Awk

This week is apparently "foot in mouth" week for me. Witness:

The confusion of "Palestine" with "Pakistan" - how did this happen???? I must have been drunk.

Telling the boyfriend that he and Sean were now somehow "even" - did this objectify women? I didn't even think about it. That was awkward.

Not being able to physically tell Lucinda about my Halloween party preparations - am I just unbelievably lame? Maybe I didn't want her to think that, but it turned out that way anyway.

Walking in on the roommate and her boyfriend well, not doing anything really awkward, but slightly awkward nonetheless. Argh whyyy.

My Biochem paper being labeled as "Redundant." Well, you know what else is Redundant????? Your face! God already gave you one ass!

Err... fleeing the Halloween party. At least twice. A solicitous Jamelle thereafter asking whether the Jeffsoc crowd was too big. Nice, but I'd rather handle my own awkwardness lest it become even more embarrassing/intolerable.

Rata is rather neurotic.

Song Lyrics

Because I will be your ambulance if you will be my accident
And I will be your screech and crash if you will be my crutch and cast
And I will be your one more time if you will be my one last chance


Oh sweet tree, fall with me
Fall fast, fall free, fall with me

Irresponsible (Awesome) Weekend Plans

I love my life! Only it leaves precious little time for studying, which may prove to be a problem come Monday.

Thursday:
Class
Teatime - free food and good company
Throw a frisbee around outside the IRC
Run for 45 min
Eat dinner/study for a tiny bit w/ Jamelle
Visit Grey's Anatomy for free food and get sucked into two hours of Guitar Hero (I'm so irresponsible)...
More studying?

Friday:
Class
Work
The Week that Was
Watson Suite Reunion
Soccer game?
Perhaps studying, but that seems exceedingly unlikely. More plausibly, hanging out with awesome IRC people.

Saturday:
Farmer's Market?
Vegetarian Festival
Jeff Soc Tailgate
Random movies are most likely, although perhaps studying (yeah right)

Sunday:
Run
Study like whoa

Global Warming Pt 1

The Disgruntled Chemist, on talking about Global Warming, makes an excellent point here:

"One more thing: perhaps there are some of you sitting there now saying "this guy's an alarmist! No way will it be this bad". Well, maybe you're right. But think about this: on almost every issue, the scientific community has one outlook and the general public has another. On almost every issue (GM crops and microwave ovens come to mind), the scientists are less alarmed about potential problems than are the public. In the case of global warming, the people who most closely study the situation are the most alarmed, and the public is telling them not to worry. Why is that? It's because the government tells us not to worry about it, without giving one shred of scientific evidence to back themselves up. Well, I'll go with the evidence, and with the scientific community. If that makes me sound alarmist to you, then maybe I am. And maybe you should be alarmed too."

I may have said this before, but this is a freaking excellent point. On all of these other issues, the scientists aren't alarmed. We don't cry wolf. The public may be alarmed, but scientists are still looking at the evidence.

But for Global Warming, scientists are very alarmed. Shouldn't this signify something to you?? Let's make a diagram:

Scientists think something will have mostly positive consequences (i.e. microwave ovens) -----> Public doesn't care.

Scientists think something new won't have positive or negative consequences (will just be a new tool, such as perhaps GMOs) -----> Public freaks out and decides all consequences will be bad.

Scientists think something will have potentially devastating consequences -----> Shouldn't the public be running for the hills?

Or is there no correlation here?

It was only a matter of time

Giant ads set for world's busiest runways

Waa, ads in one of the last ad-free spaces. How appalling.

Come On, Guys, Free Speech is Still OK

F**k Bush! (like this is really news)

Why is his resignation neccessary here? Why is it that, if someone spouts an opinion in a paper that the majority doesn't like, we suddenly get all of this clamoring for that person to resign from their post? Limiting what people are allowed to say simply because we don't like what they're saying is censorship. Soon we'll be editing old movies to remove people's cigarettes (:-P) and shortening Hamlet to a 10 word soliloquy simply because someone thinks it contains subversive material.

To be clear, if someone wrote an article stating F**k Gore! or F**k Obama! instead, I think I would be more angry about this. Still, they have a right to express this sentiment. It endangers no one (except, apparently, the writer themselves) and so, while offensive, it should be ALLOWED.

Transparency, Please

I'm convinced. We need transparency today, in every endeavor possible. Only when there is transparency in the government will people discover, and change, the corruption inherent in that institution. Only when people can, say, see into the CAFOs (concentrated animal feeding operations) and kill floors will the meat industry change itself into something less inherently cruel, and based less mindlessly on the bottom line.

