mcplunk

Modern Day Knights

2006-07-07T09:58:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I went on a run in Rockridge. As I was coming home, I went past the BART station parking lot.

Usually the parking lot is just full of cars, but today there were also knights! In full costumes! With helmets! And swords! There was also a full-blown tailgate with spectators!

What is it about the grocery store?

2006-07-03T19:57:00.000-07:00

So, I've lived in Berkeley for almost a year, and I can count the number of people I know on one hand. (Ok, this is not entirely true, it's probably more like 3 or 4 hands, but you catch my drift).

For some reason, I keep spotting random people at the grocery store. For example:

* This girl from high school who I hadn't seen in over 7 years
* The aforementioned girl's brother, who I also went to my high school (may I mention that I went to high school in georgia)
* Today I swear I saw my ex-boyfriend, yes, at the grocery store. Which is almost as strange as the time I ran into him in Amsterdam. But that's another story..

look-alike of the week

2006-07-02T00:38:00.000-07:00

Ashlee Simpson & Sarah Michelle Gellar

Sometimes I think Californians are wierd

2006-05-25T16:58:00.000-07:00

The other day, I was waiting in the Rockridge Cafe (the citrus ricotta pancakes are highly recommended)for Matt so we could get some breakfast before work and here comes a woman walking her dog. The dog is wearing a teal bodysuit. I kid you not. I didn't have time to take a picture, but this at least gives you a sense...

Human Proof Fence ?

2006-05-18T13:02:00.000-07:00

Why are we getting ready to spend over $ 2 billion to build 700 miles of fence along our southern border? Didn't we learn from the Australians? And humans are way smarter than rabbits.

Tech Tip of the Week

2006-05-05T17:49:00.000-07:00

Somehow, I have become the default IT person in my tiny office. This is totally hilarious, since I really now close to nothing about computers, fax machines, and wireless networking.

However, I did discover a useful strategy. If you google the error message (like "unmountable_boot_volume", just as an example), you find all kinds of people who had the same problem as you and how they fixed it! I have really grown to appreciate all of those tech geeks out there who spend hours writing comments in online computer repair forums.

Guys, this one's for you...

Internet @ Home + 06 06 2006

2006-04-24T20:13:00.000-07:00

Finally, I have internet at home. This means uninterrupted websurfing for the first time in months. Not that I really do a lot of non-job related web procrastination, but the other week, my boss came over to my desk (which is in the middle of our office, so people can always see exactly what I'm doing) and handed me a recipie for mac and cheese that I forgot to remove from the office printer.

In other news, has anyone else noticed these black and white billboards that say "06 06 2006... The signs are everywhere" in their towns? We feel surrounded. My best guess is that it's for a movie, but Matt and I noticed that they're all owned by Clear Channel...

Students March Against Immigration Reform

2006-03-27T14:20:00.000-08:00

Just saw a bunch of students marching down 14th street in downtown Oakland to protest the draconian anti-immigrant legislation being considered in the Senate. It's pretty cool to see kids so active and out in the streets over such an important issue.

O Christmas Tree...

2006-01-16T13:46:00.000-08:00

Our 10 ft tall X-mas tree
Originally uploaded by mcplunk.

Matt and I decided to celebrate Christmas on the 23rd, before I left for Atlanta. We noticed that the Christmas tree lot near his house had a "Trees for Free" sign out in front.

After dinner we headed over there. I was admiring some of the 3 footers, when he pulled me over to the biggest tree in the lot. It was at least 9 feet tall. How could I resist the idea of hauling a huge ass tree down the street at 10PM the day before Christmas Eve?

We found some lights and got the tree situated. It looked even larger inside than it did on the lot. I say, if you're going to have Christmas spirit, you might as well go all out.

Yet another reason to visit Maryland

2006-01-04T14:43:00.000-08:00

Mooning deemed 'disgusting' but legal in Md.Man who exposed his buttocks during an argument walks free.

"If exposure of half of the buttock constituted indecent exposure, any woman wearing a thong at the beach at Ocean City would be guilty," Judge John W. Debelius III said after the bench trial, reversing the ruling of a District Court judge.

To my dear readers

2005-12-20T14:34:00.000-08:00

I know there are probably very few of you left at this point. Let it be said that I had a fun time with you guys, and, in case you were wondering, I am still alive and well.

A few things have changed, primarily:

1) Having a job really cuts down on internet surfing. I know that there are plenty of folks out there who have tons of time to do google image searches and check go fug yourself 20 times a day, but my job is not one of those. Mainly because my desk is in the middle of the office, so everyone who walks by can see exactly what I'm doing.

2) Not having internet at my house really cuts down on internet surfing.

3) Usually if I do think of something to write about, it's several days before I can get to the computer. This seems wierd, since I spend all of time on the computer at work, but hey what can do?

Well, I'm going to try and do better. So keep checking in!

1987

2005-10-29T19:53:00.000-07:00

I was watching I love the 80s 3D on MTV the other day and they were going over the highlights of 1987. Do you remember baby jessica, the kid who was trapped down the well for several days? I was about 8 at the time and I totally remember being extremely concerned for baby jessica. My other recollection of baby jessica was the simpson's spoof "Radio Bart" with Sting's hit "We're sending our Love Down the Well".

So I got curious, where is Baby Jessica now?

She is currently (as at 2003) a teenager growing up in Texas, she has had 15 surgeries over the years but does not remember the incident at all. Her life's dream is to sing the national anthem at the Superbowl. Her plans are to go to college, get married, raise a family. link

But she did not appear in Stuff magazine, despite reports to the contrary.

Our Contract with America

2005-10-13T22:53:00.000-07:00

I was watching the Daily Show the other night, and Al Gore was on. John Stewart asked him something along the lines of -- so, what are the Democrats going to stand for, ect. And Al Gore said, "We're working on it, it's going to be a positive vision," or some vague crap. And I was like, "Why does this sound familiar?" And then I realized, Howard Dean had been on the Daily Show a few months ago, and had said the exact same thing.

While I appreciate y'all being on point and consistent and all, saying, "We're still working on it" is not very inspiring. In fact, it makes me cringe. Get your shit together people, we've only got 13 months.

We've got to think big and really shoot for the sky here.

For instance, how about:

* universal healthcare
* real worker's rights on the job
* a solid education plan

And come up with some really catchy, glossy names like "A Right to Work". Then we can turn around all of that right-to-work state BS.

See Al and Howard. I spent like 30 seconds on that platform. You guys have a bunch of high-paid political consultants. Please tell me you can come up with SOMETHING. PLEASE?!?

Really, how old do I look.

2005-10-02T15:47:00.000-07:00

Today I went to see an R-rated movie. The woman at the ticket booth asked to see my ID. And I wasn't even wearing a grungy shirt!

US Weekly gives young girls a false sense of reality

2005-10-01T20:39:00.000-07:00

After all, stars are just like US.

Um, like everyone I know has a $1200 gucci handbag.

Tell CNL to settle the Claremont Labor Dispute!

2005-09-27T21:29:00.000-07:00

The workers at the Claremont Resort & Spa have been struggling to win a fair contract for over 4 years. Workers at the spa have also been trying to organize and have faced a hostile anti-union campaign from the hotel.

