Pick #70

Band of Horses - "No One's Gonna Love You" from Cease to Begin

This might have been my favorite song that they did live on Sunday night.

Bull-Wank-les

Went to Bullwinkles for the second time tonight. Tried to meet some people. They weren't there. That bar sucks. See alternative bar name in title. I recommend Pour Pauls if you're close to BullWankles and want to get wet.

Fun Fact #7

The glue on Israeli postage stamps is certified kosher.

Earlier Nights

My cell plan just changed. My nights now start at 7pm, so feel free to call me after 7! Maybe I'll call you after 7 instead of waiting until 9. It's pretty cool to get those extra two hours each day to make a call without worrying about going over on my minutes.

Esprit de Christ

Last week, my mom was in the bank when she heard one teller ask another "so, do we say 'happy Good Friday' or what?...I don't even know what that is." My mom told this anecdote to a "very" Catholic woman who also works at the bank so that she might later inform the teller. Interesting how Christians want to stick together (even in a minimal way like this)

My mom couldn't believe that someone didn't know what Good Friday is. I told her that I don't know what Yom Kippur is or what Rosh Hashanah is. She agreed that neither did she and maybe it wasn't so weird after all that this girl didn't know about the crucifixion of Jesus.

Your Portion of the Lion's Share

Band of Horses

Tonight I went with Sarah to see Band of Horses at the Beta Bar. I think they're better live than recorded. The instrumentation was lucid and the voices were crisp. I was really impressed with the microphone of the lead singer, which picked him up when he was way far away from it.

I was surprised to see them. A couple of nice beards. Anyway, they look like hippies dressed as country-western rockstars and they sing folky music. BTW, I like the double entendre in their name.

The only downside is that I think we missed half of the first song (or maybe that plus one other song) and the opening bands. I didn't really want to see Holopaw, but wouldn't have minded being there.

Bottom line, if you get a chance to see Band of Horses, you should cop a ticket.

Hummingbird

I saw my hummingbird for the first time this season a couple of hours ago. If you have a hummingbird, you can make them some drank (aka nectar) like this:

mix 1 part (by volume) sugar with 4 parts water. DO NOT add food coloring, it's bad for the birds.

You need to change the water so that bacteria don't grow in there. Here's the schedule of how often it needs to change, depending on the daily high temperature:

Temp (°F) # days
70s 5-6
80s 3-4
90s 1-2

If stuff starts growing in your feeder, you can use a mild bleach solution to soak it in and kill the stuff. Rinse it out afterward. Don't worry about hurting the hummingbird because the sugar will neutralize the bleach.

Simple Tax Plan

Here's the process that I used to fill out my taxes in about an hour and a half to two hours.

1. Keep good records of all your tax documents (e.g. a file)
2. Get the 1040.
3. Follow instructions line-by-line.
4. Finish

It's not rocket science.

Pick #69

Snow Patrol - "It's beginning to get to me" from Eyes Open

Skittish

I took my road bike for a spin on the hills around my neighborhood today before going running. I noticed that I am definitely a little bit skittish, especially when making right-hand turns. I was also a bit wobbly in the aero position. I'm sure that I'll get more comfortable the more I ride, but I didn't even want to go super fast down the hills today. I guess it'll give me something to look back on and see progress in a month or so.

Now It Makes Sense

Ok, so I do get people who come in for tutoring who are clueless. I won't count them. They haven't tried to do anything and they are reaping what they sowed. One of my favorite parts about working with students is seeing them have their eureka moments, having them say "now it makes sense."

I've been told by more than a couple students that I was able to help them understand something in just a few minutes that their professor hadn't been able to convey in multiple class periods. In all fairness, they have been exposed to the material before they come see me whereas they are green going into the first class. Further, I have the ability to work one-on-one with the students whereas the teacher is forced to cater to the class as a whole.

I just had a student start to understand hypothesis testing after an office visit to me. It's times like these that make me feel good about my job.

Rock Red

Rolling Rock has a new beer that I tried this past weekend. It's called (Rolling) Rock Red. I like their use of colors in names, like their lite beer: Green Light. Anyhow, the Rock Red was pretty good and I would pick up a 6-pack if I see it at the store. On the down side, I had to drink it really fast (at least it was cold) and the lady who poured it into a cup gave me a lot of head (in the beer).

