2006-11-25
the first of several
Scott's dad asks about Margaret Cho. Well, not about her – but what her name is. She is described as "that musician you used to like. The Chinese girl. She played the violin. Or the piano."
2006-11-21
Scott's parents
The whole visit will be co-blogged over at Scott's MD-PhD Adventure. Just finished the first day.
2006-11-20
best response is… max ε?
It may sound like chaos, but it's only the lesson drawn from one of the insights of traffic psychology: Drivers will force the accelerator down ruthlessly only in situations where everything has been fully regulated. Where the situation is unclear, they're forced to drive more carefully and cautiously.
2006-11-11
food for this week
- afghan chicken biryani [pdf]
- crêpes with mushrooms and parsnips (inspired by this lovely NYT piece)
- curry fried rice (nasi goreng)
- seared tuna with garam masala
- ma po tofu
2006-11-09
too good in too many ways
Holy Rollers: The city's bicycle zealots, by Ben McGrath. This article contains quote after quote that made me grin knowingly. Some examples:
Critical Mass, according to its participants, is not a group but a recurring event. “An organized coincidence,” one regular rider told me. “No, a disorganized coincidence—a ‘happening,’ a temporary reorganization of public space.” … Others passed out buttons that read, “Please Don’t Arrest Me—This is my permit.” On closer examination, they were recycled pins made by the antiwar group United for Peace and Justice, with customized paper labels glued over “No Blood for Oil.”
I introduced myself to the masked man and asked his name. “NYMAAN,” he said, pointing to his cape, which was adorned with the words “New York Metro Anarchist Alliance.” He added, “I am an idea, not a person.” (His outfit advertised a Web site that features the heading “Notes from the global intifada.”)
The hierarchy of urban piety is ever delicate. Still another Villager, a biking enthusiast, railed against the unctuousness of the anti-bike pedestrians. “I’m tired of joggers using the bike path, getting in the way,” he said. “They tell us to get off our bikes and jog because it’s more environmentally sensitive. To them bikes are manufactured things. The metals that go into them are mined. And there’s the plastic, too . . . made from oil.”
2006-11-07
yay for winter bike!
so I found a bike on craigslist a while ago – a beat up fixed gear for $150. I didn't feel like driving up to north county a month ago, but then I saw it posted again for $110. That was too good to pass up, especially because I've been riding around on my good bike the past couple days in the fucking rain and it's all yucky and needs to be cleaned again… pictures soon.
2006-11-01
“Hacking Democracy” (Salon.com)
on Salon:
It’s a nice thought, one you want to believe: If only Americans could be made to understand the true, gut-sinking atrociousness of just about everything involved in U.S. elections – from the gerrymandered districts to the undemocratic distribution of electoral power to the enormous influence wielded by partisan officials to the underfunded, overwhelmed local offices to, finally, the insanely dangerous technology we use to run the whole thing – well, then, maybe folks would actually do something about the problem.
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