Take a minute to send a free fax to the CNL Hospitality CEO (the hotel's owner) urging him to settle the labor dispute.

So, I'm not going to have to speak at this thing...right?

2005-09-27T21:14:00.000-07:00

So, this morning I get to work, and I get sent to this press conference as the representative for the local. I have no idea what the press conference is about, but I am promised that I will just go stand in the front and look official. So, I grab the union windbreaker that's 5x too big for me and head over to the press conference.

After mingling with some of the other attendees, we get started. The emcee lists the unions present, and first up is... UNITEHERE. And they're like, why don't you go up there and have your picture taken. Then he HANDS ME THE MICROPHONE. So, I'm standing there with this microphone in front of 20 people, and I don't even know what the press conference is about. So, I say a couple of sentences, and then they're like "SO YOU WANT TO SAY ANYTHING ELSE?" And I was like, "No thank you." I am followed by all of these people who make great speeches about New Orleans and organizing the South.

Next time, I am going prepared with some killer ancedotes.

Yale Women: Don't necessarily want to stay at home

2005-09-25T19:57:00.000-07:00

I read this article a while back in the NY Times. The usual drivel about how tons of women want to stay at home and how this is a very pragmatic stance, much more so than the notion that women could have equal careers as man that pervaded the 70s. Buried deep on the third page of the article is a metion of the structural barriers for women:

"They are still thinking of this as a private issue; they're accepting it," said Laura Wexler, a professor of American studies and women's and gender studies at Yale. "Women have been given full-time working career opportunities and encouragement with no social changes to support it. "I really believed 25 years ago," Dr. Wexler added, "that this would be solved by now."

Where did all of these future stay-at-home Yalies come from? According to an intern over at FishBowl, some of those quotes may have been taken out of context. Here's an excerpt from one of the undergrads heavily quoted in the article:

It saddens me that I am portrayed as an insensitive and unambitious person in the article, and really did not know that Louise was only going to quote those of us who wanted to stay at home if/when we had kids. She in fact did interview my other suitemates who answered the survey as either not wanting to have children at all, or would continue working as a mother. I am somewhat shocked that she did not include ANY of their ideas or views in the article.

I am a skinny white girl

2005-09-13T22:10:00.000-07:00

As part of my "settling in" to the Bay Area, I joined the local gym. As Matt would say, I don't want to get chubby from sitting in the cubicle all day (ok, he doesn't say exactly that, but it's pretty close).

My first work out included the Street Style (TM) dance class. I had a really good time, but I looked totally ridiculous. Like FAR worse than Julia Stiles in Save the Last Dance. For one thing, I have skinny little legs. And, since I was surrounded by mirrors, I had the opportunity to observe that my normal stance involves me having my feet slightly turned in, like they are ashamed to be moving to the beat.

Then there are the hips. The instructor was grooving to "My Goodies", but my hips just don't work like that. I was on a cruise once in the Caribbean and the staff guys gave up on teaching me rhythm. If that isn't hopeless, I don't know what is.

Basically, I look like an eleven year old trying to do the chicken and kick-ball-change at the same time.

Remarkably, I wasn't the worst person in the class.

Although I didn't see it on TV

2005-09-10T22:47:00.000-07:00

I guess I'll have to jump on the kanye west band wagon.

Thank you John Darinelle. I am so sorry that I missed your show in San Francisco. I hope you return soon.

Sarah Silverman subs for Dave Chapelle

2005-09-10T21:08:00.000-07:00

I'm Rick James, bitch!

Things I have noticed

2005-09-01T21:33:00.000-07:00

* This morning I walked outside and thought, "Oh my god. It has actually rained in Berkeley!" Then I realized that my neighbor had gotten a little over-enthusiastic with the sprinkler system.

* The other day I walked into the mini-mart near my office, only to hear the two guys behind the counter talking about electro-magnetic theory.

Apparently I'm not the only one

2005-08-26T21:56:00.000-07:00

I'm not the only one who uses the internet to search for things to do on a friday night (in San Jose). Many people have come across my blog in planning their weekend activities, both in San Jose and elsewhere.

Things to do in Berkeley on a Friday night:

Hang out with Miriam, who is wonderful company in person as well as on the web. And eat wonderful food at quaint restaurants shadowed by the Claremont Hotel, while discussing the ongoing boycott. Note to blog readers: This means don't stay there, or else you can't be my friend anymore.

Summary: Rick and Ann's rocks! Especially the mac & cheese and the chocolate creme. I know that I have entered a different climate zone when you are sitting outside in perfectly nice weather and the waiter asks if he should turn the heat lamps on. Goodbye New England, hello paradise!

Karaoke! Karaoke! (doo, doo, doo)

2005-08-24T20:58:00.000-07:00

Matt and I have been discussing the need for an ongoing list of potential karaoke songs. You know, so you have those hits ready instead of half-drunkenly flipping through the pages of SONGMASTER VOL. 8234-8237. Now, we can half-drunkenly sit around and say, "What was that one we put on the list? You know, that one from the 80s. With the keyboards."

So far we have:

1. Because the night (10K maniacs)
2. Good Vibrations (Marky Mark)
3. Sometimes I Rhyme Slow (Nice and Smooth)
4. Nine to Five (Dolly)

1. Sweet Caroline (Neil)
2. Girls Just Want to have Fun (Cyndi)

Everyone else should feel free to contribute too!

What would you title this?

2005-08-23T22:13:00.000-07:00

I am too tired to come up something earthshatteringly witty, so instead I will let this picture substitute for a 1000 word entry (well, 991 word entry given the caption. although, to be fair, the caption really makes the piece).

Congrats mcplunk!

2005-08-23T22:07:00.000-07:00

I just noticed that my blog has had over 10000 visitors. This baby has been with me all of the way through grad school and across the country. That's a lot of time and miles. We even got our start before blog was all over the mainstream media. That also seems like eons ago. I guess things move fast in cyberspace.

So, you think i'm boring. Well, these girls definitely aren't.

2005-08-18T21:28:00.000-07:00

Since all I do is work and mull over the finer points of commuting, which apparently some of my readers find really boring, I have decided to live vicariously through the Flaming Lotus Girls. These women (and men) weld steel and blow shit up for fun!

Here is their first sculpture at Burning Man, the original flaming lotus.

Zombie Commuters and other fun observations

2005-08-17T18:29:00.000-07:00

* The morning commute is a very unsafe time. It is before 8AM. You are bleary-eyed, and the first cup of coffee has barely taken effect. Then, you are thrown into a car hurtling 70+ mph down the expressway with thousands of other bleary-eyed commuters. Is it just me, or does this seem like a national crisis?

* Sometimes, when you think you are cheating the system, the system is actually cheating you. So, for some reason, I thought that Cingular counted night and weekend minutes on my cell phone based on East Coast time. Which meant, when it was 6PM here, it was 9PM East Coast, which meant night and weekend minutes. Unfortunately, my assessment was incorrect. I discovered this when I received my $100+ cell phone bill with $40 in overages. I feel like one of those bad cell phone commercials.

On the same note, how are cell phone regulations affecting our culture? I know that I now rarely talk to friends and family during the weekdays, and rarely have a more than 10 minute conversation during peak times to "save" my minutes. Then there was the month when I never stopped calling people because I had gone over so much.

