If you want me to ask you five questions, you still can :-D
1. What are your Superbowl picks for this season?
I'm going to go listen to some Bach on that day. It's going to be awesome.
2. Team Edward or Team Jacob?
I had to google this to figure out what you were talking about. And having googled it, I think I would have preferred to remain unencumbered by that knowledge ;-)
3. Ben Bernanke for Person of the Year? What were they thinking? Whom would you have picked instead?
I still think the best thing ever written about Ben Bernanke was![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
tgies's answer to a poll question I posted once asking "what's a common object found in an office that you can use instead of scissors, if you don't have scissors?", which was, "your teeth. Or Ben Bernanke's teeth if you're gross."
Anyway, I don't really know what they were thinking, but I'm even more curious about what Obama was thinking when he appointed Geithner and Summers.
I would, of course, pick Al Franken.
4. What's the worst restaurant meal you've ever eaten?
There's probably a worse one, but the worst that comes to mind is a "family Mexican restaurant" in Lompoc, California that David and I ate at during our SF-to-LA bike trip. Lompoc is a horrible place. The "family Mexican food" is worse. In a tragic case of analysis-paralysis, we spent so much time looking for a restaurant that we found inspiring that by the time we finally gave up and sat down to eat, almost everything was closed. Which just made the meal all the more disappointing.
5. If you could have saved one business that's folded during the past year, which would it be?
Ooh, great question. I would save either Buddha's Delight in Boston (which got bought out, as far as I can tell, by some other, much less good restaurant that now occupies the same space) or Cafe Lucha, the vegan coffee shop across the street from me that I'm not sure is actually out of business, but they never seem to be open even during their supposed operating hours.
1. What are your Superbowl picks for this season?
I'm going to go listen to some Bach on that day. It's going to be awesome.
2. Team Edward or Team Jacob?
I had to google this to figure out what you were talking about. And having googled it, I think I would have preferred to remain unencumbered by that knowledge ;-)
3. Ben Bernanke for Person of the Year? What were they thinking? Whom would you have picked instead?
I still think the best thing ever written about Ben Bernanke was
tgies's answer to a poll question I posted once asking "what's a common object found in an office that you can use instead of scissors, if you don't have scissors?", which was, "your teeth. Or Ben Bernanke's teeth if you're gross."Anyway, I don't really know what they were thinking, but I'm even more curious about what Obama was thinking when he appointed Geithner and Summers.
I would, of course, pick Al Franken.
4. What's the worst restaurant meal you've ever eaten?
There's probably a worse one, but the worst that comes to mind is a "family Mexican restaurant" in Lompoc, California that David and I ate at during our SF-to-LA bike trip. Lompoc is a horrible place. The "family Mexican food" is worse. In a tragic case of analysis-paralysis, we spent so much time looking for a restaurant that we found inspiring that by the time we finally gave up and sat down to eat, almost everything was closed. Which just made the meal all the more disappointing.
5. If you could have saved one business that's folded during the past year, which would it be?
Ooh, great question. I would save either Buddha's Delight in Boston (which got bought out, as far as I can tell, by some other, much less good restaurant that now occupies the same space) or Cafe Lucha, the vegan coffee shop across the street from me that I'm not sure is actually out of business, but they never seem to be open even during their supposed operating hours.
"This decade" memoid
Dec. 16th, 2009 10:41 am2000 - In college, learned Haskell, applied to grad schools.
2001 - Graduated college, got married, moved to Berkeley, started grad school.
2002 - In grad school, failed prelim, realized I couldn't finish at Berkeley.
2003 - Failed prelim two more times, wrote master's thesis.
2004 - Received master's degree, got first full-time job, got second full-time job, got accepted to Cambridge.
2005 - Got third full-time job, went back to Berkeley in the iSchool program instead of going to Cambridge.
2006 - Dropped out of iSchool, interned at Grammatech, interned at Microsoft Research.
2007 - Transitioned, worked at FNMOC, quit FNMOC, got into PSU, moved to Portland.
2008 - Got divorced, wrote first conference paper, got first paper rejection, remained in grad school.
2009 - Passed comprehensive exam, got top surgery, submitted second conference paper.
I'm aspiring for:
2010 - Propose dissertation, bike across country.
2001 - Graduated college, got married, moved to Berkeley, started grad school.
2002 - In grad school, failed prelim, realized I couldn't finish at Berkeley.
2003 - Failed prelim two more times, wrote master's thesis.
2004 - Received master's degree, got first full-time job, got second full-time job, got accepted to Cambridge.
2005 - Got third full-time job, went back to Berkeley in the iSchool program instead of going to Cambridge.
2006 - Dropped out of iSchool, interned at Grammatech, interned at Microsoft Research.
