woman said she'd thought my accent sounded strange. The next question was how long I'd been living in Ohio. Well, 20 years. The woman's response? Must have come from my parents. I let it go. Not worth pointing out that my mom is from Maine, and my dad was born in Akron and grew up in San Diego.

But it did get me thinking. I don't always sound like an Ohioan. Especially since I've been spending 3/4 of the past three years in Maine. I've picked up a few dialectical specialties from Maine: "ayup," for example. When I work at the campus bookstore, I don't talk like a Midwesterner. One of my friends consistently thought I was from New York/New Jersey, which I don't know how to explain; he just thought I seemed like a person from that area. Another friend insists that I'm from Detroit, but that's more of a joke.

Telling people I'm from Cincinnati - which I do because no one remembers Mason - is always an adventure. I get the usual questions about how I found Colby, about being so far away from home. Occasionally I get questions about where Ohio is. New Englanders are nice, but their sense of the geography of the rest of the US is fuzzy at best. After a while, I get tired of these questions. Easier to let people make assumptions about where I'm from.

Huh. This was intended to be a post about being 21. Looks like it turned into something else. I'll save the "holy shit I'm legal" talk for some other time, I guess. Well, here's some music in the meantime.

Blinking in the light

I haven't posted in a while. Too long. So, here's some life updates, and some fun links at the end to keep you engaged.

Right now I'm finishing the second month of my internship at CDC/NIOSH. This is what I've been doing. It's not too bad, and it certainly pays well. In the meantime, I've been reading, playing video games, applying to veterinary schools, taking the GRE, and not sleeping enough. Essentially it's just like school, but without the work.

So I turn 21 in a week...that's pretty weird. The plan is to splurge on nice stuff at Jungle Jim's, and break into the world of legal drinking as a change from the world of college drinking. And then, you know, go back to school and drink cheap beer for another year. At least I'll have my gin to keep me company, right?

WRONG. Colby banned hard alcohol on campus. Whoa. So the line from campus security is that students who are over 21 can have hard alcohol, but they have to keep it on the downlow, and no providing underage students with liquor. I'm waiting for a few weeks before taking the chance. Especially since I live in a substance free dorm where alcohol is expressly forbidden. Ah well.

So that's pretty much it for the life updates. Some quick book reviews. Read Bill Bryson. Read everything he's ever written. When you've finished with that, read The Possessed, and learn all about Russian literature, and a lot else besides. Finally, read The Lonely Polygamist for a fictional take on life in Utah.

I have more, but I'll save them. Now some music.



That's it for now. More frequent updates possibly in the future.

I'm just here for the music

Free Camera Obscura concert at Fountain Square. If you don't go to Fountain Square Friday evenings for the rest of the summer, you're missing out. Just saying.

Fringe: Weird, Like You

I went down to OTR last night for a nice Fringe Kick-Off Party, which featured the Art Academy of Cincinnati along with a couple bands (saw Messerly and Ewing, and if you've never seen an electric ukulele played before, you're missing out). Basically it was as much fun as I've ever had downtown, and it cost all of five bucks. Fringe might be one of my new favorite things about Cincinnati, and all I've seen is the opening act.

Also, Camera Obscura, free concert at Fountain Square on Friday. I'll be there.

Well then...

A couple of months ago I tried making root beer in my dorm room. It's pretty simple: yeast, sugar, water, and extract. Unfortunately, I let it ferment too long, and ended up with a slightly alcoholic mess. At some point I want to try again.

Right now, though, I'll have to settle for IBC. I've made sort of a habit of trying different root beers that I come across, with the most eclectic being "Old Soaker," made in Bar Harbor. There are quite a few tiny breweries in Maine, I've discovered, and some that are not so tiny. It's a big plus that I'll be 21 next year, and able to sample a full range of products, instead of just the root variety.

Update Update Update!

So I'm not sure if anybody is still reading this, but I feel the need to rant, so I'm going to.

Allow me to describe the past couple days in excruciating detail:

Wednesday, 5:30: After a quick dinner, go to pull truck (borrowed) around to where we need it to load set pieces for the play going up Friday night.
Wednesday, 6:00: Realize the truck is not in the parking lot where I was sent to find it. Go to different lot, find truck.
Wednesday, 6:15: Truck does not start; battery is dead. Pop hood, call security, wait for help.
Wednesday, 6:20: Security alerts me that they will not be there for at least a half hour. Start to call around, get friend already at theater to drive back.
Wednesday, 6:30: Jump the truck using cables conveniently stowed in the bed. Drive to theater. Realize the bed cover needs to come off; four sticking bolts later, success. Load oversized fake fireplace, attempt to drive to theater downtown where the play will be performed.
Wednesday, 6:50: Jump truck again, using a different car and different cables. Drive downtown, unload set piece, get in costume. Rehearsal, etc.

