Liz's Bloglet - Saturday 29 January 2005

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05:52:45 PM, Saturday 29 January 2005

I think just being nice is vastly underrated. _
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07:26:07 PM, Friday 28 January 2005

Hugo Schwyzer, whose blog discusses feminism, Christianity, chintillas, and running, offers a cool poem about cross country. _
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09:07:46 AM, Thursday 27 January 2005

A surprisingly moving video montage of Thursday's festivities. The song is haunting. _
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08:50:53 AM, Saturday 22 January 2005

Got to spend a few days on the NC coast this weekend, at the UNC Marine Lab rather than the Duke one. Discovered an eastern NC delicacy: "Pig in a Puppy"--a very large hushpuppy cut in half and filled with barbeque (for those from some obscenely unpleasant part of the country, barbeque is shredded pork covered with spicy vinegar). It was indeed as delightful as it sounds, and I may not have to eat again for several days. _
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10:05:56 PM, Monday 17 January 2005

Even though I know and understand the reasons behind them, and it's pretty much guaranteed that the same set of circumstances will not occur again this year, these numbers are still pretty intimidating. _
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04:15:17 PM, Tuesday 11 January 2005

Interesting things about Duke learned while working too much this week:
--6000 undergrads, 6500 grad and professional students (By comparison, UGA had 30,000 undergrads and 5000 grad and professional)
--little light rail tram to take you to different parts of the hospital
--AMAZING benefits
--my title has a preposition ("Associate in Research" for those of us with master's degrees; you have to have a PhD to be a "Research Associate")
--VISA cards that bill directly to grants (no more paperwork)
--other impressive paperwork reduction things including copying, printing, and long distance provided by the department, not billed to grants
--balconies on buildings have these weird slits in the sides and you have to be on the ground to realize, "oh, that's where they would put the cannons--it's gothic"
--most buildings have a little coffee shop thing that sells actually tasty food and really good hot tea
--2 words: campus barbershop
--Harvard is the Duke of the north (actually, I already knew that) _
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08:41:51 AM, Saturday 8 January 2005

Life would probably be easier if I wasn't finding gothic architecture so intimidating. _
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09:53:13 PM, Tuesday 4 January 2005

I was hoping to provide some sort of commentary for the mix cd that many folks have received. I'll give it a go, I guess and see if I have anything interesting to say.

Songs About Songs: A Mix by Liz
1. American Music-Violent Femmes
From their Viva Wisconsin acoustic tour and album. Undistilled, matured, rockin Femmes.
2. High Lonesome Sound-The Seldom Scene
The Seldom Scene are one of the great "Newgrass" groups, performing old standards with a modern flavor. This, however, is one of their own songs.
3. Rock N' Roll Radio-Ramones
COME ON LET'S ROCK AND ROLL WITH THE RAMONES
4. Late Night Radio-Beth Wood
Beth Wood is one of the Asheville singer-songwriters (although like many of them she lives in Atlanta now). This song was very obviously written about WNCW 88.7 FM out of Isothermal Community College in Spindale, NC and one of the very finest radio stations on earth.
5. Radio Song-R.E.M.
Perhaps I should apologize for the presence of KRS-1 on this mix, but I'm not going to.
6. Contest Coming (Cripple Creek)-Michelle Shocked
Cripple Creek is the first complete "fiddle tune" I learned to play on the banjo. If you've never heard the album Arkansas Traveler, Michelle Shocked does beautiful things with old tunes and new words.
7. Walk of Life-Dire Straits
The Dire Straits are one of those things that I sort of accidentally like from listening to too much "classic rock" radio before we got our first "alternative" station (don't you miss those genres?) You're lucky it's not "Sultans of Swing".
8. One Song Glory-RENT
Despite the amusing send-up in Team America, RENT still makes me cry, especially this song.
9. Number Three-They Might Be Giants
My only regret is that this didn't fit well as the third song. Although it is perhaps more amusing as number 9.
10. Napoleon-Ani DiFranco
Because, you see, the music business is not all fun and games and sometimes it makes Ani angry.
11. Only You (and the Can Preven Forest Fires)-Young Fresh Fellows
Just because the music business isn't all fun and games doesn't mean you can't write a funny song about how much it sucks.
12. Seymour Stein-Belle And Sebastian
He could have met Seymour Stein and sold out but he didn't because he is indy and writes really pretty songs.
13. Nashville-Indigo Girls
The music business makes Amy Ray pretty mad, too. She also writes pretty songs about it.
14. I Wanna Learn a Love Song-Harry Chapin
Harry Chapin is dead and that's a shame.
15. My Sentimental Melody-Magnetic Fields
The only problem was deciding which Magnetic fields song about music to include since 69 love songs alone contains 15.
16. Nothing Like a Song-Azure Ray
Azure Ray are from Athens (although they now live in Omaha). This song is not about a song, but I really like it.
17. In a Musical Key-Cowboy Junkies
The Cowboy Junkies also make me cry and they also have a ton of songs about songs, although this one isn't really.
18. Something to Sing About-Buffy The Vampire Slayer
We bought the 6th season of Buffy just to get this episode, whose soundtrack we'd been listening to for a year.
19. How Can I Keep From Singing?-Pete Seeger
Although you will frequently see this song called an "Appalachian Folk Song", it's origin was at some point traced to Iredell County, NC, just a few miles from where I grew up (and not in the Appalachians at all). It is one of the most amazing songs I know, and one of the most beautiful expressions of what faith is. _
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08:07:16 AM, Friday 31 December 2004