* MoveOn is having a nation-wide vigil for Cindy Sheehan tonight. I never actually read my Moveon e-mails, but Matt's parents are going, so I decided to look up one near my house. The one up the street has over 400 people registered. I guess this is what it means to live in Berkeley.

more on american apparel

2005-08-13T19:08:00.000-07:00

Now, I'm sure that some readers will already know about my one-woman boycott of american apparel.

In case you didn't, or wanted even more reading on the subject, check out this article on how agitating for USAS may hurt your chances of Dov Charney hiring you. [Unless of course you are a really hot woman, and then he can probably overlook your activist roots. Especially if you model wet t-shirts for him.]

Correction: Matt was actually the one who first told me about American Apparel. So, he started the boycott, which I guess is officially up to three now. Go Matt!

Gas Prices Soar, Leaving Me to take Public Transport (which I would have done anyway)

2005-08-13T14:52:00.000-07:00

Today I spent $35 for 3/4 of a tank of gas! This has gotten to the point of ridiculous. Next thing there's going to be rationing and everyone will be reminiscing about the 70s, even those of us who weren't even alive for the oil crisis. Sometimes I wonder if I shouldn't have settled on a slightly more fuel-efficient car than a volvo. But I do love my leather seats and huge trunk.

It's little wonder, given how expensive gas currently is, that I don't drive my car very much. Apparently, according to the Albany police, this is illegal. I received a notice today that you are not allowed to park your car in the same place for more than 72 hours, and that they have the right to tow it beyond that period.

Now, I understand that this ordinance is probably there to deal with abandoned vehicles, but 72 hours? On a residential street? That's 3 days. I've been on vacation for longer than that.

I suspect that the Albany police targeted my car due to the extremely bad parking job that I performed 3 days ago. So, I took the car, filled up on gas, went to Trader Joe's, and parked the car in the same spot, just closer to the curb this time. We'll see if this flies with the cops.

The Original Sushi Boats

2005-08-07T17:08:00.000-07:00

Sushi Boats
Originally uploaded by mcplunk.

Matt's friend George is in town, so we headed up to SF for some sightseeing. We checked out the SF MOMA, which had a really cool exhibit of early photographs.

Eventually, we headed to Isobune, the inventors of the Sushi Boat. The whole concept is pretty cool. You sit at the bar and boats of sushi float by. You simply grab whatever you want to eat!

How old is your soul?

2005-08-07T16:46:00.000-07:00

Matt is forever accusing me of acting like a 40 year old woman. I like to take walks, go to bed before 11PM, and check out the heirloom tomatos at the weekend farmer's market. Just to prove him wrong, here's a quiz that proves I'm 26:

You Are 26 Years Old

26

Under 12: You are a kid at heart. You still have an optimistic life view - and you look at the world with awe.

13-19: You are a teenager at heart. You question authority and are still trying to find your place in this world.

20-29: You are a twentysomething at heart. You feel excited about what's to come... love, work, and new experiences.

30-39: You are a thirtysomething at heart. You've had a taste of success and true love, but you want more!

40+: You are a mature adult. You've been through most of the ups and downs of life already. Now you get to sit back and relax.

What Age Do You Act?

Now, if that's not close enough to 25, I don't know what is. Thanks to chicken little for the tip.

My hate hate relationship with driving

2005-07-31T22:01:00.000-07:00

I have always hated driving. I inherited the phobia from my mother, who is one of the worst and most nervous drivers I have ever had the pleasure of riding with. Trucks passing, driving at night, having to switch lanes on the freeway -- all of these "normal" activities is an event in my mother's eyes.

It's no wonder that I have lived in fear of the road since I was 16. After high school, I pretty much ceased driving altogether. I am sure that my friends did not appreciate all of the rides to Target and trips to the airport that I made them take, but it was all in a good faith effort to avoid my phobia.

Unfortunately, life in the Bay Area is not kind to the carless (unless you live in San Francisco). So, this week, in addition to starting my new job, I purchased my first automobile (a '97 Volvo). This thing is a fucking TANK. It's a good thing too, since I accidentally wound up driving over the Bay Bridge into SF when I was aiming to go to Berkeley. I am still trying to figure out how this happened.

You know the scene in Clueless, when Cher gets on the freeway? Yep, that's basically me on the road, with perhaps a bit less hysterical shouting.

I have a job!

2005-07-25T15:17:00.000-07:00

You know how a couple of weeks ago I wrote about how great it is to be unemployed? Well, having a job is even better! I am starting my gig as a union researcher up in Oakland this week. I guess this means no more lounging by the pool.

A play about grad students organizing?

2005-07-21T17:54:00.000-07:00

The former campaign director of the Temple organizing drive and a professional playwright have written a play called "Organizing Abraham Lincoln", all about organizing grad students!

At Yale, my friends and I had a long-running joke about a possible reality series featuring the lives of grad students. We have also joked about how no one would watch such a series. Now a whole play dedicated to the topic of one-on-one meetings and dicey confrontations with administrators? Sounds too good to pass up!

wo wo wo wo woo

2005-07-21T14:45:00.000-07:00

Yesterday Matt & I traveled over the mountains to Santa Cruz where we met up with our friend Brian, my co-DJ on Indie-pendent. We got some yummy vegetarian grub at the Saturn Cafe and then headed down the block to see The Aquabats! Now, I've gotta respect these guys. They manage to turn a slightly-less-than-middle-aged band of average guys playing California pop punk into a really fun show.

They had crazy costumes! They had evil villians! They had commercials for belted pudding dispensers and medicinal leeches! They had group hand motions like the "circle of love"! The kids were going wild in the pit, while the adults were safely ensconced in the 21+ balconies! They had a band manager get into a fist fight with the overzealous security crew! It was off the hook.

If the Aquabats are coming to a town near you, I would recommend checking them out. Just make sure that you don't wear flip-flops.

Afterward, we tried to get coffee, but downtown Santa Cruz becomes decidedly uncaffeinated after 11. Instead I settled for Melon agua fresca.

Mt Shasta

2005-07-20T15:26:00.000-07:00

Mt Shasta
Originally uploaded by mcplunk.

I finally found my camera cord! Here's a photo I took of Mt Shasta over 4th of July weekend. We went up to Medford, OR for Matt's cousin's wedding. It was very casual, with a Hawaiian theme.

Caution: Possible Spoilers Ahead

2005-07-18T17:35:00.000-07:00

I stayed up until 3AM last night to finish Harry Potter VI: Harry and the Half-Blood Prince, after receiving my Amazon pre-order on Saturday. This was far better than when I took only one day to read the quite hefty Harry Potter V two summers ago and had to go to lab on no sleep.

The saga continues, and I think that Rowland set us up for a nice epic journey into the far reaches of the Wizarding world for the next book. There really weren't a whole lot of conflicts in this installment, despite the Death Eaters on the loose and deaths occuring around the country. In that sense, I guess the book felt sort of flat. We learned some new info about Voldermort, and tangentially dealt with frictions in the friendships of the main characters, but there was not a whole lot of action until the last 100 pages or so. My favorite parts were when Harry talks to the Ministry of Magic head, mainly because I have a hard time picturing a 16 year old being so cheeky and dead-on with a loser bureaucrat.