2007 - Transitioned, worked at FNMOC, quit FNMOC, got into PSU, moved to Portland.
2008 - Got divorced, wrote first conference paper, got first paper rejection, remained in grad school.
2009 - Passed comprehensive exam, got top surgery, submitted second conference paper.
I'm aspiring for:
2010 - Propose dissertation, bike across country.
Blah blah comment if you want me to ask you questions blah blah.
1. So, beard. Discuss!
There's not that much to discuss, really. Here's a current picture, for clarity. When I came back from Edinburgh in September I decided to do an experiment to see what happened if I grew a beard. I'm still not sure if I really like the results, but it does save me some explanation sometimes. I never really used to like beards on other people. At some point I'll probably start over.
2. Would you move back to the bay area if you could? Why? Why not?
I don't really miss the Bay Area a lot, aside from missing individual people. I always had a sense that I was at least twenty years too late (possibly more than that) to get what I really wanted. That was kind of maddening, as if (somehow) if I just tried hard enough, I could actually go work at Apple in 1985 or whatever.
A lot of the same things that are wrong with the Bay Area are also wrong with Portland, but I don't plan on staying in Portland after I graduate (in, I hope, 2-3 years), either.
So no, I don't think I would move back anytime soon, in the absence of a really compelling job that couldn't be replicated elsewhere. At this point in my life I feel like if I moved back to someplace I'd lived before, I would never leave. I still have more places I want to live, and I'd rather live in New York or possibly even (heresy!) LA than the Bay Area.
3. Do you want to stay in academia indefinitely, or eventually go Real Job?
I definitely don't want to go back to working in the software industry, so if that's what you mean by Real Job, then no, do not want. I want to have a job with a lot of flexibility and freedom where I can connect with people on an individual basis and hopefully make a positive difference in their lives, so given my skills, that probably means teaching.
4. The stuff about senators being members of a shady pseudochristian hate group is very worrying. What's your reaction to that? And, dude, Hilary Clinton! Did we ever dodge a bullet there.
I didn't know about this untilcompilerbitch passed me a link, but really, given the American political tradition, it's not surprising. I don't really know what to say beyond that. I think black-and-white moralism is a serious hindrance to ever having a mature political and ethical dialogue in the US, but I don't think changing that would be as easy as loosening the grip of right-wing Christianity.
5. My favourite iPhone app actually isn't the Cat Piano, but it's pretty funny all the same. What's your favourite mobile device application, and why?
I'm still a dinosaur who has a cell phone that's only capable of making calls, sending text messages, and taking grainy photos. Next! :-)
1. So, beard. Discuss!
There's not that much to discuss, really. Here's a current picture, for clarity. When I came back from Edinburgh in September I decided to do an experiment to see what happened if I grew a beard. I'm still not sure if I really like the results, but it does save me some explanation sometimes. I never really used to like beards on other people. At some point I'll probably start over.
2. Would you move back to the bay area if you could? Why? Why not?
I don't really miss the Bay Area a lot, aside from missing individual people. I always had a sense that I was at least twenty years too late (possibly more than that) to get what I really wanted. That was kind of maddening, as if (somehow) if I just tried hard enough, I could actually go work at Apple in 1985 or whatever.
A lot of the same things that are wrong with the Bay Area are also wrong with Portland, but I don't plan on staying in Portland after I graduate (in, I hope, 2-3 years), either.
So no, I don't think I would move back anytime soon, in the absence of a really compelling job that couldn't be replicated elsewhere. At this point in my life I feel like if I moved back to someplace I'd lived before, I would never leave. I still have more places I want to live, and I'd rather live in New York or possibly even (heresy!) LA than the Bay Area.
3. Do you want to stay in academia indefinitely, or eventually go Real Job?
I definitely don't want to go back to working in the software industry, so if that's what you mean by Real Job, then no, do not want. I want to have a job with a lot of flexibility and freedom where I can connect with people on an individual basis and hopefully make a positive difference in their lives, so given my skills, that probably means teaching.
4. The stuff about senators being members of a shady pseudochristian hate group is very worrying. What's your reaction to that? And, dude, Hilary Clinton! Did we ever dodge a bullet there.
I didn't know about this until
compilerbitch passed me a link, but really, given the American political tradition, it's not surprising. I don't really know what to say beyond that. I think black-and-white moralism is a serious hindrance to ever having a mature political and ethical dialogue in the US, but I don't think changing that would be as easy as loosening the grip of right-wing Christianity.5. My favourite iPhone app actually isn't the Cat Piano, but it's pretty funny all the same. What's your favourite mobile device application, and why?
I'm still a dinosaur who has a cell phone that's only capable of making calls, sending text messages, and taking grainy photos. Next! :-)