Brutal Women is a pretty nifty blog (courtesy of Alas, a Blog, where she is guest blogging for the holidays. _
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08:06:03 AM, Wednesday 22 December 2004

New town. New house. New job. Big mess. Crazy cat. Good life. _
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08:52:47 AM, Tuesday 21 December 2004

In most cases, should I have to clear my cache to see updates to a webpage? Is there something a page developer can do to make it update automatically?

Is it common for a page developer (not being paid by a browser maker) to only design his page to work in one browser?

If one is hired to develop a database on a central server, make a user interface, and make it possible to output the database to Access (which all of the users have and are familiar with) have the requirements of the job been met by making it possible to output to MySQL and providing a link for downloading the program?

(we're having a little trouble with some database issues, and I find I don't know all that much about the finer ins and outs of webpage design or of contract computer work.) _
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12:55:28 PM, Thursday 16 December 2004

One of my officemates is cramming for an exam that she hasn't had time to study for because she's been working on her research. I was sympathizing with her that professors seem to forget that we're somehow supposed to simultaneously do field work, lab work, read the literature, and study for their classes. As she said, "I didn't have time to go to the department's time management seminar last month. I'll blame it on that." _
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09:16:20 AM, Thursday 16 December 2004

All the USDA county conservation and RC&D offices in the country have the Beatles' greatest hits chimed by bells as their hold music. _
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04:33:42 PM, Wednesday 8 December 2004

CBS and NBC are refusing to air an ad by the United Church of Christ that says that Jesus loves everybody...even gay people. I attended the UCC church in Annapolis for awhile and it was a wonderful, wonderful place. I love the idea that the TV networks control the nation's understanding of religion in our allegedly secular society. _
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08:21:36 AM, Wednesday 1 December 2004

Note to self: When West Wing guest stars look familiar, they were either on Buffy or Chicago Hope. _
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03:54:43 PM, Sunday 28 November 2004

I just discovered that Escape Velocity: Nova is available for OSX to registered users. Because I never throw email away, I still have the registration code. And I was worried about being bored this weekend. It's even available for Windows now, because I know how Windows users are always complaining that Mac users have all the coolest games. _
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04:26:20 PM, Friday 26 November 2004

Tonight I saw Alexander so that you don't have to. The one good thing I can say is that it was free. They show these free sneak previews on university campuses to build public opinion in advance of the movie opening. I think they will be very disappointed in the public opinion they built. Although the only man Alexander kisses is a eunuch, and in fact Hephaiston settles for lots of hugs, most of the young men around me were obviously extremely uncomfortable about such a manly man being so into eunuchs and his best friend. Don't worry though, because there was also incestous insinuation and 2 attempted heterosexual rapes. Oh, and some boobies. And a terrible cgi eagle. and a lot of snakes. And elephants. and really bad accents. Truly something for everybody. Except acting, writing, directing, cinematography, or editing. Those were pretty much absent. _
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11:44:50 PM, Monday 22 November 2004