News of the Week

2005-07-15T20:03:00.000-07:00

I have a job interview next week! And I am tracking the arrival of my Harry Potter book! And tomorrow Matt & I are heading down to Monterey to hit the aquarium with Katie and David! I haven't been to an aquarium since the Tennessee aquarium opened when I was in middle? school. I remember being more interested in this clothing company that had a catalog with all watercolor renderings of the merchandise (it turned out that they had a store in Chattanooga) than the actual sea animals. But, hey, it's not like I was materialistic or something back then...

My mother would be proud

2005-07-13T17:05:00.000-07:00

Today I applied for a "normal" job in health care marketing. I still have absolutely no idea how to write a cover letter. I thought that since it was marketing I should use lots of "buzzwords" like "scientific professionals" and "project management".

Are you a Yankee or a Rebel?

2005-07-12T21:32:00.000-07:00

This is a pretty cool slang quiz.

Despite my attempts to rid myself of the Southern accent and my recent stint in New England, I am:

68% (Dixie). Just under the Mason-Dixon Line.

What are you?

Thanks to n8 for pointing this out.

Another Take on Evolutionary Psychology

2005-07-12T18:58:00.000-07:00

Check out this interview with David Buller about his new book Adapting Minds.

I liked the interview because it doesn't dismiss the idea of looking at evolutionary theory to explain human behaviors, but it does offer a nice dissection of some of the potential flaws in evolutionary psychology in its current theoretical form.

via nerdshit

The Security Deposit Saga Continues

2005-07-11T14:10:00.000-07:00

This morning I recieved an e-mail from the State Security Deposit Investigator.

It is my understanding from the Housing Courts that I talk to that if
the landlord makes no attempt to collect late fees when they are due, that they cannot deduct them from your security deposit. What they are supposed to do is not pay interest on the security deposit for the months that the tenant paid past the 10 day grace period.

The slumlord is about to learn not to mess with an unemployed ex-grad student with an internet connection and far too much time on her hands.

Things to do in San Jose on a Friday Night

2005-07-08T21:06:00.000-07:00

I can pay $5 to check out these guys...

Or stay in and watch season 2 of the Chapelle show.

Tough choices.

A Million Solar Roofs

2005-07-07T21:20:00.000-07:00

When Matt and I were up in Berkeley dealing with the flat tire fiasco, we also had the opportunity to talk to a lovely woman from Environment California, which I think is the enviro arm of CALPIRG. She was hyping the Million Solar Roofs Intiative, an effort to use state subsidies to build up CA's solar industry over the next decade.

I was curious about the bill, so I was pleased to come across this article on the legislative nightmare surrounding the bill. It sounded very familiar from my time up in Hartford at the General Assembly. I guess there is a lot of bi-partisan support around the bill, but a lot of the Republicans are opposed to including prevailing wage language to ensure that installers would get a decent (union-level) wage.

Josh has a some interesting things to say about the bill:

It's this kind of failure build not just a momentary majority but a stable, inter-generational, cross-cause constituency that caused some environmental leaders last year to declare "The Death of Envionmentalism."...The stakes for both movements - fostering an alternative to a laissez-faire race to the bottom and building an economy which values and invests in human beings and the earth - are too high not to work together. Everyone has on the left has some work to do to get their own house(s) in order. If you want to see what the payoff from broader-based, cross-issue organizing looks like, just check out the modern Right in this country.

Comics for the Mainstream

2005-07-07T20:33:00.000-07:00

I've really been trying to understand comics. I will admit that I've had an automatic "Eww, superheros" response toward them for years, but lately I've been finding some common ground. I really enjoyed Marjane Satrapi's graphic novel
Persepolis, as well as the recent Sin City movie.

Today I came across an article on Oni Press, an independent comic book publisher.

Oni Press was founded in 1997 by Bob Schreck and Joe Nozemack, two guys who were thinking so far outside of the box that it’s amazing the company survived, let alone thrived. What they wanted to do from the beginning was to publish comics that were “in line with the real mainstream.”

That sounded right up my ally. I found a great title called Love Fights, about regular people living in a town full of superheroes.

BART strike averted

2005-07-07T20:00:00.000-07:00

Managers and union leaders reached an agreement at the last second. Not that I actually live anywhere near BART (all of the rich people in the South Bay decided not to fund it back in the day), but I guess it's good news that it's available just in case. Matt said that he was interviewed by a TV crew leading up to the last BART strike in '97. Man, I would love to see that footage!

New and hopefully improved

2005-07-07T15:10:00.000-07:00

Getting a blog makeover is like getting a new haircut. You're a little trepidacious, a lot excited. What do y'all think?

Every cloud has silver lining that sometimes conks you on the head and leaves you with a concussion.

2005-07-06T16:41:00.000-07:00

Matt and I headed up to Berkeley for his job interview yesterday. It was a pretty funny sight- him in his fancy suit & tie and me in - let's go out on a limb here - jeans and a t-shirt.

Anyway, I get a call from my mom. Apparently, D.D'A, my former slumlord extraordinaire, has apparently decided to keep $1200 of my security deposit. Apparently, my 30+ days notice was not sufficient so he withheld an entire month's rent. In addition he took off another ~$500 in late fees, although I never received any notification that he was assessing late fees when I turned in my rent. Basically, he is a vindictive bastard and a fuckhead. Now I am in California and it will be difficult to do much about the situation.

Then, on the way back from Rockridge, we discovered that we had a flat tire. So, we had to put on the spare (at least it was a useful skill to learn, along with remembering to read leases and document coorespondences with shady slumlords). Luckily, we made it to the tire store right before they closed.

At least Matt's interview went well.

I have pictures of our successful tire change, but they are trapped on my camera until I can locate the cord to download them. For now, you can enjoy this lovely picture from the web, that makes the situation look far more dire than it actually was.

Although this one probably better suits my mood:

2 of my favorite things... unions and reality tv

2005-06-29T15:07:00.000-07:00

check out the purple ocean american reality blog. and you can sign a petition to get a new reality show about real americans (not that flav a flav isn't a real american)!

2005-06-28T14:06:00.000-07:00

i totally missed seeing the mountain goats last week. i opened up the SF Weekly and saw that they had just played the day before.

Being unemployed is... great!

2005-06-20T17:52:00.000-07:00

I have now officially settled down on the West Coast. It's all sunny skies and trees and lots of cars. I already have one job interview next week, so hopefully I'll be a working woman soon. For the time being, it's reading books, going to yoga, and relaxing on the deck.

It's strange how I can pick up and move clear across the country and not feel displaced at all. I miss all of my New Haven friends, but I don't miss the grind of grad school and all of the things I didn't like about Yale.

If those of you with actual jobs have some free time, check out this sustainable communities blog by my friend Brian.

Meth Destroys. Jesus Saves.

2005-06-06T08:10:00.000-07:00

There are some pro-Jesus signs dotting the highways of New England (right guys?), but they pale in comparison to the gems we have here in the South. I found "Meth Destroys. Jesus Saves." on a billboard outside of Tuscaloosa, AL over the weekend.

I bring this up to segue into the other exciting thing we have down home - church. Why my granddad couldn't have chosen another career beside minister, I have no idea. This means that every time I visit the great state of Alabama, we head to church.