Elastic Shoelaces

If you run long distances, you might get a little uncomfortable on the tops of your feet from the laces pressing into your swollen feet and jacked up veins (I only say that because it happens to me). I was looking to get some elastic shoelaces to help shorten my transition time in triathlons when I came across Lock Laces. I wear them on my long-run shoes whenever I go for more than 10-11 miles and they help keep me comfortable.

Lock Laces are longer and, in my opinion, better than other cheap elastic laces. I'm not talking about the kind with the curly sides...these are pretty legit. They aren't that expensive either.

Spanish Error

I was at the Red Hills International Horse Trials yesterday and they had those cool portable sinks by the portapotties. There was a sign on it that said:
"Not for drinking or cooking"
No para beber o cocinar."
I almost wish I had a sharpie (could have been the first to tag this portapotty I used...I couldn't believe that I was using a plop-John without any any any writing in it) so I could have crossed out the "o" and changed it to a "ni."

That's all I got.

Pick #68

Reel Big Fish - "Snoop Dog, Baby" from Turn the Radio Off

Airborne Lawsuit

You can go to their settlement site and click the "File a claim online" link on the left hand side to get reimbursed for any Airborne you purchased for a part of last year. The catch is that you have to have the proofs of purchase. If you don't have any proofs of purchase, then you can get 6 free ones, provided that you vouch that you did actually purchase 6 of them.

I'm pretty sure you'll get something in the mail in the form of coupons/vouchers for more airborne. They might be refunding your money, I don't know. It doesn't happen instantly when you file a claim. I imagine it will take as long as a mail in rebate to get anything back from it.

In response to Angelica's comment: It has something to do with them claiming to be a cold remedy when there was no scientific proof to show that they were. It's supposed to be taken as a preventative measure, but they apparently didn't make that clear.

Back Biking

The doctor cleared me to bike on the road again!

Cold-Lanta

I just got back from Magic City and will tell you that they shouldn't call it Hotlanta in the winter. I mean, it wasn't super duper cold, but far from tropical. I went to a few of the basic tourist attractions like the Georgia Aquarium (good), World of Coke (good), Underground Atlanta (not so good: Walker, you're fired for this one). I also did some more local things.

When I got there, I was unpacking and showed them my piece. Shell was like "what is that?" so I unloaded my strap and locked the slide back and presented it to her. She asked again so I said it's a water gun. She inquired what I was going to do with it and I said "hopefully nothing." I had it under my seat on the road as per advice of my rents. Didn't need it. BTW, GA reciprocates FL's concealed weapons permits. After unpacking, we headed to see Kayley & Justin @ her parents' house, then went to dinner @ Chicago (good) with them + parents & then out for some drinks at the Ale House (the only one in GA...J had to go). Someone (Shell?) astutely observed that the Ale House is a drinking establishment cleverly disguised as a restaurant.

Shell had to work on Monday, so J took me to the GA Aquarium, World of Coke, and we tried (and failed) to find the Olympic track. Turns out that they removed the track and made a baseball stadium. That night, we went to an Iraqui place called Aladdin's for dinner (good). Their friend M. was supposed to meet us, but bailed out. We went to meet Dave at some Ale House-ish place for drinks. I got a pitcher of Shiner Bock (good).

Today, Shell went in to work later, so J made us breakfast. Then, J & I took MARTA into 5 points to check out Underground Atlanta and we walked around the surrounding area. After taking MARTA back, we drove to Taco Mac because J thought they had my favorite Mexican beer: Cerveza Sol! He was right! It was good. I introduced him to Sol and Maudite. They did not have Cruzcampo, but they might have a larger beer list than the Leon Pub! We went back to the apartment and waited for Shell to get home so we could go have dinner at La Fonda Latina (not so good). I think the name of that restaurant sounds kind of like La Fawnduh from Napoleon Dynamite. I wanted the three of us not to speak any English at dinner, but Shell ruined my fun. I left around 7:45, after the traffic had mostly cleared out.

Sarah U told me a great route to get to/from ATL. It cut off lots of miles and a decent amount of time and was scenic. I had a good drive there and back. My car got good mileage (close to 26 on the way there and 28mpg on the way home).

Fun Fact #6

All of the clocks in the movie Pulp Fiction read 4:20.