Suffice to say the rehearsal did not go too well.

Wednesday, 10:00: Drive back to campus; mercifully, no more troubles starting the truck. Get slightly lost on the way back, but Waterville is tiny enough that finding campus is easy.
Wednesday, 11:00: Finish reattaching bed cover in dark; park truck in the lot it was supposedly in in the first place.
Wednesday, 11:30: Suffer minor breakdown after kicking roommate, roommate's girlfriend, and other friends out of room. Check email on whim, find rejection letter from OSU summer research program. Go over lines, read "Life of Biff" until falling asleep.

Thursday, 8:00: Asleep, skipping work.
Thursday, 9:30-1:30: Class, lab, research, etc. Bacterial conjugation to transfer antibiotic resistance.
Thursday, 2:00: Outside in sun doing crossword. Best part of the day.
Thursday, 3:15: Throwing baseball with friends. Also fun.
Thursday, 4:15: More loading of set pieces, riding downtown. One piece is too big to transport in the truck; swap it out for narrower but just as tall piece.
Thursday, 5:30: Makeup!
Thursday, 6:30: Drive downtown; stop on the way for ice cream. Close second for best part of the day.
Thursday, 6:45-10:15: Rehearse lines while set for play is being built. Walk to pizza parlor (in costume) at 9:00, get take-out for cast. Piece of veggie pizza constitutes dinner.
Thursday, 10:15-12: Final dress rehearsal. Goes well.

Friday, present time: Writing, ranting, bitching. I'm very stressed, and I normally don't get very stressed. I need sleep, and lots of it, and I won't be getting it. I'll be skipping work again, for an extra two hours, but I still have homework, and class, and lab. And then a performance.

Once that's all over with, I can start concentrating on things like student government commitments, and ornithology research projects (feeding habits of hairy and downy woodpeckers, since you asked), and all sorts of other things that I've been ignoring for the past few days. Now I'm going to crawl into bed and not come out until I feel like I can go in public without being mean to everyone I encounter.

Also, consider this my whiniest post EVER. I'm posting this because I wrote it, and because I honestly do feel as stressed as I ever have. But never again, I hope.

More Late Night Ramblings

I made the mistake of drinking coffee at 10 tonight. In consequence, I am now unable to go to sleep. I also have no desire to do work. As a result, I am blogging for the first time in roughly three months.

Which, incidentally, means that it's March, which is a scary fact. Time passes way too quickly for my liking. Winter is almost over, which is nice; we've been getting weirdly lousy weather for the past week (lots of almost-snow that becomes rain), but soon it will be consistently warm again. Unfortunately, with the passing of winter comes the work and the constant busyness.

I am currently in the process of internalizing some 300 Greek terms for a class in Bioscientific Terminology; by the end of the class, I will have to know roughly 2000 Greek and Latin terms. This is slightly intimidating. I am also in the process of memorizing the skeletal and muscular structures of a bird. This is slightly less intimidating and more cool, but it does have a small intimidation factor.

In addition to these classes (Bioscientific Terminology and Ornithology) is Physics; the professor is crazy and the topics are not the easiest ever, which makes for a fun time indeed. Still, it's electricity (we covered capacitors and circuits today), which actually is fun. To me.

The last academic commitment eating my life is the microbiology research I'm doing; this has a very significant cool factor and is less intimidating, at least until I realize that it's a 10-15 hour a week job. At least the time spent working justifies the 5 credits I'm getting for it.

Other commitments remain the same; BMR, SGA, work at the bookstore and radio station, Chorale, acting in Mousetrap (an Agatha Christie play), and so on and so forth. I was going to start attending a wood carving workshop that meets once a week, but so far something has come up each week and I haven't been able to go yet.

But enough of me whining about my life (or lack thereof). I have at least been able to enjoy some pleasure reading, which has mostly consisted of John Irving's newest novel, "Last Night in Twisted River." The writing is simple; the plot is slightly ludicrous; nevertheless, I'm enjoying it. There are several other books vying for my attentions, such as Joshua Ferrell and Ian McEwans' newest.

Intramural sports are over for the time being; my last game of broomball left me with a contusion on my shin that's lasted about a week. Soccer starts soon enough, as does softball.

Plans for the summer are proceeding; I have applications in for research positions at several schools, a foot in the door at my old job with NIOSH, and possibly a research slot here at Colby, although I haven't seriously thought about that one yet. I keep looking at jobs here, which all seem really cool, but I don't think I'm quite qualified yet.