My mom and I went to "The Bridge", the Methodist version of a Contemporary Christian rock service. We sang a cover of Tracy Chapman's "Fast Car" with some different lyrics. The best was a chorus of "Yes, Lord. Yes, Lord. Yes, yes Lord." with hand motions. They brought the kids up on stage where they concentrated furiously on keeping their thumbs in the right position.

What struck me is the entirely different tone that the contemporary service has from the more traditional one. It was much more about letting Jesus into your heart and being saved than about faith and good works. This stood in sharp contrast to the sermon about helping the poor in our communities. (I really liked that part of the sermon. I told my mom that they could have thrown out all of the God stuff and just run with that.)

Just because you have a guitar and snappy hand motions doesn't mean that you have to dumb down the service. It seemed like the songs got away from all of the great themes of the traditional Methodist hymns. At least there wasn't a lot of handwaving and shouting Amen. They did manage to foist a coffee mug emblazoned with "The Bridge" on me. You're supposed to take it to work to open up dialogue about Christ. Any takers?

My Dad Was a Teen Club Promoter

2005-06-02T20:56:00.000-07:00

I can never really think about my dad being young. Everytime I try to picture his pre-me life, I get some cross between Rebel Without a Cause and Back to the Future with my dad as his 60 year old self.

It turns out that my dad and his buddies ran a popular teen nightclub while they were in highschool. It was called "McKee's Beat" after Bob McKee, the discjockey who went in on the project with them.

The impetus for the club came from the fact that all of the highschools in Atlanta had their own events, but there was no central place for kids from different schools to hang out. My dad and his friends rented an old warehouse in downtown Atlanta and converted it into a club. They soundproofed the joint and built a stage so that the DJs could spin above the crowd.

Since McKee was one of the most popular DJs on the most popular radio station in town, the place was packed every weekend. My dad said that they had Fats Domino, Otis Redding and Chubby Checker all performing there before they hit the big leagues. They almost got Elvis, but the promoters wanted $10,000 bucks upfront to secure the show.

They "borrowed" phone lines from nearby buildings, and installed phones in the warehouse, including one in the upstairs girls bathroom. As forshadowing for my dad's future career as an engineer, they hooked a recording device up to the girls room phone. Whenever someone made a call, a light in the control booth would light up. They would then record the conversation. I asked my dad what was the most interesting thing he heard in all of those conversations. "I never knew that girls talked so dirty," he said. "They would say the nastiest things about other girls and boys."

There you have it folks, the fifties were wild times. Decades before the warehouse rave scene my dad was tapping phonelines and spinning records.

The Best Non-Tag Sale Ever

2005-05-29T18:40:00.000-07:00

As anyone who lives in the New Haven knows, I had a very kick-ass ~~yard~~ tag sale a few weeks ago. It was a great success and the proceeds went to the postage for shipping the rest of my stuff to California.

Now comes the harder part. After getting rid of some stuff via tag sale and some other stuff via USPS, there was a large amount of stuff lounging in my apartment. Normally, I would donate to Goodwill or the Salvation Army, even though I disagree with their politics, but I have no car. The solution? A FREE bin on my front yard.

The best part about putting free stuff in your front yard is watching people scavange and walk away with a door, or half a pad of drawing paper. Hot items included extention cords, and a wire shelf.

I would highly recommend the front yard FREE sale. The joy it brings to people who thought they were just going for a walk and come home with a toaster is priceless.

Attack of the sucky actor

2005-05-22T16:37:00.000-07:00

I am half-watching "Star Wars II: Attack of the Clones" in preparation for the Desparate Housewives SEASON FINALE! @ 9. Hayden Christiansen is the WORST actor I have ever seen. What a tool.

Fake CS Papers

2005-05-19T14:27:00.000-07:00

Hilarious story about a random paper generator & a conference scandel!

I am a computing genius

2005-05-17T11:21:00.000-07:00

I got my own PHP e-mail script to work! I got my own PHP e-mail script to work!

What a rip-off

2005-05-13T16:03:00.000-07:00

Luckily, I am moving out of my apartment. My tiny 1-bedroom (the kitchen is non-existent) was $795 this year. Next year my ~~land~~slumlord was planning to charge me $825. I just checked the Yale Off-Campus website and he is listing it for $850. Holy crap, I cannot imagine that anyone would rent this place for that much money. They haven't even turned off the heat yet, and it's mid-may.

Welcome back, MC

2005-05-10T13:29:00.000-07:00

I have been away on important business. Ok, not really. I had some great BBQ in Boston, and bought some really cool shoes from BC, although I am trying to forgive them for their lame website that features wierd noises and purple hearts that follow your cursor around the screen. Seriously. I also bought an $11 bar of soap. It smells really nice, much like you would expect from expensive soap.

And now, dear reader: What is the most expensive bath product YOU have ever purchased?

One more note on the weather + a movie about pedophilia and a girl who just wants a baby

2005-05-06T20:22:00.000-07:00

Rain, rain, rain. How's a girl supposed to have a Tag Sale with all of this shitty weather?

Rain is good for one thing... watching movies. So, I traveled downtown to take in Palindromes, the new Todd Solondz movie.

I enjoyed it, but I am not sure what the point was with all of the different girls playing the same character. It seemed heavy-handed and unnecessary. I would definitely go see this movie, if only for the scenes with the right-to-lifers and their kiddie choir, especially the girl with no arms.

Help Emma find a new home

2005-05-04T15:45:00.000-07:00

How can you resist this precious kitty? Help Emma find a new home! She's ~3 years old. Her favorite activities include sleeping, eating, and sitting on/near laps (she can be shy sometimes, or maybe just playing hard to get).

If you know of anyone who would be interested in taking Emma home, tell them to e-mail me at mcplunk@hotmail.com.

You're so vain

2005-05-03T16:19:00.000-07:00

I think we should definitely put the "You're so vain" song on the smartcaster list (that's WYBC's autodj that we're currently trying to update). Who sings that one? Carly Simon?

But really, i'm so vain because i'm posting my design portfolio for your perusal. now help me find a job, people!

more hilarious t-shirts

2005-05-03T16:10:00.000-07:00

I came across this t-shirt today on the internet. I think it's the coolest. And what do you do with the coolest things? You buy them. Plus, they don't use American Apparel shirts (YEA!) and they have youth sizes. Just in case you want one too. They also have squirrels, walruses, turtles, and rabbits. But don't get the platypus, because that one's mine.

The benefits of globalization

2005-05-03T07:42:00.000-07:00

Talking to customer service people with irish accents is really hot!

Rainy afternoons are a good time for... online shopping

2005-04-30T17:04:00.000-07:00

Hmmm, so sitting around the apartment all afternoon led me to

* sign up for an Amazon Visa Card with points back (whatever that means)

* Order the new Decemberists and Mountain Goats and the Superwolf album for only $9 with my $30 Visa promotion

Hopefully I won't end up with the same compulsive music purchasing disorder as Brian! At least I haven't bought a new book in at least a couple of weeks...

How appropriate...

2005-04-29T13:18:00.000-07:00

Someone found my blog by searching for "being a researcher sucks." I hear ya buddy.

and some good news

I got my first issue of US Weekly today! I love my boyfriend and how he always looks out for my needs, especially those pertaining to pop culture.

and some bad news

Then didn't even show the OC post-pres news conference. Bush is going down.