I volunteered to participate in a survey of Johnnies for some GI who's now in grad school elsewhere. There are 12 questions, mostly about marital status and various effects being a Johnny has had on your life. He's looking for more participants, so if anybody else is willing to do it let me know and I will forward it to you. _
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08:11:52 AM, Monday 22 November 2004

I have to finish my grant proposal today, my hands are covered in cuts from vinyl siding, and I have nobody but Tuxedo to keep me company for the next 10 days. ::sigh:: _
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09:27:58 AM, Sunday 21 November 2004

After many years of lurking, I paid Matt $5 and I now have a Metafilter account. You can, too. _
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12:20:48 PM, Friday 19 November 2004

I am becoming a biogeochemistry nerd. This is not something I ever would have expected of myself. I always thought nitrogen cycling was the dullest aspect of ecology. I now have to apologize to all my biogeochemical friends and acknowledge that it's actually really cool. _
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08:33:28 AM, Friday 19 November 2004

An awesome little story about John Kerry, "red states", the so-called liberal media, and, most importantly, tea. _
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07:47:07 PM, Wednesday 17 November 2004

Detained immigrants beaten and threatened with dogs I'm sure a lot of you heard this story tonight, the story of people who have already served their sentence for crimes they committed, who suddenly found themselves retroactively subject to a law which bans them from the country--after detaining them in county jails for an indefinite period of time where apparently "Homeland Security" feels can be mistreated and nothing needs to be done about it. The NPR webpage has the corroborating documents and an essay by Daniel Zwerdling about just how hard it was to get the info to tell this story. Recently, it's seemed like all news stories are just a person with a nice voice reading a press release. When evil like this is going on in the world, it's nice to know that there are still reporters out there like Daniel Zwerdling. _
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07:25:42 PM, Wednesday 17 November 2004

www.ohmygoditburns.com A decision was made that using pvc pipe,and lining up 3 brita filters cartridges inside through which the vodka would flow serially, you could reach the optimum filtration in the shortest amount of time. _
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08:05:35 PM, Wednesday 10 November 2004

I just can't take it. I went to integrated public schools all of my life, and I think Remi (FL is also a red state) may be the only other member of the blogmass who can say that. I have always had friends of different ethnicities, economic, and religious backgrounds, whose parents had different political beliefs. My friends' parents were dairy farmers and gun dealers, shop owners and engineers, bankers and preachers, professors and public school teachers and nurses and stay-at-home moms and UPS delivery men.

I grew up firmly believing that anybody from the humblest beginnings could be president, and I had Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton to prove it. Ronald Reagan was governor of California when Jimmy Carter was governor of Georgia. Jimmy Carter has ended wars and the Carter Center will continue that mission forever. Thomas Jefferson owned slaves and wrote the Declaration of Independence. We gave you all jazz, blues, gospel, bluegrass, country, and rock and roll, as well as Robert Shaw conducting the Atlanta Symphony. We foster your indie musicians in Austin and Athens after they run away from where you live. We've got Duke and Emory Medical Centers and the CDC. We train engineers at Georgia Tech, and doctors and lawyers at UNC and UVA. William Faulkner, Flannery O'Conner, Harper Lee, Truman Capote, Clyde Edgerton, Walker Percy, and Pat Conroy have shared our stories with you. Martin Luther King, Jr. changed the world. LBJ helped him, and the Southern Poverty Law Center continues the struggle. John Lewis and Mel Watt stand up for the civil rights of the whole country in the House of Representatives everyday. What do you want from us? _
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12:36:14 AM, Wednesday 10 November 2004

Somebody help me out...isn't Gahanna, OH, where more than 4000 votes were recorded in a 600 person precinct, the childhood residence of Mr. Speakmon? _
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01:48:20 PM, Saturday 6 November 2004

