Housekeeping
I cleaned up the links to the right a bit. Mostly deletions, one addition for now. I should really compile a list of webcomics and political/law/news blogs that I check now and again and add them to my links so that I check them more frequently than now and again but that'll take some time and I've been short on that and energy lately. I'll attempt to do that this weekend because I know the internet is holding its breath. :)

The point of posting about this is to mention a fabulous new comic by the artist behind questionable content called indie tits. Don't get too excited, it's not topless indie girls, unless by topless you mean birds and by girls you mean dudes. It's HIlarious though and just debuted so reading the archives will take all of 10 minutes. Anthropomorphism is fun for all ages.
- posted by meg @ 11:16 AM

 
Dude, I don't think that's going to work
I just saw the dumbest guy ever at the grocery store. He was trying to put a 2 liter bottle in the glass machine. Cap first. With the door of the machine hanging open. For several minutes straight. Plus, it beeped at him LOUDLY every time he tried shoving the 2 liter in.

It's not like they're labeled with 6 inch letters and graphics or anything.
- posted by meg @ 5:07 PM

 
Please explain
Yesterday I went shopping for some household items and ended up getting two new bikinis as well. They were on sale for $15 a piece so it really was a great deal.

The problem here is the word piece. I was able to buy a matching top and bottom in my sizes for both styles this time but it reminded me of the last time I bought some bathing suits about two years ago. I found two tops that I liked but only one bottom. Luckily the tops both coordinated with the bottom (thankfully having a dark blue with light blue trim bottom and a light blue with dark blue trim top is acceptable) but when I did a mental count of my bathing suits last night I realized that I have to say 4.5 (actually 5.5 but one is a one piece from high school and I don't know if it fits anymore because I wear the fabulous two pieces). I can't really say 5 because I need to reuse the one bottom so if the goal is to go 5 days without having to wash my suit (if I go on vacation or something) I can't exactly do that. (Although maybe I'll just wear the odd top with the terrycloth skirt, sans bottom. Hey, I'm on vacation here.)

I understand that they're sold as separate pieces to make it look like the suit costs less and, perhaps, so customers can mix and match coordinating colors or find appropriate sizes. A medium top might be a small or large bottom. I get all this. What I didn't get two years ago was why I could find a bottom that matched the stray top (a medium) but that it was a size extra large. The only other size tops that would match with the bottom were smalls or extra smalls. Some big boobied women shop at Old Navy, I guess.

Any other insight would be appreciated.
- posted by meg @ 10:44 AM

 
Classic Me
A week and a half ago on my way to LA I embarrased myself publicly. Thankfully, not many people saw and the one person that I knew that watched the incident did make sure I was ok without laughing at me. Which, really, is all I can ask.

See, I had gotten through security, put my shoes back on, and checked to make sure that I had everything, that my laptop was in my bag again, etc. but still had the nagging feeling that I forgot something. I got on the escalator to go down to the terminals and saw that my coworker had her poster tube. Crap. I forgot my poster at security. Some quick thinking told me that I was still very close to the top of the escalator and if I just jumped up the steps fast I could make it without going all the way down to the bottom and then all the way back up. Unfortunately, I forgot that I have always had problems with escalators because of the stripey steps. They make me dizzy and I can't always tell where the steps separate. And I can't not look at the steps because I used to fall down the stairs a lot as a child and my overwhelming reaction is to look where I'm stepping.

The embarrasing part, obviously, is that I fell. Spectacularly. I hit both legs around the knee (one above one below) HARD on the edge of the stair. And I had to take the stairs up to get my poster back because it was moving too fast for me to make it in my gimped state.

I blame the poster tube. The adjustable tube locks counterintuitively and, on the way home in LAX the top of the tube, to which the strap is attached, came unscrewed all on its own. It is clearly possessed.

To make me feel better though, the coworker who witnessed my display later sat on her suitcase while we waited for the shuttle and ever. so. slowly. the suitcase rolled out from underneath her. More people saw, but she didn't have bruises that made her look like an abuse victim. You can see for yourself here and here. I had a whole story made up about being a ninja superhero but people only stared and didn't actually say anything. They're starting to fade, finally, but the left leg is still swollen.

At least my klutzy/easily bruised combo traits make for good stories.

- posted by meg @ 6:26 PM

 
Things I learned at AACR
I spent most of the last week at the AACR convention in Anaheim. Here is a partial list of things that I learned. They, of course, do not have anything to do with cancer research.

1. The quality of schwag this year set a new bar. I'm very pleased with my thermos, t-shirt, cow stress ball and other sundries.

Corollary to 1. Smiling and being friendly gets you high quality stuff, even if you don't have the claim card.

2. It is never worth it to go the wrong way on an escalator. This will come with further explanation when I get the photo uploaded.

Corollary to 2. My poster tube is a jerk.

3. $60 a day buys a lot of lattes and steak.

4. Hot tubs are still wicked sweet.

5. Disneyland is about 50% more expensive than Disneyworld. In other words, I still have not been to any Disney park.

6. Warm climates get colder when I travel to them.
- posted by meg @ 10:19 PM

 
just to be clear, my alarm clock transmogrifies if it is too early to wake up
This morning I wanted to get up between 6 and 6:30 so that I could make it in to the lab before anyone else so that I didn't have to wait until 11 or 12 to be able to do something, like I had to do yesterday. (I woke by 7:20 and was in the lab an hour later, but my cells decided that they would grow like crazy in 2 days' time so I still missed seminar and lunch. Thank god one of my coworkers brought in doughnuts.)

