-Moved to much nicer, warmer, quieter apartment
-Logged more time in Russia
-Narrowed down dissertation topic;
-(slightly) Closer to finishing school
-Got older
-Still have friends
-Shorter hair
-Same car
-Started learning new instrument
-Not more organized
-Spent less time driving

I just plugged in my old iPod to transfer some music back onto my hard drive, and for some reason iTunes seems reluctant to let me copy anything from the iPod into my library. Is there something fancier to try than just drag-and-drop from the iPod to the main library? That's been working perfectly well when I plug in my newer pod, but doesn't do ( Read more... )

As the semester is wrapping up, it occurred to me that anyone who sorta-kinda follows what I'm up to might want a few updates ( Read more... )

Torture. The NY Times has a decent overview today, addressing the question of how exactly the US went from prosecuting things like waterboarding as torture, to using them.

It turns out that the real world actually does not function like 24. Torture is not only horrific, not only ineffective, but also counterproductive. We think that it's just ( Read more... )

Discussing the related issues of Obama's release of the torture memos and his decision to prevent prosecution of those involved, Glenn Greenwald had this helpful bit to say ( Read more... )

This being a (the most?) common question that seems to come up in discussions of domestic abuse/intimate partner abuse, I wanted to pass around a link to a post I found insightful. And no, the answer isn't 'them bitches are just crazy'--human psychology is more complex than that. From the outside, it's easy for us to say 'she should just leave ( Read more... )

Holes in back pockets were comfortable, worn-in ( Read more... )

So normally I don't call on students in class. I figure if they don't really want to talk it's not my job to make them--they're big kids, and they know they're getting graded on participation. If it's not important for them to do well on that, it's their business. Added to that, I know what it's like to be shy and uncomfortable talking in front ( Read more... )

Today was lovely. I went for a brief (slow and doubtless unsightly) jog through the park near my house. Bright sunlight and the necessity of dodging puddles made for a good time. Even the giant sidewalk-encompassing puddle that I tried to avoid by stepping carefully through the solid-looking grass to the side. Two steps along I was startled by ( Read more... )

This guy got paid to write a weird rant about how wrong scientists have been about global climate change. His major evidence? Well, 30 years ago a bunch of newspapers published stories about supposed global cooling, which turned out to be false. A scientist failed to predict the decline in price of 5 metals. And global sea ice levels have ( Read more... )