Hike at Chilao Flats

AR and I took the woof for a hike today. The starting elevation was 5200'. The sky was amazing. It was great to get out of the city.

BD was especially tired. We stopped several times for him to rest. Once we were near a bee nest and spent some time watching them. In this picture there is a bee resting on Mac's left foot.

The sandy trails are something you see a lot here. I remember them in Colorado, but not on the East Coast.

There were dramatic clouds too. No rain, but eventually a little shade. We spent a while lying on a rock and looking at the clouds while Mac divided his time between panting and thinking about what it would take to get up onto the rock with us.

Fold Wallet v1.0

You know I love plaid. This is the outcome of my latest make-it crush.

I've been interested in making wallets for a while now. Ultimately I have another style in mind, but I'm stuck on that front. So meanwhile, I decided to learn a bit about wallet making. This is the best set of instructions I've come across; they're easy to follow and encouraging.

This is the first wallet I've made (besides the nylon one that I have a faint memory of making in seventh grade). There's a lot I want to improve. Some improvements will come when my sewing skills improve. I also need to figure out a way to keep it from sagging. Finally, making plaid fabrics line up is really hard! Nevertheless, I'm very happy with this for a first effort.

What do I do with something like this when I've made one I like better? I have a hard time throwing things away. Donate it to Goodwill? I wonder if they would take it.

I also discovered that my bobbin winder doesn't work. To run, it requires that I stick a flathead screwdriver into my machine, which makes me squeamish. I'm loathe to get it fixed though; I have a very basic machine and don't want to spend a lot of money on it. So for now, sewing requires a screwdriver.

You can see the how the card-holding pockets aren't flat across, and how uneven my stitching (on the sides especially) is. Click for larger image.

With cards and bills in it, the wallet holds its shape respectably.

My plans:

1. Use fabric interfacing to make the card pockets stiffer.
   
2. Use some kind of plastic to give the outer wall some more shape.
   
3. Use pinking shears on the seam allowances, which should de-bulk the edges of the wallet and make sewing it smoother.

Advice is welcome!

funny tomatoes,

sun, and shoppers

 

big foot

 

schnozz

 

Drunk Biking

Turns out it's a crime:

Type

VC Section

Violation

M

21200.5

Riding a bicycle while under the influence of alcohol, drugs, or both.

Here's where I got the graphic and the deets

Changes in Brain Structure in Response to Parenting

Like human fathers, male marmosets help raise their young, yet the ways in which fatherhood influences the brain remain largely unknown. We show that first-time and experienced marmoset fathers have enhanced density of dendritic spines on pyramidal neurons in prefrontal cortex as compared to non-fathers. In parallel, the abundance of vasopressin V1a receptors and the proportion of V1a receptor–labeled dendritic spines increase.

Kozorovitskiy Y et al. Fatherhood affects dendritic spines and vasopressin V1a receptors in the primate prefrontal cortex [PMID: 16921371]

Fire lookouts in the Angeles Forest

Forty years ago, there were many more lookouts on various peaks of the Angeles National Forest, but the increase in smog decreased visibility so much that their effectiveness was greatly reduced, and they were closed.

from http://www.fs.fed.us/r5/angeles/recreation/hike-islipsad2littlejimmy-mtislip.shtml

File under unexpected consequences, in this case fire detection influenced by smog

Primate researcher quits after colleague is target of firebomb

After years of being targeted by animal rights activists, Dario Ringach announced he was planning to quit primate research. The targeting included phone harassment, demonstrations at his home, pamphlet distribution to his neighbors and a firebomb openly intended for a colleague (the group accidentally left it on an elderly neighbor's porch; it did not detonate). He asked that the animal rights organizations no longer target him and his family. The Primate Freedom project said they will not stop targeting him until he makes a video tape of himself "apologizing for the nonhuman pain and suffering he has caused."

Dr. Rinhach is an associate neurobiology professor at the University of California at Los Angeles. He has done research on human physiology and will presumably continue.

Details are here (free) and here (subscription only, text here)

I support restrictions to limit the use of animals in research as much as possible, to maximize the quality of life of the animals and to minimize stress and suffering. I have worked at numerous organizations involved in helping animals in various ways.

Nevertheless, I think that the attack on research using animals is misguided. If one's concerns are for the welfare of animals, there any many better targets.

