Home internet is back! Of course, just in time for me to be jetting out of New York to visit exciting rural Pennsylvania. Who needs lots of fun activities with attractive, interesting people who you've got.... cows?
Anyway, I've posted the pics of my tattoo. Stupid digital camera... it's really hard to use those things to take pictures of yourself that look OK (case in point with my other picture of myself.) But whatever.
Also, I've written my review of the influenza pandemic. You can take a look at it here.
Hopefully it's helpful to those of you trying to figure out why everyone you know is suddenly becoming infected with the flu. Like that disgusting woman I was forced to sit next to today on the subway who kept coughing and sneezing without covering her mouth or nose.
I'm also taking requests for my next explanation of biology piece. Like I say in the review - I specialize in molecular/cellular neurobiology, but I can branch out if need be.
In current events...
Last night was OK. I went out with one of my friends for dinner. We went to Mama Mexico, which is this overpriced mexican restaurant in midtown on the east side, though the food is pretty good (and the dining room has this odd kind of mood lighting that changes colors every five minutes of so.) For whatever reason, we were two of four guys in the entire restaurant. Every other table was full of women. Which, on the surface, sounds pretty good. But it was not. These women seemed to be almost universally those horrible business/finance/banking/whatever New York women who work in midtown, dye their hair blonde, shop at Banana Republic, check out and scowl at the outfits of every woman who walks by them, refuse to ever defend a position unless they know everyone else already agrees with them and for some ungodly reason, speak in ridiculously loud, shrill voices. Can you tell I'm a big fan? We were stuck next to this table of women who spent their entire dinner loudly discussing the pros and cons of their respective hair care products.
Is this all people really think about? I'm not sure which possibility scares me more - that this is what occupies the minds of most people, or that they're afraid of talking about anything substantive for fear of offending someone or sticking out. Conformity scares me sometimes. It's only a small step from intimidating people out of deviating from the group opinion to having jackbooted thugs knocking on your door at 4AM. OK, maybe that's a bit of an exaggeration. But does anyone else feel like many people's social development stopped at the 15-17 year old phase when fitting into the group seemed like something that really mattered? It seems to me like the more I look at the behavior of the people around me (those who I would not consider to be my friends) the more this seems to be the driving motivation in much of what people do.
Anyway, that was more of a rant than I had planned, but so be it. Enjoy. I'll be checking in periodically from my parent's place, but with a 486 computer and a 28.8 modem connection, keep your expectations low.
Happy holidays everyone... even if there are just an excuse for corporate america to pound the middle classes into the ground by forcing them to buy presents they can't afford and getting further into debt.
Anyway, I've posted the pics of my tattoo. Stupid digital camera... it's really hard to use those things to take pictures of yourself that look OK (case in point with my other picture of myself.) But whatever.
Also, I've written my review of the influenza pandemic. You can take a look at it here.
Hopefully it's helpful to those of you trying to figure out why everyone you know is suddenly becoming infected with the flu. Like that disgusting woman I was forced to sit next to today on the subway who kept coughing and sneezing without covering her mouth or nose.
I'm also taking requests for my next explanation of biology piece. Like I say in the review - I specialize in molecular/cellular neurobiology, but I can branch out if need be.
In current events...
Last night was OK. I went out with one of my friends for dinner. We went to Mama Mexico, which is this overpriced mexican restaurant in midtown on the east side, though the food is pretty good (and the dining room has this odd kind of mood lighting that changes colors every five minutes of so.) For whatever reason, we were two of four guys in the entire restaurant. Every other table was full of women. Which, on the surface, sounds pretty good. But it was not. These women seemed to be almost universally those horrible business/finance/banking/whatever New York women who work in midtown, dye their hair blonde, shop at Banana Republic, check out and scowl at the outfits of every woman who walks by them, refuse to ever defend a position unless they know everyone else already agrees with them and for some ungodly reason, speak in ridiculously loud, shrill voices. Can you tell I'm a big fan? We were stuck next to this table of women who spent their entire dinner loudly discussing the pros and cons of their respective hair care products.
Is this all people really think about? I'm not sure which possibility scares me more - that this is what occupies the minds of most people, or that they're afraid of talking about anything substantive for fear of offending someone or sticking out. Conformity scares me sometimes. It's only a small step from intimidating people out of deviating from the group opinion to having jackbooted thugs knocking on your door at 4AM. OK, maybe that's a bit of an exaggeration. But does anyone else feel like many people's social development stopped at the 15-17 year old phase when fitting into the group seemed like something that really mattered? It seems to me like the more I look at the behavior of the people around me (those who I would not consider to be my friends) the more this seems to be the driving motivation in much of what people do.
Anyway, that was more of a rant than I had planned, but so be it. Enjoy. I'll be checking in periodically from my parent's place, but with a 486 computer and a 28.8 modem connection, keep your expectations low.
Happy holidays everyone... even if there are just an excuse for corporate america to pound the middle classes into the ground by forcing them to buy presents they can't afford and getting further into debt.
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Before you even ask, I'm a cross between Samantha and Miranda.