It's happening on all the blogs which formerly had good discussion--some random right winger shows up, spouts unsupported nonsense, calls everybody who disagrees a socialist or a fascist or a Nazi, and then leaves. It's even happening on Alas, a Blog, which is one of the only liberal blogs of which I'm aware where conservatives who can discuss rationally are always welcome and interesting discussions actually occur as a result. Hopefully they're just celebrating their "victory" and this pattern isn't going to continue for the next four years. _
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06:37:42 AM, Saturday 6 November 2004

This Metafilter thread has a beautiful map, apparently from the New York Times, which shows red and blue by municipal population density. See that blue dot east of Atlanta? That's where we live. See that swath of blue across the middle of NC? That's where I grew up and where we're about to move. Find the red in your own state. _
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07:00:11 AM, Friday 5 November 2004

A word from those of us who live in the "Red States" to those who live in "Blue States":
Do not hate whole regions of the country. Do not feel superior because your state was colored blue and mine wasn't. Unless you live in DC, your state probably contains about as many Bush voters as mine. Unless I live in Idaho, my state contains about as many Kerry supporters as yours. The hate amendment passed in Oregon as well as in Georgia. Yes there is a divide in this country, but it is not state by state. In some cases, it may be county by county, but by and large it is house by house. If you secede or refight the Civil War or use dynamite to separate the coasts from the mainland, you'll be taking a large number of Bush supporters with you and leaving an awful lot of liberals behind. _
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11:42:48 AM, Thursday 4 November 2004

Remi got me West Wing Season 3. Pardon me, I'm off to spend the evening with President ~~Dean~~ Bartlet. _
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05:59:10 PM, Wednesday 3 November 2004

sticks and stones battle zones
a single light bulb on a single thread for the black
sirens wail history fails
rose-colored glass begins to age and crack
while the politicians shadowbox the power ring
in an endless split decision never solve anything
from a neighbor's distant land
i heard the strain of the common man

let it be me (this is not a fighting song)
let it be me (not a wrong for a wrong)
let it be me,
if the world is night
shine my life like a light

well the world seems spent and the president
has no good idea of who the masses are
well i'm one of them and i'm among friends
trying to see beyond the fences of our own backyard
i've seen kingdoms blow like ashes in the winds of change
but the power of truth is the fuel for the flame
so the darker the ages get
there's a stronger beacon yet

let it be me (this is not a fighting song)
let it be me (not a wrong for a wrong)
let it be me,
if the world is night
shine my life like a light

in the kind word you speak
in the turn of the cheek
when your vision stays clear
in the face of your fear
then you see turning off a light switch is their only power
when we stand like spotlights in a mighty tower
all for one and one for all
then we sing the common call

let it be me (this is not a fighting song)
let it be me (not a wrong for a wrong)
let it be me,
if the world is night
shine my life like a light
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09:52:56 AM, Wednesday 3 November 2004

Kerry Kerry Kerry Kerry Kerry _
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12:07:52 PM, Tuesday 2 November 2004

The past couple of days have been fall break here. I never took fall break when I was an actual student, but this year I did. A bunch of us stream ecologists went and camped and generally goofed off in North Georgia next to the Noontootla River in the Chattahoochee National Forest.

This guy has some quite nice pictures of how the area looked in the spring of last year (and stories about trout fishing, which we did not do). The hurricanes of the past few months made quite a mess of the southern Appalachians. We camped right next to the sandbar in his first picture, but it looked quite different. During one of the storms, a hemlock about 4 ft in diameter had fallen in the river and caused a large debris dam. The backed up water eventually snapped the huge tree in half, and left a washed out sandy, woody jungle which was stream ecologist heaven.

In addition to admiring large woody debris, we saw the eclipse (wow), did a fair amount of moseying through the woods, and visited Mercier's Apple Orchard, Burt's Pumpkin Farm, and Amicalola Falls (which was completely surrounded by fog). I will take more vacations. _
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07:18:51 AM, Sunday 31 October 2004

Monster Slash--cute flash animation about the President's forest policy with information about the public comment period. _
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08:59:05 AM, Monday 25 October 2004

I really hate the telephone. I always have. How, then, did I end up with a job that requires me to make 10-20 phone calls a day, some of which last 45 minutes, asking consultants how they feel about projects they've completed? A little database management sounds fun right now. _
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09:28:28 AM, Friday 22 October 2004

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