Entries from August 2008 ↓
August 29th, 2008 — thoughts
Yeah, I’m much more liberal than I used to be, and I doubt I’ll ever identify with the Republican party again, but that certainly doesn’t mean my ego will shift its external locus to the Democrats, either. Insanity like this is symptomatic of my reasons. Hypocrisy and corruption swarm around these parties like mosquitoes around… um… me.
The real questions in this case (reporter arrested, apparently, for trying to cover the DNC convention) are not “what were the police doing arresting someone for taking pictures” or “why doesn’t the City of Denver respect the first amendement” — though those are some tough questions — but rather, Why aren’t the Democrats the first in line to fix this?
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August 27th, 2008 — thoughts, updates
So Good!
- I <3 South Texas anyway, but now it’s GREEN (no, seriously green and even a bit lush)
- Apartment not washed away in hurricane. Also not even moistened on the inside.
- Office still there and not destroyed
- Grackles!
- Netflix waiting for me when I got home
No Good!
- No Alex
- No food (cleaned out fridge before leaving for summer)
- No car (battery seems to have not liked 3 months with no use, in 100-degree-plus temperatures)
- Messy house
- Messy office
- No phone or internet until end of week
- Lots of standing water –> Lots of mosquitoes :(
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August 23rd, 2008 — photos, updates
I don’t know why I was surprised to see people trying on clothes in the street, but I guess it makes sense, if you’re going to buy them there. Anyway, this may have been the same vendor from whom I bought Amanda’s Boston hat. Alex’s shirt came from a different street display. No picture of that.
In unrelated news, Alex crushed Amanda and me at Scrabble last night. She was ahead (but only by a few points, so we thought we had a chance) when suddenly she busts out “GRUMBLER,” placing letters on two triple-word-score squares! I mean, come on. We looked up the rules, and when that happens, you triple your score, and then triple the result. Ouch.
167 points for a single freaking word. But somewhere, underneath the poor-loserishness, I was still remembering that I find her braininess attractive.
Deep underneath.
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August 22nd, 2008 — photos
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August 20th, 2008 — photos
I’m pretty sure this roadside display (Summer St., near the bridge) indicates a tragic incident. And also, the photo sucks.
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August 19th, 2008 — photos, updates
Protesters at the convention. Here’s why.
A nice hallway scene at the convention center.
A view of the exhibit floor. It was really pretty huge. Surprisingly, we only used 1/2 to 1/3 of the floor space at the convention center for exhibits. We did, however, use all the meeting rooms (around the edges, on 2 floors) almost all the time. This convention is too #$@% big.
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August 18th, 2008 — photos
August 17th, 2008 — updates
Nothing makes you feel more terrified and motivated and guilty (maybe those are the same thing) than an academic conference. On another note, I don’t know if I’ve successfully carried out my mission or not (you know, the “go find someone to hire” mission). I have some leads, but precious few names of interested individuals.
Did you know that Boston is overrun by Dunkin Donuts? There seems to be one on every corner. I’m proud to note that I have only given in to the temptation once (but the week ain’t over yet). Also, there are lots of CVS drugstores. LOTS. Dunno why.
Boston is gorgeous today, and the conference is dying with a typical whimper. Even the torture protesters didn’t bother coming to the convention center, today. The cabbie who brought me here was disappointed. man, I don’t fly out until 6 pm. Why did I schedule such a late flight? Oh yeah, because I was going to be overwhelmed with requests for employment, and I’d need time to take them all out for lunch (imagine obscene gesture, right here).
Anyway, it wasn’t such a bad 4 days. I still regret losing them. I didn’t do any work (new things to see! Pulpy things to read!), but I did try to choose my sessions to be motivating as well as good for the mission. The last session (last hour) was a little painful: it included some very good advice for obtaining funding, but it was run by someone who turned me down for a position a couple of years ago. :( I hate that. When I get rejected, I really would prefer never to see the person who rejected me, ever again. Unfortunately, this person who rejected me is one of the most prolifically-funded people in the field, and she has some amazing knowledge and experience. If she were more warm and fuzzy, perhaps it would be easier to feel good about having to talk to her again. Oh well.
