05/19/10 @ 6:04PM EST
posted by will

It's just a coincidence. This doesn't make any sense to me. Two related incidences are unrelated, then why are they coincidences???

From OED:

And Dictionary.com:

Co-ed(ucation): Education of the two sexes together in school or college.
Co-inhabit: To dwell together.
Co-operate: to work or act together or jointly for a common purpose or benefit.
Co-worker: One who works with another; a fellow worker.

Anyone have an explanation for this nonsense?

I shot then he died
Now that's a coincidence
It's cause and effect

Godspeed.

[Comments: 0][Tags: ranting]

04/06/10 @ 12:16PM EST
posted by will

Apparently, proper nouns are good in Scrabble now. "Place names, people's names and company names or brands will now count."  This is just an additional variant, but still I mock.  (Unlike Science Scrabble, which is undeniably flawless.)

I don't have any intention of using this new rule, but I'll still complain about its absurdity. I can't imagine anyone who plays even semi-seriously would; I'm sure it's more for the family crowd, but still deserving of mockery.

[Photo: Flickr]

Person, place, or thing?
Isn't how Scrabble should work.
It must remain pure!

Godspeed.

[Comments: 1][Tags: ranting]

01/18/10 @ 7:52PM EST
posted by will

For all of my life, I have had nothing but happy thoughts about Ben Stein. Good memories: people winning his money on Comedy Central with Jimmy Kimmel, and "Bueller? Bueller?" Then I saw this tweet:

Just before I responded to her with "What's wrong with Ben Stein?" I decided to check his Wiki to see if I was missing something obvious. Wow, did I ever...

From Scientific American: "He and Expelled charge that scientists, in their rejection of religious explanations, have become as intolerant as Nazis."

Read more...

[Comments: 1][Tags: ranting]

06/24/09 @ 8:47PM EST
posted by will

This isn't so much as a list of pros and cons of the two systems, more like lots of complaining about the DC Metro.^[1]

24 hour vs. Not: There isn't even much of a debate here, obviously having a 24 hour system is better than not. The DC system closes around midnight on weekdays and 3am on weekends. I'm not a huge late-night partier, but this has definitely inconvenienced me more than once. Maybe because they clean the whole system at night, since the DC system is cleaner than New York's. I'll take a 24 hour, dirty system anyday.

Single price vs. Cost by distance: In NYC it costs you $2 per ride no matter how far you go. In DC, the farther you go, the more you pay. NYC has talked about implementing such a system, but one of the biggest arguments against it is that it puts even more financial strain on people with less incomes (who can't afford to live in Manhattan). That same logic doesn't apply as much to DC since there seems to be wider spread of income both in DC itself and the surrounding areas (so far as I can tell). Regardless it's still a pain in the ass when I ride to the end of a line and see how much more I'm being charged.

Read more...

[Comments: 2][Tags: ranting]

05/23/09 @ 7:23AM EST
posted by will

I hate humidity with a fiery passion. As much as I already hate summer heat, humidity just magnifies it. West coast summers are fantastic; it can get hot, but none of the mugginess.

I've seriously considered moving into the lab for the summer, just to get rid of that period without A/C between my apartment and lab. Now that we have a couch in there, I could just sleep on that. I'd save on rent and make up for our shitty summer paychecks.

Someday I'll have a summer place in like Iceland.

[Photo: Flickr]

Ugh, gross and sticky
Humidity is too high
God I hate summer

Godspeed.

[Comments: 1][Tags: ranting]

05/01/09 @ 10:03PM EST
posted by will

After my 2A, I was going to reward myself with a vacation to Mexico. Obviously, this isn't happening. As you can see below, this might be partially my fault:

Nonetheless, this sucks. I could rant some more, but maybe later. In the meantime, this is also funny.

[Image: Neat-o-Rama]

Pork's pissing me off
An omen for my 2A?
Damn, I sure hope not

Godspeed.

[Comments: 1][Tags: ranting]

03/30/09 @ 2:05PM EST
posted by will

In short, grad school can be summarized down to: Take some classes, do some teaching, lots of research, write it all up, and graduate. On top of that, there are lots of hoops to jump through to round things out, and develop you into a full scientist... and take up your time with.

From what I hear, the process we have here is fairly standard:

Phase I Exams: Set of 5 subject entrance exams
Literature Seminar: Presentation followed by questions in front of the department based on a research paper unrelated to your own work
Phase IIA: Equivalent of a master's defense - write up a paper on your work, then defend it orally
Phase IIB: Write up your own original research proposal, defend it orally
7th Semester Talk: Presentation to the department based on your own work
Exit Seminar: Same as the above, but longer, and based on everything in your thesis
Thesis Defense: See Phase IIA, but based on everything

Read more...

[Comments: 3][Tags: ranting]

03/08/09 @ 3:33AM EST
posted by will

Well, that's really all I had to say. I looked at the clock and suddenly it was past three.

Expect some aesthetic changes in the near future; been playing with the code a lot recently.

Photo: Flickr

They stole my hour
It seems like a waste of time
Wow, I'm so witty

Godspeed.

[Comments: 2][Tags: ranting]

01/13/09 @ 1:09PM EST
posted by will

Dear Barack,

Again, congratulations. You had my vote. You also had a couple (small) campaign contributions from me. However, you are no longer Presidential Candidate Barack Obama, you are now President-elect Barack Obama.

As such, I will no longer be giving you money. Why? Because you will very soon be my president, and I will be paying you taxes. You want to raise my taxes, and spend money on things I approve of? Great!

But again, I will not give you any more money directly. I have receieved many emails from you and David Plouffe, and maybe one or two from Michelle, since election night. During the campaign, they were understandable, and from time to time, I would cave, and pull out my credit card. Now they have become a nuisance.

Read more...

[Comments: 5][Tags: money, politics, ranting]

12/23/08 @ 3:13AM EST
posted by will

Airports without free Wi-fi anger me. More so than most other annoying aspects of travel. I can deal with delays, they're (arguably) unavoidable. Overpriced airport food is understandable, they are running a monopoly. Jerry Seinfeld has a great bit about airports being they're own nation and charging exhorbatant prices for 'rare' tuna sandwiches. Unhelpful customer service agents are understandable, it's a miserable job, they have every right to hate it and take it out on us.

Making me pay $8 for a day (which usually means 2-3 hours) of Wi-fi is just absurd. However, this is along the same lines as the overpriced food, in that there's nothing we can do about it. I refuse to pay it though, as I sit here drinking my $6 smoothie. (That's actually not overpriced...) In the past, I have grudgingly shelled out the cash, but I refuse to give in.

Read more...

[Comments: 0][Tags: ranting, technology]