Consider euthanasia of companion animals. Dogs are the animals closest to my heart. In 2000, there were 95,000 cats and dogs used in research (1). More than thirty times that many are euthanized in shelters per year (2). Euthanasia of stray dogs and cats is entirely preventable (through spay/neuter programs, etc.) and benefits no one.

Or consider the slaughter of the 10 billion food animals that are killed in the US each year (3). While many people enjoy eating meat, the food animal industry is a lot more disposable than the contributions of animal research to health care - a vegetarian diet would improve the health of the majority of Americans and free up a lot of resources (grains and vegetables require much less fuel to produce per calorie compared to meat (4)); trying to get by without medicines and techniques developed by animal research (vaccines, coronary bypass surgery, organ and bone marrow transplant, joint replacement) would radically decrease the health of many and the quality of life of all.

Even if the US, or the world, ended animal research right now, the losses would be huge. We might get to keep some recent high profile recent medical advances like deep brain stimulation for Parkinson's (5) and the ability of people who are paralyzed to communicate via computer or control a robotic arm (6). But we would never progress on spinal cord injury repair, a cure for diabetes, or stem cells and their myriad potentials. We need a vaccine against AIDS, new antibiotics to replace the ones that bacteria become resistant to, treatment for Alzheimer's, and better cancer prevention.

While people in the United States are empathetically concerned when they see pictures of apes with surgically implanted electrodes, they are not prepared to end the food industry, to lose the freedom to have pets as they please or to wave goodbye to the level of health care they currently have. Animal research will not be ended or restricted through legitimate means.

(1) USDA Animal Care Report, 2000.
(2) Humane society on euthanasia statistics
(3) Organic Consumers Association on Food Animals
(4) Michael Bluejay's Bicycle Universe on fuel required for food production
(5) NIH on deep brain stimulation
(6) Nature article on control of computers by electrodes in brains

"Astrologers should have been consulted."

my favorite pluto-demotion story: my dad called me yesterday to say that he had read something in the wall street journal about how scorpios (which i am) might be having a problem with pluto no longer being a planet. he called to jokingly reassure me that it was going to be ok. i am especially amused that he came across this in the WSJ, usually so stogy.

here's a quote from the Seattle PI:

"Whether he's a planet, an asteroid, or a radioactive matzo ball, Pluto has proven himself worthy of a permanent place in all horoscopes," says Shelley Ackerman, columnist for the spirituality Web site Beliefnet.com. Ackerman criticized the IAU for not including astrologers in its decision.

Conventions of interest

I was reading a New York Times article about hotels starting to use kiosks in the lobby for automated check-in, which I think is genius. I would use it at least 80% of the time. I'm not a big hotel user, but I can distinctly remember the hassle of the last few times I've checked into a hotel, which suggests that they were memorably bad experiences.

Anyway, they quoted a customer who was checking in for a stenography convention. Google has no relevant results for "stenography convention," but I hit paydirt with the "United States Court Reporters Association (USCRA) Annual Convention." Topics for this year include the following:

3. Surgical Procedures for Weight Loss – What You Need to Know
...In this seminar you will learn about the Micropouch gastric bypass and the Lap-Band procedures, including possible complications and long term outcomes. Court reporters need to be healthy and energetic. In this seminar you will learn about new options for weight loss. Dr. James Sapala, Bariatric Surgeon Victory Memorial Hospital

(Surgeon trolling for patients? Medical device purveyor doing sales? Are court reporters especially obese?)


4. Conan the Grammarian
Celebrating his 25th year writing, our speaker, Usage Editor of The Random House of Dictionary of the English Language, will offer a common-sense approach to standard grammar and usage....

(Yay!)


9. Electronic Recording (ER) – Threats in the Courtroom and New Strategies to Face the Threat
...You will also learn what to do when ER rears its ugly head in your state...Laura Dennis, NCRA’s Senior Government Affairs Specialist & PAC Manager, Sponsored by NCRA’s Official Reporter Community of Interest

(Technology is bad)


10. Real Events, Real Emotions: How to Deal with Vicarious Traumatization
...Are you simply an impartial, unemotional conduit for the information, or do you experience more of a person's emotional pain than you consciously realize? This seminar will explain what Vicarious Traumatization is, how it affects you, and how you can recognize the signs.

(I think I got VT from watching The Shield and Rescue Me)

Unfamiliar fields are so weird and interesting.