Off to kill time in Boston. Luckily, good weather (as previously mentioned). Tonight: sleep in my own (or Alex’s, really) bed. Less sleep, but more happy.
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August 15th, 2008 — updates
So, here I am, listening to a presentation about adolescent depression. The sophisticated, successful, middle-aged researcher introducing our speaker is endearing to me, because as she walked up to the podium to prepare the PowerPoint, she jauntily tossed a coin in the air and caught it. :)
The American Psychological Association conference is quite an experience. It’s held in the convention center, which is freaking massive. In fact, it’s not big enough. Several sessions are offloaded to the conference hotels, of which there are four, which are all huge (600 - 900 rooms each). They’re all full, and several of us are staying farther away, in other hotels. I now understand why so many people I know have said they no longer even bother coming here, because “it’s just too big.”
Outside the convention center is a small group of picket-carrying protesters, distributing literature urging APA members to oppose the Association’s involvement (the extent of which I still don’t fully understand) in the “extraordinary rendition,” “creative interrogation” and torture of terrorist suspects by the U.S. My tag says “non-member” but I took some flyers anyway.
Maybe it’s just some weird perceptual bias on my part, but Boston seems to have more than its share of heavily-muscled men. Busboys, waiters, taxi drivers, concierges, store clerks, cafeteria workers, valets, etc. A disproportionate number of them have heavy pecs and huge, thickly-veined arms. Even the fat ones. As if the townies are all still midshipmen. Also, in walking through neighborhoods yesterday, I saw many Catholic shrines (is that the right word?). Front, side and back yards frequently sport statues, nestled in carefully-arranged backdrops, as if the owners were recreating cathedral niches with whatever materials are available. I’ve seen St. Francis, Peter (I think), Jesus (adult and baby), and many Marys. My favorite , in fact, is a Virgin Mary housed in an upended, half-buried bathtub. I’ll post pictures when I get back. It’s even more awesome than it sounds.
The air here smells good. It smells like the ocean (which never seems more than 100m away), or flowers, or dryer lint and detergent. The traffic is ridiculous. I walked to the aquarium after the conference yesterday, and it took me 20 minutes or so. The cars on the main road beside me didn’t move more than a single block in that time, I’m sure. The weather is lovely, so far.
I’m here on a new kind of mission: recruiting. I’m supposed to gather a list of interested parties for a faculty position we’ll have opening next Fall (2009). It’s strange, because we want someone with 10-20 more years’ experience than I have, and we’re willing to pay them twice my salary. I’m oddly unconcerned. Because of this mission, I’m suddenly social, in contrast to my regular insular, socially avoidant way of attending conferences (I’m not kidding). When I run into old acquaintances, I experience the Professional Networking Agreeableness Effect (PNAE; I just made it up). A couple of years ago, I ran into a former fellow grad student whose last conversation with me had been a shouting match. We had a pleasant chat and asked about each other’s families. This morning, I ran into a professor who insulted my professionalism and generally grilled me pretty hard during my dissertation defense, three years ago. He gave me nice tips for recruiting. Is the PNAE a good thing? I could see it both ways.
I have a disappointingly low list of “bites” for the job position. I’m working my Ohio State network, but by the time I left that place, nobody knew me except my committee, and they didn’t want to.
We shall see what I can come up with. I still haven’t tried scrod, which I was ordered to eat while I was here. Perhaps tonight. I’m wearing a suit and have a $68/day per diem for meals, so we’ll see.
Also, I miss Alex :( She should be here having fun in Boston.
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August 13th, 2008 — photos
Anyone know what kind of mushroom this is? I certainly don’t. Feel free to comment if you do.
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August 12th, 2008 — photos
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