I don't see a future in which no one eats meat. However, I do see a future where everyone is forced to think about where their food comes from. We're increasingly entering into an age in which ignorance is not an excuse, nor a viable defense. Many people now have the ability (financially and otherwise) to take accountability for their decisions. You can afford the farmer's market tomatoes; you can splurge on the free-range eggs. You can find out all the information you need to make a moral (?) decision. So, Homework Assignment: Think about where your food comes from.

More From "The Omnivore's Dilemma"

To Do, Someday:

Work out true economic price of a grass fed cow versus a corn fed cow, to soil, oil, public health, the public purse.

Charged to the taxpayer (in the form of subsidies)
the health care system (in the form of food-bone illnesses and obesity)
and the environment (in the form of pollution)
not to mention the welfare of the workers in the feedlot and the slaughterhouse, and the welfare of the animals themselves.

vs: consistency, mechanization, predictablility, interchangeability, and economies of scale.

Floating on a sinking sea of petroleum?

The food industry burns nearly a fifth of all the petroleum consumed in the United States (about as much as automobiles do).

Today it takes between seven and ten calories of fossil fuel energy to deliver one calorie of food energy to an American plate.

Growing food organically uses about a third less fossil fuel than growing it conventionally; yet only a fifth of the total energy used to feed us is consumed on the farm; the rest is spent processing the food and moving it around.

I don't understand Republicans

Here's why:

I was talking to some the other evening, and they seem to have such contradictory beliefs:

1. GPS watches and Ipod trackers are bad - some skeez could potentially hack his way onto the internet and find exactly where you were running - how bad is that????

2. I fully support the Patriot act. Umm, so it's ok if people in the government are all up in your business? But the moment it's an individual, that's a bad thing.

First Rebuttals:
a. There are individuals in the government. Like the ones that leaked the identity of the CIA agent in the Middle East and essentially forced her into early retirement.
b. This point is just me shaking my head in dismay. I don't know. Are Republicans just not private people? Do they not care if their private business remains their own private business? Myself, I don't think it's anyone's business at all what I do in my spare time. What I spend money on. What I do in my own home. Is this distrust in big government something that separates Democrats from Republicans? Because I thought it was the other way around, that Democrats trusted in big government. I don't know.

"He still believes in his heart that people are honest and good," the former manager said about Kenny. "And he's wrong."

Oh Shit

Shit! Was that wise????

Meta Title

Changed the name of my blog to something a little more creative! (I hope)

Rata's a beautiful tree from New Zealand with red flowers.

I also sort of like it because it's a play on words with "Rät", which is German for advice or counsel. And it's close to the word "rant" too, which is much lot closer to what this blog actually is.

Cooking Food!

I'm really glad that both Kat and Willa (and Andrea, and Julie I think, come to that) don't have meal plans this year either. Hopefully we can cook some! Jamelle I think has one, but he's going to be cooking a little soon too. Excitement.

That being said I think I have the easiest class schedule ever known to man. Biochemistry would be my only reasonably difficult class. Then I have Botany, Bio Lab, Religion 101, and Independent Research. Only 12 real credits. I'm lazy.

Today I ate:

Toast w/ Cashew butter and strawberry and rhubarb jam
Smoothie: Strawberries, milk, honey, strawberry yogurt, vanilla
Burrito and a salad
chocolate pudding

All of which I made myself. The chocolate pudding definitely needed more cornstarch in it though - it was way too runny. But still really tasty.

Also sat through "Pulp Fiction" with Jamelle, Willa, Andrea, and Julie. It was ok. I felt a little left out because they (esp. Jamelle) were all referencing Chappelle show or random other things I hadn't seen, but I guess that isn't unusual. Just made me wish I was back in California, again. There people actually listened to me when I had something to say.

Had a good conversation afterwards about art which became much more broadly philosophical as the evening went on. A tipsy girl who came in and joined the conversation said that we should really all be high to be having the kind of talk that we were. I, for one, agreed.

Those of the Male Persuasion

Alas, I don't think he actually likes me at all... well, the more fool me then, I suppose... although I realize that realistically it wouldn't have worked out. Being distance from the beginning and all that. Still, that wouldn't have prevented me from trying though!

The problem is I don't think I can tell the 'just a nice/considerate guy' guy apart from the 'complimenting and doing things for you because he actually likes you' guy. I was hoping I could actually distinguish between the two, but it seems to be next to impossible.

I also think I'm incredibly dense when it comes to the latter type of guy, because I hardly ever notice that someone's being nice to me because they like me until waaaaay too late. Took me about a week to con on to the last one, but now I'm second-guessing that as well (see above). Although Michael Mayfield did inform me that if a guy is being nice to you, he probably likes you. Guys seem a lot more straightforward like that. Good for them. Still, I can doubt and second-guess on this end more than enough to make up for any directness on the other person's part.

Proving Smart People Wrong

There's nothing I like more than proving someone very intelligent to be wrong, at least in my own estimation of what is "right" and "wrong". Which is pure opinion, of course.