Reasons To Steer Clear Of Career Women

Forbes recently published an article (they took that version down, the chickens. and then they re-posted it alongside a counterpoint) titled "Don't Marry Career Women." Perhaps it is overly optimistic of me, but I'm convinced that the tone is intentionally provocative and the article is consciously and humorously outrageous. In any case, I wondered whether bad news for one group might be good news for another. In the spirit of intentional provocation, I have annotated their list of reasons to "steer clean of career women" with my list of "reasons for women to have good careers."*

The Forbes list is numbered; my complementary observations are the unnumbered paragraphs following them.

Men's Title: Reasons To Steer Clear Of Career Women

Women's Title: Careers Give Women Advantages In Marriage

1. You are less likely to get married to her.

Women: You are less likely to get married to someone you don't want to marry. And when you are unmarried, it's increasingly socially acceptable.

2. If you do marry, you are more likely to get divorced.

Women: If you conclude that your marriage was a mistake, you are more likely to have the confidence and financial wherewithal to end it.

3. She is more likely to cheat on you.

Women: You're more likely to have all kinds of opportunities men have historically had, including the opportunity to cat around. Goose, gander. Still, probably not a good idea.

4. You are much less likely to have kids.

Women: Your self-esteem will depend less on having children. You are free to choose to have them or not.

5. If you do have kids, your wife is more likely to be unhappy.

Women: You're going to have high expectations about your guy contributing to child-care.

6. Your house will be dirtier.

Women: Your self-esteem will depend less on having a clean house.

7. You'll be unhappy if she makes more than you.

Women: Pick your guy carefully; if he has self-esteem problems he's going to have trouble with your success. Also, see #2 about divorce, above.

8. She will be unhappy if she makes more than you.

Women: You will have the chance to make decisions and have responsibilities in line with your abilities as an individual rather than with your expected role as a woman. This will cause some friction in various areas of your life. Again, pick your guy carefully: if he has trouble with your success, it will probably make you unhappy. If he's a leech, that will probably make you unhappy too.

9. You are more likely to fall ill.

Women: You will be less likely to be making your husband's medical appointments, checking that he takes his medicine, and monitoring him carefully for every boo boo. He's going to have to take care of himself more than men have historically. You might want to teach him how to do that.

To conclude, a note to women who are not seeking the advantages listed above: If you are a career woman and really want kids and like to let a guy feel like he's in the driver's seat, you're a rare commodity, June "Condi Rice" Cleaver. From the tone of the Forbes' article, it seems that you will be a highly sought prize. Still, keep in touch with your girlfriends; you never know when your priorities will change.

* According to Forbes' definition, a career woman "has a university-level (or higher) education, works more than 35 hours a week outside the home and makes more than $30,000 a year." Also, in some cases, they're defining her as white.

When to complain: health care is a hassle

I was referred to a pulmonologist by the student health center here at school since they were prescribing me asthma meds and I hadn't had a lung function test in a while. The pulmonologist's office doesn't take phone calls from 11am to 2pm, so it took me a very long time to reach them to make an appointment, which they made for a month after that. They sent me paperwork, which I didn't fill out. I lost my wallet (actually I think I just misplaced it), so I don't have my driver's licence or insurance card. I called them about half an hour before the appointment to see if that would be a problem and to ask if I should go home to get the blank paperwork or if they could give me another packet. I was on hold for a very long time. Long enough that the question became moot. I hung up and called back. When they said "can you hold?" I said, "No, I'm on my way in, and I'm just calling let you know I'll need to get another packet of paperwork from you." She said, "I can't hear you. You're breaking up. Can you hold?" Without waiting for my answer, she put me on hold. I hung up.

OK, here I have to admit that I had done two things wrong: I didn't have my citizen card and I hadn't filled out the paperwork. I was a difficult client. Still I was really frustrated.

When I got there, I told them all I had was the cash, a single credit card and the information off my health insurance card. The receptionist made a moue. I felt like saying, don't give me that shit, just tell me straight up. I said, can you not see me? She said no, sorry. We went back and forth once and then I just left. I was so sick of that damn practice.

So I walked down the stairs (by the way, I biked to the office, albeit only 2 miles, in the 91 degree weather and then walked up and down the stairs. My asthma meds are obviously working fine. I'm not the one who wanted to see this damn pulmonologist to start with, but I need my meds, and the student health doc said they wouldn't prescribe them anymore without more info about my condition. I think this was all because he was playing some power trip on the nurse who saw me last, Alice)...