The thing is, I couldn't fall asleep until around 1 or 2 and I was so tired that I couldn't wake up much before 7, at which point I realized I was hitting the snooze. So, for the first 45 minutes or so after my alarm went off I hit the snooze every 9 minutes but didn't actually wake up. At one point I couldn't find the right button and in my dream state decided that my alarm clock had changed shape and the button was now in a different location and that I should hit the snooze and go back to sleep until it resumed it's natural form.

The things that make sense while unconscious.
- posted by meg @ 2:20 PM

 
blargh
I had this whole eloquent post about term limits for supreme court justices based on something I read on volokh and then blogger lost it, twice, and then I had weird internet browser problems that I think are solved now so I'm going to focus on my laundry and call it a night. I'll bring it up in conversation with friends or perhaps retype it all if I find the energy, so beware.

Oh, spoke too soon, it's not really working.
- posted by meg @ 9:56 PM

 
serenity now!
My morning thus far:
I missed the first bus this morning because the schedule was off. I ran after it and could have hit it with my coffee, if wasting coffee was something I'd do, but it drove away regardless.

The next bus came 10 minutes later, which was nice in that it got me to the lab 5 minutes earlier but crappy in that I now have no idea what the bus's schedule is. I knew before this week, but unless every bus but the first one I missed this morning is running 5 minutes early then the schedule has changed. I expect to walk or ride my bike in more frequently.

I get to the lab at 9:20, which worried me because I was signed up for the hood from 9-1. I thought I'd lost it to someone else. But no, Zero Code was still in the hood, is still in the hood and will be in the hood for another 10 minutes, by her estimation. It's too bad that her estimation yesterday was an hour off. (Maybe now she'll stop bitching about how we need a sign up sheet. I'm sorry you can't have the hood whenever you want it but if you sign up for a time and are an hour off, you forfeit your right to push for something you aren't responsible enough to partake in.) She pointed to all her empty flasks like I'm supposed to pity her. No. You not getting your shit together means I'm likely going to miss seminar, and by extension free lunch, which means I will have to buy my lunch. Unless I cross my fingers that the other hood will be fixed by early afternoon. Now she's coughing in the hood. I'm going to find the bleach bottle.

FYI, serenity now does help. So does bitching on your blog. I feel better. :-)
- posted by meg @ 9:35 AM

 
Screw you guys, I'm going to seminar (again)
I really enjoy it when I'm talking to one coworker and another comes in and completely interrupts us without even acknowledging that we were talking. Like, oh, this person is standing here for my convenience. I choose to ignore the sounds coming out of their mouth heading in the direction of my other coworker. I especially love this when the interrupter is asking a question or failing to answer a question and I'm sitting there loudly repeating the answer over and OVER. I apparently put on my invisibility cloak without realizing it. Again.

Oh, and I was blown off by a seminar speaker today. I was totally right, stop thinking rank=intelligence. If people want to prove me wrong they should bring more than "I did too" or "Nuh uh," even if it's phrased nicer.

- posted by meg @ 3:22 PM

 
I also wish to fight the dragon
I just finished watching Angel season 5 so I thought I would write down some thoughts that I did not finish when I wrote my Buffy recap. I think I'll just bullet point these and not try to make them cohesive.

Season 5 was perhaps my favorite season. I'm not sure why exactly, but it was.

I'm glad that Connor got his memories back and accepted Angel as his father. Joss Whedon likes to write angsty teens that frequently piss me off (see Dawn) so I'm glad that that particular storyline was concluded.

I'm upset that Cordy only had a cameo but the rest of the team did ok at filling that void. I'd also have preferred her staying with Angel over werewolf girl but if we're talking preferences then he should've been with Buffy. Although I'm glad that they didn't end the series with them getting together. The talk they had in Buffy season 7 was enough closure for me.

However, I love how Spike and Angel compete over Buffy, and everything else. Especially cavemen versus astronauts. Sans weapons, cavemen totally win. Astronauts aren't tough anymore.

I also love the flashbacks with Spike and Angel. A lot.

Andrew's cameos were also fantastic. He's so ridiculous, I love it.

I am a little sad that Fred, Wesley and Cordy all died or moved on and that Lorne left the group. I realize that both series are likely over and there probably won't be a miniseries to wrap anything up so their deaths aren't really a loss since the shows are over but you get attached to characters when the show is done right.

The 5-year struggle with W&H was wrapped up rather hastily and left some questions in my mind regarding the prophesies and long-term plans the firm had for Angel and vice versa, but that's what happens when you're on a shitty network that cancels its popular shows.

I'm not sure that I liked that Cordy was made a higher being and left the show, but it did provide a nice plot line.

It was nice that they were in charge of the enemy this season instead of working from the home on the small cases. You need to get out of the routine now and again.

I was also glad that Wesley and Fred got together in the end. I thought they were a better couple than she and Gunn, although their breakup was weird too. Just as I got used to it.

Anyway, I like the show and I like the way it evolved. It's a great series and I highly recommend it and Buffy.

On a slightly related note I tried dying my hair back to its normal color (the blond was too hard to keep up) but the box lied and it's much darker than I anticipated. Basically I'm evil Willow. You've been warned.

- posted by meg @ 10:47 PM

 
quick poll
In a relatively small work environment, say, under 30 people or so, is it rude to speak a language that others in your presence cannot understand? Does it make a difference what percentage of the lab/office/store speaks the non-english language (I'm assuming everyone knows english)? What about when you can tell that people who can't understand this language are being discussed? How about in intimate situations, like a break room environment, where speaking this language isolates one person from everyone else?

(Yes this happens in my lab. It bugs me because I hear my name or research being talked about sometimes. But I also understand the desire to chitchat or ask for help in the language you are most comfortable in.)
- posted by meg @ 4:19 PM