I managed to get my thesis all turned in by the Friday deadline.  That means I've completed my master's degree.  I'm very happy to be done with school.  My classes were interesting, but overall it was a ton of work.  Compared to a lot of other students, I was not very engaged in the department.  By that I mean I didn't do anything extra like work ( Read more... )

I've always been bad about updating this thing. Recently I moved across the country and didn't even update about it, which kind of drove the point home for me.  It'd be nice to keep in touch with folks better, so I've been trying to update my Facebook status a few times a week.  Facebook seems the most popular social networking site among people I ( Read more... )

"Even trash has become worthless."
TIAN WENGUI, who collects refuse for recycling in Beijing.

NYT quote of the day.

I liked this NYT blog post about social perceptions of alcohol (ab)use.

I finally uploaded this year's Halloween pictures. I went as Malfoy, but no Harry Potter movie was released this year, so I didn't draw quite as much attention as I did last year. The night was pretty entertaining, but I had a headache by the end and didn't enjoy it as much as usual.


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A couple of times now I've been on a webpage and seen an ad that really makes me wonder whether it was targeted to me based on my browsing habits and the implications that might have.  One was a banner along the lines of, "Is your man gay? Click to find out!"  Just now, looking at an NYT article, I came across, "Is he losing interest? Learn how to ( Read more... )

I've been using LaTeX and friends lately for presentations and plan to use it on my thesis.  It's a nice typesetting package, but looking at the macros and whatnot can make my head spin.  I tried out LyX and had sort of a mixed reaction: nice layout and pretty user friendly, but a little detached from the actual LaTeX for my taste.  Today I found ( Read more... )

Obama wins!  I'm so happy at this outcome.  Obama is the embodiment of what I grew up thinking the President should be: an intelligent, compassionate, and just caretaker of our country.  Thinking back to my childhood, I don't think I would've taken special notice of the election of a black man.  I'm glad that seems to be the prevailing sentiment, ( Read more... )

It occurred to me that I never updated after my last trip to Galveston after Hurricane Ike. I took some pictures and posted them to a Picasa album. Here's one of my dad's garage, for example.


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Natalie and I eloped today!  I'm obviously very happy about it.  We had a brief, secular ceremony with Judge Charlie Baird that was very nice.  Natalie teared up a bit, and it was very touching.  My brother Russell was there as a witness/best man.  He was dressed better than me, which amusingly lead some to assume he was the groom ( Read more... )