Anyway, I walked down the stairs in a huff. I've been feeling really put out by the shit I have to do during the day - it eats into my day disproportionately and I hate it. To have this huge waste of time was irritating three times over: once because I left the lab at all, twice because I was leaving for something I didn't especially want to do, and thirdly for not even getting it done. I called Health Services and told the receptionist, a wonderful wonderful woman, my whole saga while I walked my bike back toward campus. I asked her if she could please prevail on the doc at health services to just do an exam on me himself. It seems obvious to me that there is nothing scary or even interesting going on with me, pulmonarily speaking - if he agreed, I think he wouldn't have a prob continuing with the status quo prescriptions. With many kind and calming words, she put me on hold to go find a nurse, saying it was over her head, medically speaking. I started riding my bike toward campus. When the wonderful receptionist got a nurse on the phone, the nurse said she was going to call the pulmonologist's office and see what she could do. I told her if they would take me I would turn around.

I was somewhat pleased not to get another call while I was riding back to the lab. I figured that even if they did take me, I would still be pretty annoyed when I got back to the pulmonologist's office, so it would be an unpleasant visit. When I got back to the lab, I got a phone call from the university nurse. She said the pulmonologist had said it had never happened before and they could have just held my credit card. If it got to the pulmonologist, I think it means she gave them what-for. Presumably it's a good thing for your medical practice if you have a nearby university referring its well-insured students to you. It hadn't occurred to me that the institution held some clout. The university nurse got me a saturday appointment, which is great. I'm temporarily mollified. Maybe the appointment will be transformational and allow me to train much better. Yeah right.

Isotope Tests on Landis

I read a little bit about the tests they are doing to determine whether Landis was using illegal performance enhancing drugs. They can test the ratio of carbon isotopes in the steroids in the urine. I couldn't figure out how that would show whether the steroids were endogenous (made by Landis' own body) or not. It turns out that synthetic testosterone is made from a group of plants that use a particular kind of carbon fixation (from CO2). They are called C3 plants, and a molecule is involved in their kind of carbon fixation that favors the 12C isotope over the 13C isotope. Testosterone synthesized in the body comes from C3 and C4 plants, and so has a different mix of isotopes. Seems like the smart testosterone drug usage move would be to get testosterone synthesized from a similar mix of C3 and C4 plants as we eat.

On a related note that turns me green with envy, it was important that the French lab quickly receive the request that they test the other sample, because "it closes for a two-week vacation this Friday." (source)

Hello Darth

A photoshopped Hello Kitty Darth Vader.

An obscure and unexpected job

The International Badminton Federation has an official bird flu spokesman, according to this article about the dire effect of the Bird Flu on production of badminton birdies.

junior varsity airlines

there are some major airlines i won't fly because i think their operations are poorly conducted and/or their customer service is abysmal: US airways, alaska airlines, america west, ata, frontier. i will happily fly jet blue, america airlines, united, delta, continental or southwest. i prefer not to fly northwest, but i'm not adamant about it.

recently i bought a plane ticket to a remote location across the country, necessitating travel on two airlines: american airlines and a podunk one. i bought the ticket through expedia, and they had to issue me a paper ticket, since Podunk Air doesn't do e-tickets. when i unexpectedly had to change the return date, i found out that my ticket had been issued by a third airline, US airways (note its inclusion on the above list of airlines i don't patronize). because there isn't time for me to return the tickets to expedia by mail, they told me i had to go to the airline ticket counter. expedia customer service gave a confirmation number for american. i called american, who told me i needed to call US airways. US airways told me i had to go to the ticket counter and the closest one is at LAX. after stewing over the hassle of getting to LAX, i called US airways back to ask if they could tell me the cost of changing my ticket when i get to the airport. they couldn't even find my ticket from the information on my paper ticket, my credit card, my flights, anything. exasperated, i called expedia back to complain about having to deal with a company i hate. they told me two things.

one, you can't know in advance who is issuing your ticket when you buy it through expedia. if you fly on one airline, usually that airline issues your ticket. if you fly on two, there is a chance that a third will be the issuer. dude, how much does that suck?

two, i can change my ticket when i get to the airport for my departure. five calls is too much. i'm sure i'm in for more hassle when i get to the airport and have to go to the US airways counter before i depart on american airlines.

the levels of customer service met my expectations: for my two calls to expedia, one service person was competent and helpful and the other was not; my call to american was handled well; and both my calls to US airways were handled badly, curtly and incompetently.

in the future, i don't know what to do. this is a route i fly at least once per year. i could buy two separate tickets directly from the airlines, but then i couldn't change them together, they wouldn't coordinate delayed flights for me, and i couldn't check my baggage through. there used to be a major airline that flew to Podunk; maybe next year one will be back. or maybe i'll fly into the nearest metropolis and take surface transport, which would take at least four hours.