Anyway, I seem to be getting tired, so I'll cut this short. Which is good, since it seems to be a rather boring post.

It's a new dawn, it's a new day

And more importantly, it's a new year. 2010. The start of a new decade, the end of the old. 2009 is behind, 2010 ahead.

It's going to be a good year. Oh yes. That's my resolution: Make 2010 a good year. That's the extent of it. How about you?

Exam Fun

Learning about photosynthesis for probably the fourth time in as many years. It's still not too much fun. Also enzyme kinetics, which are even less fun. Oh, and there's an exam in nine hours. So that's fun...

Thank G-d for Thanksgiving. This year, I'm thankful for a vacation. Taking four or five days to hide in a warm bed with history books and American Gods. That's basically going to be my Thanksgiving break. And there is nothing wrong with that.

The hiatus temporarily ends

And I post again. A few updates on life in general:

1.) I am done with extracurriculars for the semester. BMR performed; Macbeth was staged; Chorale sang. I am now free of obligations most evenings. Which is glorious.

2.) This appears to be the semester when things start to go right. Knock on wood...but I have A's in every class at the moment. Which is also glorious.

3.) Having free time, I have begun reading for pleasure again. Right now I'm making my way through "Citizens of London" and "The Magicians." I read Michael Chabon's new book, "Manhood for Amateurs" at work over the past two weeks, and I've started Terry Pratchett's new book, "Unseen Academicals." How that man can pump out a quality book every year and a half or so is beyond me.

4.) Life, in short, is pretty good right now. Chronic frustrations occasionally crop up, but over all things are good. I'm looking forward to Thanksgiving, and shortly after that, break.

5.) Speaking of break, it's close to winter-like here. We had our first snowfall last week - two inches that stayed for about a day and a half before melting. Now we're being tortured with a few days of 60 degree weather, before we inevitably plunge into single digits.

6.) But I'll be nice and warm this winter, since I'll be spending January in a microbiology research lab. Happiness is two kinds of agar.

7.) I think that's about it. More as I remember it.

So sue me

New Avett Brothers album came out the other day; I think it's great. Other reviews are good as well.

It's nice to see them get some mainstream recognition, even as I resort to being an indie snob (I liked them BEFORE they were big).

In other news...I was reelected to the student government association, this time as dorm president of West Quad. It was a close race. I auditioned for and got a smallish role (Ross) in Macbeth, which will be performed the fourth weekend of October (the 23 and 24). BMR is chugging along as always; Chorale features a new director and an interesting new direction.

That's about it.

Oh, and I cut my hair. And when I say this, I mean REALLY cut it. Like this:


So yeah. Anyway, just getting that picture up took 20 minutes. Stupid old camera and stupid lack of drivers. Good thing I keep a backup Yahoo account around for spammers.

School is Fun Now

All through high school, classes were something I usually regarded with apathy. I was going to learn regardless, but I wasn't necessarily going to enjoy it. Now, though, I look forward to my classes. Not only am I going to learn something, but I'm going to enjoy learning it. Take physics. In high school, physics sucked. I'm not naming any specific reasons, but take my word for it. In college, physics is pretty awesome. The professor is enthusiastic, and the class pays attention. No card games are involved.

After a few days of classes, I'm enjoying being back on campus. It's odd that a good chunk of my friends have graduated, but I'm dealing. I've taken a part in a week-long production of Grease, as Sonny (beg pardon if you don't know who that is; I didn't either, having never seen the play or the movie). Suffice to say that I'm not John Travolta (or Olivia Newton-John).

A friend is directing a production of Macbeth this fall that I may try out for as well. As always, I will be doing BMR; I will be running for dorm president next week. I'm working for the bookstore and for the school radio station this year, as music director for blues, country, gospel and soul. I now receive CDs from less well known artists with personal notes enclosed.

On to some less related issues...

iTunes has introduced "Genius Mixes," which as far as I can tell is an attempt to order shuffle by genre. Which is unfortunate, since iTunes assigns genres fairly inaccurately.

Enough for now. I'm happy enough listening to the Beatles sing "Sie Liebt Dich."

Summer winds down

Finished working today. This marks the first summer I have not worked two jobs. It also marks the first summer I wasn't making minimum wage. I'm moving up in the world!

I now have until September 3rd before I head back to Maine; classes start September 9th. Plans are not concrete, but do include a trip to Chicago for the last four days of August. Go Megabus!

The usual bitching about my fantasy squad: hitting is on fire; my pitching staff is having a meltdown. Which is frustrating, considering the quality of the pitchers I have. So it should turn around...hopefully. I'm not excited about a third-place finish.