So: Someone said "Biology is based on Chemistry. Chemistry is based on Physics. Physics is based on Math. So everything can be explained in terms of math - so math is the most interesting thing."

Any guesses who might have said that? :-P

Rebuttal: Saying that Biology, that life, all comes down to Chemistry is true but boring, equivalent to saying that all soccer is physics. True, life is and Biology concerns itself with what boils down to the chemistry between carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen atoms (98% of the atoms in people). However, it is the emergent properties of these atoms, such as DNA, AIDS, and terriers, which are interesting, not the constituent parts. Once you can use physics to describe amino acids and chemistry to describe the human brain and 'free will', well, then I still won't concede that physics is better; rather, that will be the day which all the many and varied scientific disciplines will be one and the same. Until then, Bio will still be the most fascinating.


Whew, that only took... what, three years? See what an amazing fiend I am at debate?

The Great Outdoors

Kickass day yesterday! Spent most of it outside - went to Barton Springs in the evening and had our longest swim ever there, from maybe 4:45 to 8:30. The water was very murky green, and the visibility was only about 6 feet in front of you or so, but it was still insanely fun. I dived to the bottom as much as I felt brave enough to, and saw lots and lots of fish, (20+ at last count) muddy brown ones and pearly white and maroon ones and so forth. Orange-spotted narkled gudgeons and such :-P. It was glorious just to float in the water and look up at the pecan trees and the bright blue sky. If you kept moving you could stay in the water a really long time, too.

Jessie and I decided that it was so nice outside that we should sleep outside, too. This was also amazing. We set up some blankets and sleeping bags in the backyard, and apart from the M's warnings about the skunk which apparently lives under our deck, we were all set. Although in retrospect, I think I spent way too much time looking at the stars (10-11, 2-3) and reading (and looking out for the skunk). I'm tired now, but nothing a good deal of coffee can't take care of. Woken up this morning by a bunch of dragonflies flitting around overhead :-). What a way to wake up! I don't think I've ever slept under the sky before, without a tent or anything.

Booklist

Wonder why I've been so discontent lately. I couldn't tell you.

I hear that women like to talk about how they're feeling. Men like to talk about issues. I'll try and do both here, although I'm already noticing a penchant for talking about, you know, the feelings, more than the issues and the solutions to them (if there are any).

Books I've read lately:

The Princess Bride
To Say Nothing of the Dog
Howl's Moving Castle
Student's Vegetarian Cookbook (mmmmmm food!)
Scientific American (magazine, but close enough)
The God of Small Things
The Human Stain (sadly, didn't finish)
Bambi vs. Godzilla: On the Nature, Purpose, and Practice of the Movie Business

Yup, not nearly as much as I'd like though.

Scattered Thoughts

Here's hoping that this blog won't be as empty as the last! Although that seems relatively unlikely to me. Although perhaps not having a sketchy ex as the only regular reader of the blog will persuade me that I actually have something of substance to add to the internets.

Uninformed Opinions: I've changed my mind completely on organic food. And vegetarian food. Although I was cognizant at the time that I didn't really mean what I was spouting to Jamelle, that organic food was a waste of space and not very efficient, I now hold the complete opposite opinion.

General Complaints: I don't want to finish this paper (for my nanotech job over the summer). Hence the procrastination and blogging of this incohate mess. I'm terrible at finishing anything if I don't have a strict deadline for doing so, and this paper is a perfect example of that. True, I have to get it in to my PI well before the September 14th deadline, so he can proofread it. Also, I have to go back to school in less than a week, and that involves tiny details such as packing, last minute visits with all number of friends and family, the purchasing of fifteen different items I never knew I needed (and the forgetting of another few vital buys I should have made), etc (a wonderful English teacher told me to never use the word etc; instead, just add the few extra things being left out/forgotten to the list. Sound advice, but it's much too difficult to sit here and remember the other things I need to do. They'll come to me. Quite late, the night before I need to leave. I'm quite certain of this, actually.) Getting to the point, this week would be an excellent time to finish this paper - today, in fact, would be best, as no one is home and there are as yet no demands on my time (the M in fact thinks I am working on said paper - optimistic of her.) But try convincing my body of that. It'd rather read trashy magazines and kids books and bang out something which, in a former life, may have resembled piano music.

I'd much rather still be in California, with a bunch of science people who, apart from being a bit self conscious and critical, and thus somewhat dull, were actually LIKE me and actually seemed to, well, enjoy my company (LIKE me :-P). Which was great. CJ and Nikhil were awesome, and Syad and Derek were cool in their own slightly standoffish ways. I've never made friends so quickly. *sigh* Santa Barbara was gorgeous, and had the best weather I've ever experienced, outside of in New Zealand. In fact, it reminded me of New Zealand in a number of ways, which is perhaps why I liked it so much.