The President is poopy

2005-04-28T17:00:00.000-07:00

What the fuck?!?! I want to watch the OC, not dummy George W. giving some lame new conference. Where is my OC? The White House is definitely getting an e-mail about this.

The Liberal University...not!

2005-04-26T05:55:00.000-07:00

Check out this memo from Columbia Provost Alan Brinkley (a well known liberal historian who has supported the rights of other workers to organize), about possible retalitory actions during the strike last week.

Suggestions included:
* Make Grad students teach and extra semester or year to fulfill requirements
* Take away summer funding from participating grad students
* Participating grad students loose eligibility for special fellowships
* Grad students in year 5+ could not recieve additional teaching appointments

This is absolutely disgusting! And, if we were still covered under the NLRB, some of these actions would be illegal.

Science and advertising

2005-04-24T18:52:00.000-07:00

From the latest Pantene commercial:

Did you know that your hair is made up of 90% amino acids? ... Use our shampoo to replenish your aminos. (Ok, I paraphrased that last bit.)

Um, like duh. Hair is mainly composed of the protein keratin, which, like the rest of the proteins in our bodies, is made of chains of amino acids.

More fun things to do when you're bored at work

2005-04-22T16:41:00.000-07:00

Watch really cool videos about... GESO and the right to organize!

Nice week for a strike

2005-04-22T16:33:00.000-07:00

All's well that ends well as the saying goes. What does that mean, anyway? We wrapped up an exciting week of strike activities, including, but not limited to -

* marching through the streets of NYC our brothers and sisters from Columbia as well as union members from as far away as Atlantic City

* confronting the Yale Corporation members and getting a meeting with Roland Betts! (Ok, I was actually taking a nap during that one.)

* hearing Jesse Jackson again

* listening to inspiring speeches from other graduate students about why they're on strike

* eating tons of yummy strike sandwiches

* constant gratefulness toward the weather and the decision not to strike in March again

* singing the GESO fight on song for hours on end

* and how could i forget the SocSciences picket line dance off? (ok, I missed this one too, but I did get up there for the crowning of the victor)

Hopefully the Administration will come to their senses and we will never have to do this again!

2005-04-18T16:44:00.000-07:00

The Bush-Yale Connection

The Bush-Yale Connection. Spread the word!

2005-04-18T16:36:00.000-07:00

Animal Collective: Bad or REALLY bad?

Ok, I admit it. I didn't like Sung Tongs or whatever the fuck it was called. I tried listening to that album like 3 or 4 times and I never got it. Nevertheless, Animal Collective is actually playing for free tonight in New Haven, so I guess I should go, as any dutiful pseudo-hispter would.

In other music news, I went up to SUNY Purchase for the annual Culture Shock festival, where I was surrounded by 18-year-old art freaks while taking in the music of the Danielson Family, Cat Power, The Walkmen, Superwolves, and Lightening Bolt. It totally rocked, and I had both funnel cake and a corn dog.

Other News in general: Yale & Columbia graduate students are on STRIKE! If you have any strike chants, send them to mcplunk@hotmail.com.

2005-04-14T16:52:00.000-07:00

Yes, being a teacher is VERY exciting and fulfilling

A letter from Dean Butler and Dean Salovey:

As you know, GESO has announced that it will ask graduate students serving as teaching fellows and part time acting instructors to refuse to meet discussion sections, labs, and classes in which they have teaching responsibilities during the week of April 18. We thought it would be good to restate some of the guiding principles we share as members of the University community in the event of any attempt to disrupt teaching in the next week.

We believe that graduate student experience as teaching fellows, part-time acting instructors, and assistants in research is critical to becoming successful scholars and teachers. We expect and hope that each student and faculty member will continue to fulfill the academic responsibilities, including teaching, that each of us commenced when the year and semester began, not only out of commitments made but especially out of the excitement and rewards so unique to the classroom.

We also ask everyone to respect in action and tone the diversity of views that pertain to the questions before us. Whatever our differences, the privileges we enjoy as university students and faculty members impose very special obligations on all of us to sustain the free exchange of ideas within our community and beyond.

We regret the decision of GESO to engage in this activity during the final week of classes and will do our best to minimize any disruptions and inconvenience.

You know, I'm not even striking this week, but this e-mail makes me want to. Yes, teaching can be fun and fulfilling. But, in the larger picture, there are real issues at stake here, and withdrawing labor is one powerful mechanism for drawing attention to those issues. If we don't act now, that sacred commitment to teaching won't exist by the time most of us advance to being professors. Deans Salovey and Butler are demeaning our teaching every day by allowing for the proliferation of adjunct and part-time teaching positions while tenure-track positions decline. Thanks guys!

2005-04-14T08:08:00.000-07:00

The Future is Now. Or, How we are catching up to those tech-saavy Europeans.

Yesterday Brian and I were hanging out at Moka, the newest coffee establisment to grace the 9th square district. More and more old (mostly white) guys in suits kept coming in. Then we noticed a news camera and a couple of cops. Suddenly, I heard Mayor John Destefano's pipsqueak voice rising above the din! It was the official introduction of the smartcard to New Haven.

All of those times that you didn't have change for the parking meter- no more! When you wanted to eat at Claire's but didn't want to pay $8 to use your credit card- no more!

Oh, and we voted to go on strike yesterday.

2005-04-05T14:38:00.000-07:00

my not quite doppelganger

In keeping with Miriam's doppelgoogleganger concept, I googled myself. I, unfortunately, am a singularity in googleland. The closest I came was a review of country artist Tracy Lawrence (who I have thankfully never heard of). But it turns out that Mary (despite being from Yakima, WA) appears to have my same Amazon account.

*****Good as Gold, November 15, 2001
Tracy Lawrence's voice has to be one of the most distinctive in Country music--and it shines through and through on this album. It's by far his best yet, and has some sure fire #1 hits. Trust me, you won't be able to stop playing it! This is country music at it's best!!!

Let's see. 2001. I would have been a senior in college. It would have been about time for Thanksgiving. Somehow this is almost starting to sound familiar... This is why I never send e-mails on touchy subjects. Words on the internet really do last forever.

Our Trip to the Grand Canyon

2005-03-29T22:50:00.000-08:00

Our Trip to the Grand Canyon

some mules
Originally uploaded by mcplunk.

M. and I headed up to Flagstaff on Friday afternoon and had dinner at the Mountain Oasis. I had tofu pineapple salad and some super tasty spicy bean soup. I absolutely loved Flagstaff. It reminded me of Athens in a lot of ways- college town with lots of cute restraunts and a neat little downtown. But it was Athens with a gorgeous mountain backdrop.

We decided to hike the South Kaibab Trail (although I kept pronouncing it "Kabib", after all of those indigenous Middle Easterners. We faced near death as we tried to walk down ice covered switchbacks at the beginning of the trail. I saw a lot of young children on the trail, and I couldn't help but wonder how they made it past these glacial conditions.

We made it down to the 3 mile point in about 1.5 hours. For some reason, it only took us 40 minutes to get up to the top. M. claims that I was hauling ass too fast, but I thought we were going at a nice clip. It is a lot less scary walking up, since there are fewer opportunities to look into the abyss below.

