Lately I've continued to focus on writing my thesis, but the tempting distractions on the horizon are looming larger and larger. When I first learned that my paper was accepted into a conference in Slovenia in early September, I only worried about how attending would impact finishing my thesis and starting at Apple. The more I learn about ( Read more... )

I should probably get to campus more frequently. I've been working from home most days, as I struggle to make good progress on writing my thesis, but today I decided I'd get out of Sarah's hair and try to focus better on work. Besides, the university shuttles are running again, now that the summer session has started. I ended up running into and ( Read more... )

Sometimes I take my health for granted, but life picked an inopportune time to knock me out for a week with a vicious sinus infection, just when I should be building momentum on writing my thesis. I can't remember the last time I sustained a high fever for several days, or when even standing up or sitting down too quickly would send pulses of pain ( Read more... )

I beat a video game for the first time in years, but this belated progress on my game queue mostly taught me that I need to blow the queue up and start over. The game I finished is Shadow Hearts, released in 2001 for the PS2. The game's setting, early 20th-century Asia and Europe but infused with mystical elements, provided a nice change of pace ( Read more... )

We're enjoying the new ABC cop show The Unusuals so much, we're convinced it's doomed to cancellation. Ostensibly a drama, it also sports a quirky humor that will probably throw off most of its viewers. By establishing a world populated both by secrets, where no one is exactly what they seem, and also by absurdity, the show resists categorization ( Read more... )

A Choose-Your-Own-Anecdote by Nick Jong

You walk into the PetSmart grooming salon leading your trusting, loving canine companion. The awkward youth behind the counter asks you if you want the usual haircut along with the bath. Do you:

1. Say yes, since you do, in fact, want your dog's hair trimmed the same way you've had it trimmed the last several ( Read more... )

I normally disdain movie adaptations that adhere too closely to the source material, their conservative translations failing to yield a movie that stands on its own. Watchmen manages to pull off an extraordinarily faithful adaptation, which remains true to the original while seeming accessible to those unfamiliar with Alan Moore's original work. ( Read more... )

I'm not sure how three years have passed since the last time I ran a half-marathon, but I'm in better enough shape now to trim my time by about 15 minutes to 2h 8m 35s, or 9m 49s per mile. The mild weather probably helped, with the temperature at 5:30am already warmer than the high on race day three years ago. On the other hand, the route is now ( Read more... )

The commercials that FOX ran for the new Joss Whedon show Dollhouse didn't appeal at all, but I decided to give the premiere a shot. It's Joss Whedon, right? Judging by this first episode, you wouldn't think so, except perhaps in the casting of Eliza Dushku (Faith from Buffy) and Amy Acker (Fred from Angel), with bonus geek cred in the form of ( Read more... )

I mostly got out of the meme game a couple years ago, but this weekend I am feeling munificent. I'll cross-post my response to a Facebook meme here, but I won't "tag" anybody else. They don't call me Base Case for nothing. ( 25 things about me )