Monthly Archives: January 2009

At long last

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Yay (insert circus music here).

I’m finally starting to get it. Statistical research, I mean. That is to say, I am finally starting to scratch the surface of beginning to consider knocking on the door of the possibility that I might see a day in the distant future when I could conceivably entertain the notion of getting it.

After a 2-hour tutoring session on the phone with a friend in Boston yesterday, I feel better about it. Lisa, if you’re reading this…I worship you. I am starting an official cult in your honor: the Lisans. After I pass these tests (fingers crossed at the possibility), I will make a pilgrimage to your home in Massachusetts to sing your praises in person, and to lay flowers in your French horn bell, cuz, you know, that’s about all it’s good for lately since you haven’t been practicing.

:P

Caught: Here’s our new White House Chief of Staff at the inauguration ceremony last week:

HA

Now, some people would say this kind of behavior at a presidential swearing-in is inappropriate; others might say that it’s about time some new, young, energetic and non-stodgy blood was in and around the White House. But honestly, if you know the world media will be there, snapping photos hundreds of times per second, hello…ix-nay on the Dennis the Menace while your boss is invoking Martin Luther King and Abraham Lincoln. Just sayin’.

In other news: coffee is a good thing, which will become more important to me as August gets closer…yeesh.

All right, fiends. Off to make the donuts. Happy Monday. Ugh.

Fink out.

Photo credit: Jim Young/Reuters

RNF XVI

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Random Neuron Firings

I followed a link this morning to Barack Obama’s Twitter account. I looked over to the right of the page, where it lists how many “followers” a person has.

Don’t you find that kind of quasi-creepy? I mean, no disrespect intended, and I have no agenda, but you know…it struck me as weird. Bizarre coincidence. Just sayin’.

And even more strange: I couldn’t find a single reference to the number 144,000 on the group’s official site. No joke. Go there and do a search on the number. It’s nowhere to be found. Does that strike anyone else as slightly odd? Kind of like going here and doing a search on “Xenu” (the name of the alien being, who, according to Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard, flew other aliens to Earth to attach themselves to humans, blah blah) Nothin’. But of course, that led to other places…

I pride myself on trying not to be a stone thrower, but honestly, Anne Archer’s son behaved like an evil little troll. This vid is worth the 30 minutes, simply because of its sad/disturbing/wacko factor. The BBC interviewer finally completely lost it. I mean really. Who could blame him? “Fair game” indeed.

Anyway.

Last night was a blast. Bummer that #1 Son couldn’t be there, but we still had a great time. Jon got some cool gifts, and everybody ate too much. It was great to see Helen and Lars — I don’t see them nearly enough.

All right, enough stalling. I’m spending the next 5 or so hours with Tom, then having a phone tutoring session on quantitative research.

My life is one big party.

FO

Hey, are you busy?

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Just askin’. Because it’s Saturday, and there should be some relaxing in your future. Yet, I am busy, for good reasons and not-so-good reasons.

Good Reasons:

  • I’m fixing to bake a 3-layer marble cake. It’s Jon’s (my future son-in-law) birthday feast tonight, and that’s his fave dessert. I do love cooking/baking/general culinary fun. It’s one of exactly three things in life I’m good at. Update, 12:25 p.m. – it’s done. Yay! On to the lasagna…
  • Jakey is coming tonight, too. Yay.
  • I’m putting the finishing touches on some choreography I started last night.
  • Simone is coming over to help assemble the lasagna. (Hmm…I think I’ll call Helen and invite her, too…)

Not-So-Good Reasons:

Oh wait. I said I was going to try to be more positive about B***on Uni*****y. Scratch that.

So I read a review on the new Brendan Fraser movie, Inkheart. Critics aren’t too thrilled with it, but it doesn’t matter. I usually don’t much care what critics have to say, as I have often liked movies that they panned. Meh. (But I will admit it is a slippery slope, transferring a book to the screen. You drag along lots of people’s contextual baggage.)

Anyway, I’ve read two of the books in the trilogy (Inkheart and Inkspell). They are very good juvenile fiction. I lost interest after the second one, but I might pick up Inkdeath and add it to the stack of about 14 books that I have to get around to reading.

Last night, I finished the first book in the Twilight series by Stephenie Meyer. I wanted to read it before I saw the movie, which I will rent when it comes out on DVD. I love vampiric stuff, as many of you know, so it was an enjoyable read. I’ll start the next one tonight.

Don’t you just love to read?

Fink out.

Photo credit: New Line Cinema (IMDB)

Everything old is new again

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Remember when VISA was called “BankAmericard” and MasterCard was “Master Charge?”

I remember when my dad brought his first credit card home. He told my mom, “Now you can put it on the Master Charge if you don’t have enough cash with you.” Such simple, innocent words.

I remember putting clothes on layaway in high school, using my weekly allowance and money from my waitressing job to pay down the balance. Remember layaway? The store kept the items until you could afford to pay for them. When the bill was paid, you got your stuff. My, my, how far we’ve come….

The consumer debt problem in this country is something I don’t have time to get into this morning, and I’m no financial analyst, but I got eyes. It’s going to get much worse before getting the tiniest bit better. And I’m not throwing stones at anyone, mind. Many of us are guilty of that impulsive credit card purchase; I’m the first to admit it.

But the trend is reversing, believe it. Could we soon see the days when retail commerce runs on a cash-only basis? I think the answer is, “sooner than you think.”

I read an article this morning with a quote from a woman in New Jersey who had just dissolved some personal debt. She said that “her family was only living according to their means and not spending anything extra.”

Imagine that.

Fink out.