Pick #67

Motion City Soundtrack - "This is for Real" from Even if it Kills Me

Thomasville Road Baptist Community 10k

I ran a 10k this morning on little preparation. I found out about it before I went running on Thursday. I didn't get much sleep on Thurs. or Fri. night (in a good way). I didn't really eat like I was preparing for a race (except I ate an entire box of Kraft Macaroni & Cheese last night). I ran fast on Thursday. Basically, I would have been happy to break 40 minutes.

I ran 38:42, finishing 3rd overall, winning my age group. Dan from the Tri club won the 10k in 36:08 and Stephen from the Tri club won the 5k! It looks like I'm not as out of shape as I could be right now. I'm hoping to boost up a little bit before Collegiate Nationals! I'm pretty sure I'll have a weak swim, but maybe I can make up for it on the bike and run.

OK, back to today's race. If it was a flat course, I think I would have placed 5th, because there were these 2 other guys that formed a pack with me, but they kept getting a little ahead on the flat ground. I'd catch/pass them on hills. One of them dropped off about mile 5. The other dropped around mile 5.7. I had a good strong finish. I noticed while running in this pack that I could see their breath coming out of their mouths. I noticed mine after that. It's kind of cool and makes me feel even more like my body is a machine when I see my exhaust gas. I saw it because it was cold this morning (~47° with a wind chill of 38°). I actually wore a shirt (Under Armour sleeveless) for the race.

I came back, checked out my car, changed the oil and got it ready for tomorrow's trip to ATL to see J & Shell. Then I had a nap because I was le tired. It's almost bedtime again. I wanted to do my taxes today, but didn't get around to it.

Stuff White People Like

I heard about this blog from Nick listening to NPR. I wasn't aware that white people like some of these things. It's hilarious. Not much calling it out for being racist. It's all in good fun. I'm not sure if the author is white or not.

If you're not going to read the blog, at least check out the list.

Blue Balls

It's amazing the immaturity that stays with you throughout life. Glenn was giving a presentation in experimental class today and said something about red and blue balls. Micah starts laughing, which starts me laughing, then everyone's laughing. Dr. C commented that his favorite part about graduate students is their level of maturity.

Ok, I mean, it's funny. Maybe not funny enough to keep an entire class laughing for a minute and a half, but funny. My philosophy is that if it's funny, I should laugh (unless inappropriate, in which case I try not to laugh). I hope that I can still retain some of the joys of childhood as I age. I want to be "immature" at times, when I don't need to act "mature" for one reason or another (such as keeping my job).

Longhair

My hair is longer than it's been in a good while. It's cool to feel the wind blow it back or to be able to whip it around when it's wet. It was annoying me by touching my ears, but I think I'm used to that now. I think I'll cut it when I start riding my bike again. I've had a few people say that it looks nice long. I think they're crazy...

I did have my experimental class make fun of me when I had what my mom calls "poodle head" where it's all fluffy. Sarah likes it...says it looks like British hair, whatever that means.

It's a little more maintenance having to wash it and keep it out of my face during the day. It doesn't dry right away, either, which is not so nice when it's cold outside.

Type I v. Type II Error

In statistics, type I error is the probability of rejecting a null hypothesis if it is true while type II error is the probability of accepting a null hypothesis if it is false. In real life, you can think of type I error as not doing something you should have and type II error doing something you shouldn't have.

Say you'd like a raise at work. Do you ask the boss? The longer you wait to ask, the longer you keep making the low wage...but if you ask too soon, you might not be qualified to receive the raise. The longer you wait, the more you trade away type II error and accumulate more type I error.

Some people have different preferences over these errors. Type II is more explicit, e.g. I shouldn't have punched that metal pole because now my fingers are broken. Type I error is a little harder to see sometimes, e.g. If I got that raise a year ago, I'd have made an extra $2,000 by now. For that reason, most people are more averse to committing type II errors than type I errors.

Fun Fact #5

George Washington grew marijuana in his garden. (probably for the fibers)

My Car, Jacked Up

not actually my car, but what my car would look like if I jacked it up...

Pick # 66

Magnetic Fields - "I Don't Believe You" from i

Sarah Mac Band in Concert

Tonight, I went to Club Downunder to watch the Sarah Mac Band. Sarah U has friends who work at the club, and good thing she called them about the show because I thought the SMB was headlining, but turned out that they played first. Next came a craptastic band called Phantome or something like that and Girls on Film headlined.

SMB was definitely the best music of the night. GoF might have been better performers. I recommend going to see the SMB if they come play anywhere near you.