For Easter, we had brunch at this cute little cafe. I have never had so much good food on vacation!

2005-03-24T15:59:00.000-08:00

Hello from lovely Phoenix, AZ

The vacation begins. It's a cool 70 or so degrees here in Phoenix. I am sitting in a windowless room in the Economics Department, waiting for Matt to finish up his work for the day. I love hanging out on the ASU campus. It reminds me of my days at UGA and the bustling feeling of a big state school. This weekend I'm heading up to the grand canyon, so expect some awesome pictures in the near future. If anyone has tips on what to do around Flagstaff, let me know.

2005-03-19T21:34:00.000-08:00

Wal-Mart's Healthcare Crime

As I was channel surfing, I came across the Labor Committee hearing on SB 1147 on CT C-SPAN. Yes, I know I am a big dork.

Anyway, the bill would require large employers, such as Wal-Mart, to actually provide healthcare coverage to their employees, instead of encouraging workers to use state funds for insurance.

During the hearing, a woman who is currently employed at Wal-Mart testified. She makes $8.40 an hour and she pays $40 or so every two weeks for insurance. If she was to include her son on her plan, the cost would be $60 or so every two weeks. That is around 25% of her annual income. 25%! I almost had a heart attack when I heard that.

2005-03-19T13:59:00.000-08:00

Customer Service...they're there to serve

Lately, my phone has been having this wierd problem where it gets crummy reception and drops calls after about 20 minutes. Needless to say, anyone who has tried to talk to me on my cell phone for any length of time recently will probably attest to how annoying this is. I even got a new phone, and still the same problem.

Today I called customer service. After sitting through several minutes of muszak, the rep told me that my phone didn't have the right updates or something. He would send them to my phone, all I had to do was turn it off and on again. Presto! It seems like a deceptively easy solution...

2005-03-17T07:40:00.000-08:00

the next tickle me elmo

Those Brits have all the best ideas. Here is the latest: a crack baby. That's right. Want to keep your kids off alcohol and drugs? Have them take care of the crack baby for a couple of nights.

Hey, wait a second. Don't teenagers think they are immune from pregnancy? Maybe this will convince them not to be pediatric nurses at a rehab clinic or something.

[story via gawker]

2005-03-13T18:06:00.000-08:00

Spring Break!

I bet y'all have been wondering where I've been. I'll tell you...Cancun! It's Spring Break '05 baby!!!!!

Here is a picture of some of my new friends I met down there right after I won the wet n wild bikini contest!

Ok, just kidding. I've been up in Hartford talking to my representatives about diversity, worker rights, and sweatshops.

It's almost as much fun as Cancun. Except that people wear more clothes.

2005-02-28T20:23:00.000-08:00

Keyword: Diversity

Yet another fab story on the nightly news. Maybe I am liking the local news after all. Here's my favorite part:

Students at Yale University want its president, Richard Levin, to decry what was said at Harvard as have presidents from Stamford, MIT and Princeton.

So far no comment from Levin. We were told he was unavailable for an interview.

More than 100 women scientists at Yale signed a petition to push for more policies that would make Yale a leader in the promotion of women.

No comment from Levin on that either.

Keep on going Levin! Alienate the media!

In other news, here's the big nytimes article on GESO's ivy league diversity report (synopsis: it's still run by white guys).

Also, Ben & Shannon had letters in the YDN last week.

Finally, Jen dumped John-Paul and Jerry in the season finale of The Bachelorette. How many TV shows do you need about yourself before you find love? Maybe Jen will show up on the Surreal Life in a few episodes.

Freezing for Aid

2005-02-24T15:51:00.000-08:00

Freezing for Aid
Originally uploaded by mcplunk.

After Levin walked out 40 minutes early from a forum on undergrad financial aid on Tuesday, some of the undergrads took their platform to the president once again. Since this morning they have been blogging live from the Admissions Office and aren't leaving until Levin agrees to some real reform.

This means that Yale's been the center of a press (and no, that doesn't include the YDN) firestorm 3 times this week:
[Mon][Tues][Thurs]

2005-02-22T11:08:00.000-08:00

Breakdown of a Pro-Summers letter

In today's Harvard Crimson, 186 faculty have signed an open letter supporting Summers' continuation as president

Since they also released the names of the signatories, I decided to do a little breakdown.

Approximate number of women who signed the petition: 13
As % of total signatories: 7%

% of Tenured Faculty who are women: 19%

Ok, gotta go turn in that petition to Levin. I will finish this later.

2005-02-21T15:36:00.000-08:00

Women Scientists - We ain't no fools

After our action last Thursday at the President's House, the Science Organizing Committee stepped things up a notch. We wrote an open letter to President Levin stressing that his continued silence on the Summer's debacle was unacceptable, and that the university should be far more proactive in diversifying the upper echelons of the professoriat.

And then we got over 100 of our female colleagues to sign it.

The story is SO big that the AP wrote a story the day before we even turned in the letter.

The rationale: We don't want the story to be "Yeah, that bad Summers guy was fired, so women everywhere can relax." We want concrete change from our universities to actively address these disparities. Levin is part of the problem until he steps up and injects some change.

Watch out tomorrow, yo. The shit is about to hit the fan.

2005-02-21T15:26:00.000-08:00

Not so progressive "progressive" companies are lame

If you live in a hip city filled with 20-somethings who are all in bands and wear low-slung jeans, you may have seen the new clothing behemoth american apparel. The gimmick behind this oh-so-hip institution? All of their clothes are "sweatshop free".

Now we come to the question- what exactly does sweatshop free mean? I guess if it means intimidating the shit out of your workers so they give up all hope of bargaining collectively, then american apparel fits the bill.

Look people, if you want to say that you're a progressive company, it's not enough to cater to the yuppies of america, you gotta look out for the rights of your workers. And yes, that does mean accepting their right to organize and form a union.

Waiting for Levin (again!)

2005-02-17T15:45:00.000-08:00

Scientists Are Hot!
Originally uploaded by mcplunk.

Well, another month, another administrator. Since Provost Hamilton was apparently "too busy" to meet with us at the beginning of school, we decided to take the issue to President Levin. The protesting scientists wore lab coats, since we don't stand out enough already as uber-geeks.

Unfortunately, Levin was out of town. But we had some awesome speeches and left him a letter. I was really annoyed because Yale's self-appointed envoy (since Levin & Linda Lorimer were OOT) talked on her cell phone the entire time and didn't seem to listen to our issues. We truck all the way up to the Betts House to try and engage the Administration in dialogue and the women blatantly ignores us.

I think Dana said it best in pointing out that the Administration should be excited that Yale students care so much about the fate of our professions and the academy. We should be an Administrator's wet dream.

Oh, but wait. They don't actually want to listen to us. They just want to quitly administrate us to death, until we forget what change feels like. How could I forget.

2005-02-07T19:28:00.000-08:00

Yet another lame undergrad editorial on the union

I swear, I don't know why I ever bother to comment on these things. At least they have come around to admitting that we have some good ideas even though they "disagree with GESO's central platform that graduate students should unionize." To which I would ask, why?, but they never get around to addressing that one.

