Liloia.com

The Grapes of Wrath

This week, I learned that the Grapes of Wrath doesn't have as much as an ending, as a stopping point. There's definitely a beginning to the book—the classic "man goes on a journey" novel with the requisite impetus for the trek.

And there's definitely a middle. This book has a middle like Horatio Sans has a middle. And it has lots of good stuff, like death, desertion, xenophobia and starvation. I'm not entirely sure, but I think someone even busted up a chiffarobe in there somewhere—which is always the sign of a good book.

But there is no ending to this book. You just end up soggy and kind of awkwardly trying not to look toward the back of the barn.

Some like it cold.

Texas has no cold water. I tried faucets, pools, fountains and showers all over the place, but all of them only made it up to a tepid stale bathwater temperature. I was startled by how frigid the cold tapwater was when I filled up my glass back at work in Vermont. Like, painful cold.

This was true for the pool too. Baking your swimming pool for three days in 100-degree air doesn't make for a refreshing swim. And my idea of a refreshing swim is when your kid's lips turn blue after 10 minutes in the pool. The first thing I did after landing was jump into our community pool. Brrrr... it was perfect. Water so cold that you can't ease into it without squealing—we all just jumped in and screamed underwater until we got used to it.

We don't have a pool at my childhood home, so pools to me evoke vacations and hotel stays. While we swam last night, Dave asked where we should go on vacation this year (yeah, we plan early, eh?) and I couldn't imagine why we would need to go anywhere with such a deliciously cool piscine just steps from our house. The poor man just wants to go on vacation, and between my work schedule this summer (new projects launching) and the fact that a magazine and glass of lemonade feels like vacation to me, he's getting a little frantic.

Okay, back to Texas. I'm not used to hydrating the way you have to hydrate in Texas. By the middle of the second day, sitting under a tent in 97-degree weather, the pounding in my head was a clue to what not to do in Texas. I bought three bottles of water and in about an hour felt better. I also bought a popsicle from an enterprising lad from a local ice cream company—I couldn't read all of the spanish on the package, but there was something arroz inside. I think it was a rice pudding popsicle, which sounds a little gross, but was actually very good. Frozen rice pudding with cinnamon and raisins. I made a mental note to try this in our freezer. So weird... yet so good.

Oh and birds make funny Texan sounds too. Like branches rubbing against each other, squeaking and groaning.

Episode III is Crap

While I don't necessarily agree with 100% of what this guy says, he makes some fantastic points. This page sums up all the things you want to say to your unthinking star-wars-seeing friends who aren't thinking critically about this movie.

Star Wars Episode III: The Best Page In The Universe

I was underimpressed with the movie, but the normal (no longer special) effects were ok.

Oh my

I think I just saw the dumbest people in all of Vermont. They are standing outside of our apartment on the sidewalk battling with the ants present there.

Battling. Like stomping and smacking them off and then the best part...yelling at the ants. Oh my.

How about this guys? Move. Walk away.

They topped it off by saying "Why are there so many ants here?" Their answer "Because no one sprays here at all"

Hmmm, let's think about this. It couldn't possibly be because of ANY of the following:

- It's summer
- You are OUTSIDE (Their home, not yours)
- We live in Vermont, not Manhattan
- We live RIGHT NEXT TO THE WOODS
- Oh, and the final reason? I put them there to annoy you.

Fools.

I broke the power law.

MIT has a weblog survey, and the larger the response pool, the better the data. Go participate.

Just Do It

I hate that Nike has made this phrase so much a part of their identity, almost as much as I hate the whole "Can you hear me now?" campaign by Verizon. I dread getting a bad signal on my cellphone with someone and having to ask the question, it just seems so silly.

The "Just Do It" phase is a little different. I don't dislike Nike, or what they stand for. I won't buy their shoes for a variety of reasons, but I have nothing specific against them. I don't feel that the phrase is silly, or trite or meaningless as many branding vehicles can be. In fact, I think quite the opposite about the phrase. I find it to be a significantly powerful statement with unlimited potential for use. I only wish that someone with historical significance, or inspirational importance had said it instead of being the campaign of a corporate enterprise.

