= Such Stupid Things =

Ever wonder what happens to your tax dollars? Well, one imperceptibly small percentage of each penny you pay to the federal government goes to building brand-spanking-new labspace like the Molecular Foundry up at LBL. I was given a little tour of the Biological Nanostructures division this afternoon, and I'll tell ya: it all looks amazingly slick. Not the scientific equipment, necessarily, which is what you'd expect of any new instrument, but just the basic lab benches have a very modern look. The faucets, nitrogen taps, the eyewash stations, the doors to the coldroom... they all have a design that's very sleek, sexy and not at all reminiscent of your high school chem lab.

This caught me by surprise. Fixtures on a lab bench have looked pretty much the same for a seventy years - partly because (around Cal, at least) much of the labspace hasn't been renovated in that long. So it's jarring to see that someone paid a little extra money for their lab to look.... good. Like upon seeing some ridiculous faucet in the bathroom of your oh-niner friend, you wonder "somebody paid for this?"

Posted by Jeff at 11:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

There was a time in my life when I kind of looked forward to the first day of school. Seeing old friends and the promise of new classes always filled me with dorkish excitement. My days as a graduate student have changed my perspective somewhat... now the start of school means only inconvenience. The campus becomes swamped with undergrads who clog up hallways, create lines at my preferred lunchtime establishments and never seem to be able to find the Lewis Hall mens room without asking. And when school is in session, everything is much more schedule-driven. Classes and colloquia are held at specific times at specific places, which doesn't really jive with my Post-It checklist method of daily planning. Over the summer, organizing a meeting "sometime in the afternoon" is perfectly viable - but alas, tis no more.

Anyway, I'll stop complaining. Welcome to Cal, Class of 2010! The mens room is downstairs.

Posted by Jeff at 11:39 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

I don't get sick very often, but when I do, man oh man do I turn into a walking snot factory. So while I may be resigned to the couch for the better part of this beautiful saturday, Marie and I are making the most of it by taking some quality time to go through Veronica Mars catalogue in its entirety.

So now there's one more TV show I absolutely have to watch this fall. This is all Catherine's fault.

Posted by Jeff at 12:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

It would seem our property manager has entered into a deal with PG&E, the goal being to make our building as energy efficient as possible. So last night a team of energy experts from the power company came by to give everyone's place a thorough evaluation... it's an old building, so there's lots of work to be done. And apparently we'll be getting some serious upgrades in the next couple weeks. A few things on the docket: new weather-stripping on all the windows, power-saving lightbulbs for our lamps, and - best of all - a brand-spanking new refridgerator! Apparently, they've made some improvements in fridge design since our model came into being, circa 1982.

If our new model dispenses ice from the outside, we're throwing a party.

Posted by Jeff at 11:03 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

It was an odd turn of fate which brought me here, but I currently find myself listening to Christina Aguilera's new double album, "Back to Basics". I'll come right out and say it: it's pretty good. I rather enjoy it. We've always known she can outsing her entire genre without breaking a sweat, but it becomes easier to appreciate this fact the more mature (i.e. less trashy) she becomes.

But... once again I am reminded of my long-standing gripe with the double album. I don't believe I have ever heard a double-disced musical composition that wouldn't have been better packaged as a strong fifty-or-so minutes. It all dates back to my youthful purchase of Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness (*sigh*). With the money I spent on that double album I could have picked up one single CD and eight to ten slurpees, but no. I had to hang onto such memorable tracks as "Fuck You (An Ode To No One)". Boy, did that tie the opus together.

Anyhow - if you, Mr. and Mrs. Internet have any strong examples in defense of the double album, I'd love to hear them. But for now you can consider me staunchly opposed.

Posted by Jeff at 10:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)

I'm back from an enjoyable little trip New York. Flying sans liquids went over without a hitch, thanks to the fine folk down at Oakland International. In some ways, it was a good thing... the precipitous decline in carry-on luggage made planing and de-planing amazingly efficient. I suppose there will be some pictures soon. Also, when no one was looking I uploaded pictures from Marie and my big ol' trip to Boston and Toronto. You can see them in the "pictures" page, but I haven't had time for my witty captionry, so don't look just yet.

And the icing on the cake? Check out what arrived in my inbox this morning:

Maybe I'm being overly enthusiastic, but I've never gotten a free flight before. So now, where shall I roam?

Posted by Jeff at 05:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Marie and I are off to New York City this afternoon - the city so nice they named it twice. There's a wedding on Long Island this Sunday, and we shall be there.

As you can probably imagine, packing for this trip has been trickier than usual. We're packing food as JetBlue doesn't feed us, but what foodstuffs are permissible under the new regulations? Is peanut butter a gel?

Part of me really wants to show up with a cooler full of ice cubes. I'm not entirely sure to whom I'd be sticking it with such a gesture, but heck if it isn't a liquid.

Posted by Jeff at 08:56 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

. . . can be found right here.

Posted by Jeff at 12:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

The challenge that was laid down this morning goes something like this: I bet I can consume more Peets Mocha Freddos in a single day than Marie can consume pints of beer. Saturday could get unpleasant for all involved...

Posted by Jeff at 12:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

A few years back a recent graduate of the ChemE Ph.D. program at Berkeley advised me to rack up as much credit card debt as possible in grad school, because the second I get a job I'll go from having plenty of time and zero money to having plenty of money and zero time to spend it.

It's those wise words which have helped me rationalize the ridiculous amount of money I've dropped on plane tickets lately. In the past two days I've purchased tickets to Ithaca for Elizabeth's wedding and Cancun to meet Marie after the Electrochemical Society Meeting, (where else would the world's leading electrochemists want to talk science?). Plus there's that other wedding in New York next week, and the two more planned for next spring, (one in Hawaii!) and presumably I'll be coming home for the holidays.

Not that I'm complaining... I just hope my family doesn't mind getting Christmas presents from the dollar store this year. And isn't my mere presence gift enough?

UPDATE: Hmmm.... Northwest Airlines, I humbly request that you have your shit together by October. I knew flying directly into Ithaca was going to bite me in the ass somehow.

Posted by Jeff at 07:48 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Marie and I are making an effort to do new and mildly interesting things this summer. To that end, last weekend we went to the San Francisco Farmers' Market via the Oakland-Alameda ferry. I love the idea of ferry travel, so when possible I feel like I should patronize their line. The romance of the whole thing is only mildly diminished by how dirty the boats actually are, but what are you going to do? Here are some pictures.

Posted by Jeff at 07:49 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)