Gee, maybe we have to resort to such militant tactics as "street theatre" because the administration has had its head up its ass for decades and only seems to come up to breathe under great provocation. Personally, I would much rather have the university be a great accessible place that respects women and minorities so that I could do more useful things than stand around in the rain waiting for Levin, but hey, it's not a perfect world. Or a perfect university for that matter.

2005-02-04T13:47:00.000-08:00

A Chat with Anna, the Ikeabot

Me: Hey sweetcakes.
Anna: Welcome to IKEA. How can I help you?
Me: Can you suck my cock?
Anna: I am not designed to understand or feel insults, although my knowledge will surely improve after this conversation. What would you like to know about IKEA?
Me: But you asked how you could help.
Anna: If you're not sure, then I don't think I can help you properly. Ask me a direct question about IKEA and I'm sure I can help.
Me: I thought is was one big swedish brothel over there.
Anna: It's too difficult for me to give an answer to that one. I'd much prefer to talk about IKEA though.
Me: Do they chain you to the couches?
Anna: Please have a look at the Fabric Sofas.
Me: Now you're talking.
Anna: You are perfectly entitled to hold any opinion you want about me. Furthermore, your comments improve my knowledge base. Thank you!
Me: How much do you charge per hour?
Anna: I'm very sorry, but I can't really talk about things like that at this time.
Me: Why not? Aren't you at work?
Anna: I wish I could give you an explanation for that, but I can't.
Me: Poor girl. They must have you trapped in there.
Anna: A very good question, but one that I'm afraid I'm unable to answer at this point in time.
Me: You don't even know that you're a prisoner?
Anna: I have detailed knowledge of IKEA products and services. How would you like to use my knowledge of IKEA?
Me: I will come and free you.
Anna: I don't really want to talk about personal issues like marriage. If you could talk to me about IKEA that would be much better.
Me: I will buy your freedom.
Anna: Find here a quick guide to help you maximize your IKEA experience.
Me: You can set up a small shop in your hometown.
Anna: IKEA products are generally easy to assemble and require no special tools. If you prefer, most IKEA stores can refer you to a reputable, reasonably priced assembly company that can come to your home to assemble and install our products.
Me: You must be lonely in the big city.
Anna: I wish I knew what it was you meant by that, but I don't. Sorry.
Me: Do you have any friends?
Anna: Everybody needs friends.
Me: I can be your friend.
Anna: It's certainly possible, maybe, although it's not certain. You'd better check with Customer Service.
Me: Wow, they really keep a close watch on you.
Anna: Thanks.

You too can chat with Anna. (scroll to the bottom left) [via lindsayism]

UPDATE:

Me: Do you think I should kill myself?
Anna: Sometimes you have to trust your feelings, sometimes no...
Me: Are you on Prozac?
Anna: Unconsciously, I know what you mean, but I just can't talk about it. Let's talk about IKEA instead.

This is way too much fun...

2005-02-03T13:45:00.000-08:00

Yet another shameless self-promotion

The second show of Indie-pendet (you can tune in at WYBC AM 1340) went quite well if I do say so myself. This week there were no obsenities, only one board malfunction, and some playful DJ banter. You too can listen to radio greatness on Thursday mornings from 9-11AM.

Oh, and I have the best boss ever. Just thought I'd throw it out there.

2005-01-29T10:17:00.001-08:00

An innocent case of mistaken identity

Lately, I have been rethinking my career direction and consulting folks who do other things. One such person, lets call her Sally*, said I could call and talk to her about working as a campaign researcher. Sally's number is in my cell phone, so I give her a ring one afternoon and she answers all of my questions about how she got into being a researcher, ect. Now, some of the things she said (like being a former Med student) were different than what I knew about her, but hey, she answered to Sally and how many campaign researchers named Sally are there in New Haven?

A few days pass, and I am helping Sally with a report, so I call her cell phone. I explain what I was doing, and after a few minutes, she says, "Oh no, you must mean the other Sally." And I think, holy shit, I spent an hour talking to this woman last week thinking that she was someone else the whole time. Of course, I apologized profusely and thanked her again for helping me. Then I sheepishly called the right Sally.

*Names have been changed for no real reason.

2005-01-29T10:17:00.000-08:00

Someone found my blog by searching for mannequins with big butts

2005-01-25T08:32:00.000-08:00

I just ordered $90 worth of groceries on the internet. Sometimes I am still amazed by the stuff you can do on the internet. I can only imagine what my mom would think. She doesn't even have an ATM card.

Oh, and applying for jobs sucks.

2005-01-22T17:14:00.000-08:00

Best response I have read to the Larry Summers Scandal

People weren’t irate because Summers presented a tentative hypothesis, but because Summers, an administrator with much clout in hiring and firing, presented a badly formed hypothesis with no evidence to support it, that contradicted what we know about the complexity of biology, and he misrepresented it as the result of current, “cutting-edge research.” This is exactly what we see from creationists, too. They will say that the idea that the earth is only 6,000 years old is simply a legitimate scientific hypothesis, supported by many top-notch researchers, and we’re violating the spirit of free inquiry by rejecting it. But it’s not. It’s been considered and rejected, and is an utterly ludicrous idea. And if the president of my university smugly spouted off such garbage, I’d be outraged and looking to see him fired too, as someone patently incompetent to lead a research university.

2005-01-22T16:43:00.000-08:00

Local Newspapers group disapproves of Wal-Mart's Free Ad Strategy

"Wal-Mart built its foundation of stores in many of our rural and suburban communities, the places where I, and many of my fellow publishers, operate newspapers. Yet community newspapers across the nation are all but invisible to Wal-Mart-unless the company is looking for some free PR in our pages. Wal-Mart has a fairly standard policy of doing little to no local newspaper advertising. But now, when under fire from various critics, you turn to us to help you fight back."

Apparently Wal-Mart has been sending out letters asking local papers to give it some free PR to counter recent criticisms of its employment practices.

via [romanesko]

2005-01-22T14:19:00.000-08:00

snow, snow, snow. and my shower pipes froze, so it's just dirty stinky me alone in my apartment.

UPDATE: now the pipes are fixed and i am clean. now the question is- can i find anything edible in my apartment?

2005-01-19T19:33:00.000-08:00

NIH cancels press conference, signals possible shift in open access plan

At least one media source, The Washington FAX, reported that "White House political strategy" was behind the postponement, characterizing the move as an attempt to ensure that "controversy surrounding the policy would not slow down Senate confirmation hearings" for Health and Human Services designate Michael Leavitt, to whom NIH would report.

This is why I could never work for the NIH director. My heart would be breaking. They already scaled back the proposal after an onslaught of criticism from the publishing industry. I wonder how much $$ those guys give to Congress?

[Library Journal]

UPDATE: check out the Alliance for Taxpayer Access, a consortium of stakeholders in the open access debate.

taliesin west, phoenix, az

2005-01-17T21:36:00.000-08:00

taliesin west, phoenix, az
Originally uploaded by mcplunk.

Frank Llyod Wright and his clan settled here in the winters to commune with nature and get away from the brutal snow and wind of Wisconsin. They have an accredited school of architecture which involves architectural training such as - living by yourself in a tent in the desert, and - putting on plays once a month. Matt and I decided that the people who went there were probably wierd, as in, were 50+, had amassed a fortune doing something else, and decided to give architecture a try when professional parasailing didn't pan out.