I know justice is blind, but...
Come on, Alameda County. I've received plenty of jury summonses in the past, but calling me in at 8:00am on Christmas Eve?! Are you kidding?
= October 2007 = Main = December 2007 =
Come on, Alameda County. I've received plenty of jury summonses in the past, but calling me in at 8:00am on Christmas Eve?! Are you kidding?
We run into the same problem every year: Marie and I usually head Back East right as the holiday season is really getting into high gear. So if want to make the most of our Christmas, we've got to buy our tree early. So yeah, it's November and it was 60 degrees yesterday, but we went off to Target and we got ourselves a fine six-foot Douglas Fir.
So my online question du jour is, what do you add to your Christmas tree water to keep is fresh and happy? In the past I've added just plain old water, but I'm ready for some better living through chemistry. Sadly, the collective wisdom of the internet has not yet come to a consensus. Karo syrup? Aspirin? I want something simple - not some six-ingredient potion here...
Some sites claim that the tree needs sugar to stay alive, but that doesn't mesh with what little I remember from high school biology. Some sites claim that aspirin is needed to uptake minerals, etc. which I would totally believe if someone offered any sort of explanation. Adding bleach makes sense, as does MiracleGro (or whatever fertilizer). Some say the water should be hot, but how hot? Boiling? Am I making trunk tea, or just giving it a warm bath?
Anyway, my confusion alone is probably going to make me stick to the just water solution. Besides, didn't the Mythbusters disprove all of this?
I keep getting spam emails with the subject line "Exciting Job Offer!" and every time I get all excited and think "this is it!"
And then I click on the message, realize instantly how meaningless it is, and feel like a complete idiot.
Keeping in time with my tradition of purchasing a bottle of wine from every state I visit, I recently came into possession of an "American Style" Merlot, straight from the wind-swept plains of Moab, Utah. We opened it a few evenings ago, and I must say that it was pretty darn good. Kudos, Castle Creek! Much, much better than last year's Rhode Island Chardonnay.
Genentech's website has had my resume for over twelve hours and I still haven't been offered a job. What gives?
This is just my personal opinion, but really don't think fifteen minute talks should start with an outline. They're so short that the audience should be able to pick up on the natural flow of things. And by skipping an outline you can avoid hilariously content-free sentences, such as the one I heard yesterday: "Finally, I'll wrap up with some conclusions."
I'm watching a story on the nightly news about machine gun rental at the "Get Some" gun store and firing range. Says the clerk, "we get a lot of people from out of state who wouldn't dream of holding this gun where they live." Utah is awesome!
I'm heading to Salt Lake City this Sunday for the AIChE conference. It's coming a little late in my graduate career, but this will be my first time attending a conference not in San Francisco. Our travel per diem is laughably small, but I'm excited nonetheless.
I've already missed the deadline for online registration for the conference, so things aren't exactly off to a good start. But if you know something fun to do in Salt Lake, let me know. I hear "near beer" is an interesting cultural experience.