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Perhaps more interesting than the construction on my road is my small mishap in one of the animal facilities the other day. Unbeknownst to me, the welding on one of the rat cage lids had partially separated, loosening the seal and enabling the cage to be opened from the inside. Inquisitive creatures that they are, it doesn’t take rats long to figure out things like this. Continue Reading »

I got accepted at Penn State University! This means that I now have choices for where I begin the next phase of my education this fall.

On a more trivial note, I live off of a road that desperately wants to be gravel when it grows up, and thinks that if it just accumulates enough potholes, the transportation gods will grant its wish. Naturally, driving on it tests both reflexes and vehicle suspension. Continue Reading »

It might ruffle some feathers, but the more I think about it, the less I understand how a “Christian Right” can exist in politics without serious cognitive dissonance. In the all the seething furor against so-called socialism in the United States, they seem to have forgotten that egalitarian values predate Marx. While I’m no theologian, excerpts from the Bible demonstrate support for equality in the teachings of Jesus himself (and in the practices of his early church). Continue Reading »

I had my final med school interview this week and (independently) collected my twelfth rejection. Now it’s just a matter of waiting for the remaining three schools I interviewed at to get back to me. The uncertainty of waiting creates considerable emotional drag, not only because a rejection could arrive at any time, but also because I may end up moving to the opposite coast. It’d be nice to have a bit more time to prepare for a huge life change. But then, wouldn’t it always?

Despite the attempts to elevate it to something tantamount to actual items, so-called “intellectual property” occupies the Land of Make-Believe along with unicorns and elves. Yet the very suggestion that the monopoly privileges associated with IP are invalid raises hackles and provokes fervent responses from the faithful. Continue Reading »

Seriously, I am. The Italian is just in greater proportion. This morning when I got into my car to go to work, I discovered a surprise indubitably left behind by a mischievous fairy. The festive container was crammed with verdant confections that will most certainly be a source of tasty delight for days to come.  Have I mentioned I love my wife? Continue Reading »

IP apologists like to say that people such as myself who don’t like seeing ads, installing malware on our computers, or paying for copies of an infinite good have a “sense of entitlement” to content. As you might have guessed, I think this is hogwash. Corporations and content creators have gotten used to controlling the market, funneling people into black-and-white choices of whether or not to buy their product. Continue Reading »

Last week, Ars Technica and Gawker Media realized that the role played by so-called “consumers” has been changing. The simplistic web advertising models they rely on worked great when visitors had no choice but to consume the advertising “impressions” loaded on every page. As people take back the power to be customers instead, even normally forward-focused sites like Ars and Gawker are terrified. Continue Reading »

Yesterday people both on- and offline were crowing about how Pink Floyd “won” a legal battle with their record label, EMI. At last, the band can force their fans to buy digital versions of their songs as full albums, rather than individual tracks. Wait, what? This was worth fighting over? Continue Reading »

Redundant Acronym Syndrome syndrome: people incur it all the time. They say an acronym but repeat the final word as well: DVD disc, ATM machine, ISBN number. Were the acronym to be fully expanded, they’re duplicating that final word and saying “digital versatile disc disc.” This used to aggravate me immensely, but the other day I saw a comment that made me rethink the issue. Continue Reading »