Think about it. Just do it, just do it. When you have something that is daunting, or difficult, if something makes you nervous, or is new and therefore there is the fear of the unknown - just do it. It's simple, it's easy. There is no fear, there is no hesitation - just do it. Muddle through, battle on, persevere - just do it. Life is all about trial and error - just do it. Infrequent is the instance where you try something for the first time and you are judged to be unfit. Pick up, dust off and just do it.

Done.

Store Wars

This is so funny. If you are a fan of Star Wars, then you will love this...even if you think organic food trying to limit the scientific growth of humans as a society is insane. (Not that I feel that way...)

Bring my wife home!

Tara is once again pulling a late night at DFA, as they work to "Swing the Bat" and raise money to help meet their financial goals and fund efforts to bring issues like the Downing Street Memo to the mainstream.

Tara is threatening to stay at work until DFA raises 100k. Below is a live image showing how far left they have to go...

Bring Tara Home!!

UPDATE: Image removed because DFA made their goal and raised 100k! Way to go guys!

So Annoying

I forgot to take my medicine this morning before leaving the house again. Yesterday I realized that I forgot it after dropping Trevor off at school, but I still had time to swing home before coming to work. Today I realized it as I was about to take a bite of my breakfast after I was at work.

Now I will have to hold off on eating breakfast (which will become my lunch) until I head home for lunch. Thankfully, I live close enough to run home. Grr.

Early Summer

Things have been really busy over the last few weeks as I get settled and accustomed to my new position and situation where I am home all the time. It's great so far, and being able to spend time with Trevor is great. He and I have gone swimming for the last three days at the pool in our complex, and last night Tara picked up some water balls so we were able to play catch while swimming last night.

So far June has been ridiculously hot and very unseasonable. Our weekends have been filled with BBQ's and trying to stay cool. Trevor finishes school this week, and he is very excited about the prospect of being allowed to stay up later at night, and also earning the right to play video games during the week. What he doesn't realize is that this is more of a reward for me, than it is for him.

During the school year, if I tried to play video games during the week, he would yell at me and tell me that I am not allowed to play them without him, and that it wasn't fair. Now I can play to my heart's content, or at least until my thumbs fall off.

This week we nabbed Resident Evil 4 from GameFly and Tara is addicted. She started off by saying that she "hated it". I can tell you that she "hated it" for four hours on Sunday and an hour or so last night. Hah.

Great Quote

Yeah, this basically sums it up.....

(From Quote of the Day)

"I love being married. It's so great to find that one special person you want to annoy for the rest of your life." -- Rita Rudner

Biotech Dictionary

For the last three weeks, I have essentially been spending all of my time studying and reviewing material for my new position here in Vermont.

Will gave me a hard time yesterday for not posting more to the site. I don't take flack from anyone whose last name rhymes with "Tae-Bo", gets handicapped rooms in hotels for the "cool showers" or can't tell the difference between his Supermarket Savings Card and his Gold's Gym membership card.

Anyway, since I am spending all of my time cramming scientific information in my head I need to find good reference materials online. The best one that I have found so far (aside from the entire listing of the Code of Federal Regulations - zzzz) is the Biotech Dictionary.

Where else can I find the definitions for "clastogenic", "nosocomial infection", or "viroid"

Fun fun.

Les trois petits porcs

The lab is slow today, so the entire microbiology team was huddled into one lab performing some routine tasks, cleaning house and chatting a bit. Most of the team here (in fact almost the entire office) speaks French with only one or two exceptions.

The exception in the lab I am in today is a guy named Greg from California. While he has been with the company for over a year, and is taking classes to learn French, he doesn't use it all that often for which he is chided by his mates.

Today, while things were slow they were teaching him some words and phrases (dirty phrases I imagine from the blushed cheeks of the young ladies) and then mocking his West Coast laden French-Canadian accent. At one point someone decided it would be a good idea to have him tell a childrens story in French to practice some basics. All in all a good idea but from the perspective of both the English speaking native in the room AND the French speakers, it was a riot.

"Les trois porcs rouges d'e'quitation de litte.." - "Oops" Greg said, "I am mixing up my kids stories.."

"Le premier petit porc a construit sa maison hors de la paille" - I could almost hear the waves crashing against the beach as surfers walked by looking at this French pig and wondering why he is building a house in So. Cal. Perhaps so that this petits porc can be ultra close to these bitchin' waves.

Like I said, a riot.