For the next week, before heading to Chi-town, I am planning on doing a lot of reading, and a lot of sleeping. Also some general hanging out, and definitely hitting Jungle Jim's before leaving. Once I get inside, I can still forget that the outside is horribly like a strip mall.

I have far too many books to read. I finished "Fool," the latest from Christopher Moore. If you haven't read it, and enjoy King Lear, read it. If not, pick up "The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal." It's hilarious. Next on the agenda is "Shadow and Light," a noir mystery set in Weimar Berlin. One of the characters is Fritz Lang. Need I say more?

I'm also perpetuating my love of war histories with "The Day of Battle," the second of Rick Atkinson's fantastic trilogy about the North African/European theater of World War II. This one's about the battles for Sicily and Italy, and is a fascinating read. To me, at least.

I also plan on rereading Italo Calvino's "If on a winter's night a traveler," because it's a great read. Just sayin'.

Anyway, that's it from me. Enjoy some music, on me.

Happiness Measured Through...Bloggers?

It's true. A new metric has been developed that analyzes blogs (as well as song lyrics and speeches, such as presidential State of the Union addresses) to determine the average mood of the nation. Read about it here.

Interesting things to take away:

Teenagers are the most unhappy bloggers, according to the study, using negative words like "mad" and "fat."

Michael Jackson has positive lyrics.

Notable days of depression include the fifth anniversary of 9/11 and June 25, or the day MJ died. Days of higher than average happiness include Christmas and Valentine's Day (although both have negative words associated with them).

It's interesting, at least.

Wait a minute

It's August? I don't remember approving that. There are now three weeks of work left, and a month between now and my flight back to Maine.

In other, tangential news, my fantasy baseball team is struggling to overcome third place malaise. I have no points from either saves or stolen bases, and I'm not likely to get any. My hitters lead the league in RBI, runs and homeruns, which is a constant surprise to me (second in batting average). My pitching staff, normally solid each year, leads in wins but has of late taken hits to ERA and WHIP. I've got a nifty 73 points usually, but the teams ahead of me keep flirting with 80 points. I was in first back in June for a bit, but it didn't last. Trying to trade outfielders (I'm overstocked) for starting pitching with low ERA and WHIP, but I don't know if that'll work. Anyway...

Got a shortwave radio for my birthday. It's pretty awesome (see the picture above). So far I've picked up broadcasts from Cuba, Venezuela, China, Taiwan, and Romania, to name a few. Most have English broadcasts, so I'm not left guessing. Apparently the BBC doesn't broadcast to North America via shortwave anymore. I'm disappointed.

That's about it for now. I'm still hoping that the government can turn out decent healthcare reform, but pessimism is slowly creeping up on that hope. More later.

It's My Birthday

On this day, I transcend being a teenager and enter my third decade of life. Odd how I don't feel any more mature.

Incidentally, on the 20th, when the rest of the world (or the US, at least) was celebrating the anniversary of the moon landing, I was commemorating my Bar Mitzvah, seven years ago. Good times.

Enjoy some music.

And the winner is...

I have found my replacement for Seeqpod. It won't serve the searching function, but it will give me a chance to hear all sorts of new music. And I can download that music. So I'll stop pining for Seeqpod (momentarily), and give this a try. And possibly create some of my own mixes.

I swear I'm alive

I kind of forgot about this for, what, two or three months? Oops. Well, a quick mid-summer update.

Working for CDC/NIOSH down on Columbia Parkway. Fun, interesting, and a desk job. Getting used to sitting still for long periods of time. And not having kittens around. Also enjoying not working two jobs for the first time ever.

Halfway done with college. Not thinking about it. Not thinking about it. Moving on...

Attempts to avoid boredom this summer are uniformly unsuccessful. Actually find myself missing school, which is a phenomenon I am thoroughly uncomfortable with.

Read "Nation," my first new Terry Pratchett read in quite a while. It was good. I also finished it in an afternoon. Oops. "Tomato Rhapsody," by Adam Schell, is entertainingly Shakespearean, and a good read in general.

Saw "Up," thought it was great, although sad at parts. Trying to watch through Firefly by the end of the summer, while also not finishing the series in two days. About halfway through now.

And that's about it. Family goes on vacation without me in two weeks, which is fine by me.

More when events merit (read: when back at school).

In which I pass judgement

Saw Star Trek last night. Loved it. Sat there for the majority of the film with a goofy grin on my face, just enjoying the movie. Unbelievable. All the inside jokes were there, and even the Vulcan nerve pinch makes an appearance. Fan-freaking-tastic.

Seeing a AA baseball game tonight in Portland. Had my last classes this morning. Writing one last paper due at four pm tomorrow, then three finals. Then DONE. For now, working at the bookstore. Soon, though, I will be free. Free!