Angelenos love exercise

HC left me a voice mail to report sighting an exercise video being played in a minivan. All occupants appeared to be seated.

On proprietary reagents

I tell authors that 'proprietary' is another term for 'not fit for serious scientific work'

Clifford B. Saper, Harvard Medical School, writing in Nature 442, 353(27 July 2006)

106

"Mommies are boring"

This conversation has been around a few bends, from here (where you can find a link to the original if you wish) to harri3t via rs. It inspired this following rant of mine, originally written as a comment to harri3t.

I agree with what harri3t said:

"But I don't think it's stay-at-home moms who are to blame. It's people in general. And it's not really that they're boring, but that you are bored because there is not enough of a connection."

It's certainly been true in my scores of jobs-that-were-not-callings, where I wasn't inherently interested in the subject of my work. In each type of job I was thrown in with a different group. With lawyers and people who work at law firms, I often had one set of things in common; with people who worked in construction, another. As harri3t suggests, unless we had something in common that we both cared about, the interactions tended toward the insipid. Of course, if you ask someone something outside of strollers, billable hours or subcontractors, sometimes you find something of interest you didn't know you both cared about. The construction workers were, as a rule, more fun and more interesting than the law firm people. Of course, the construction crowd were also better people, but that doesn't say anything in particular about construction workers.*

*Lawyer-bashing is an easy bandwagon to jump on. I gave years of my life to working with lawyers, and I'm confident that my assessment reflects my experience. There are, of course, exceptions. Similarly, I am aware of the historically patronizing glorification of the working class, but again I stand by my perceptions.

from the "i was drunk at the time" archive

what does it say that I have to be drunk to read myself?

-mimi smartypants

Elvis Trooper

Why I hate LA, reason # 4,823,230

"L.A.'s way too crazy and wild a place to be pulling people over for talking on their phones," said Charles "C.J." Jacobson of Sherman Oaks, a producer of TV commercials. "Maybe there should be a permit system. There's a slew of professionals who need to use cellphones in cars. But soccer moms don't need to be doing it."

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-cellphone14jul14,0,4543915.story?coll=la-home-headlines

promoted from comment:

"People who do important shit, like me, should be able to use them. People whose children just got hit in the face by a soccer ball during a game have their damn nerve," said Mr. Pompous (PA) Asshat.

upstaged by pieces of wood

Last weekend, I went to see Pirates of the Carribean. It was preceded by surpassingly* bad service at a pho restaurant that served reasonably good food. I enjoyed the movie, although I think it would have done better to have a more cohesive overall plot and at least a semi-ending. Here's a wonderful sentence from a review of the film that embodies a sentiment that had been lurking below the surface of my consciousness:

Mr. Bloom, as is his custom, leaps about, trying to overcome his incurable blandness, and is upstaged by special effects, musical cues, octopus tentacles and pieces of wood.

* RS prefers "exceptionally."

Formerly Anusol

Anusol! This cracked me up at the store the other day.

(Picture from flickr)

Clever/sad: jury-rigged wheelchair

the other day I saw a grey haired man pushing a white haired woman in a supermarket shopping cart that had been modified to serve as a wheelchair.

uniquely human mental powers are due to...

There is no shortage of one-line theories of human nature.

-Paul Bloom, reviewing Changing Our Minds by Bruce E. Wexlerin Nature 442, 27-28 (6 July 2006)

This resonates with me, because we all love reduction. Complex ideas, even among scientists, are unpopular.

The smoke

that's what I really liked. 

San Marino fireworks

 

stop staring at my feet, you balkan freak

says a character on the shield in the episode called "Blowback." i've been watching reprehensible tv again, and it sure is enjoyable.

saturday was disgustingly hot. i spent a little while in the library and then a couple of hours ice skating. the ice skating was lots of fun once i pushed through the initial discomfort. it was ironic to have cold weather asthma even after i walked out of the rink back into the vilely hot and humid air.

The Old Man and the Sea

I'm listening to it on audiobook. My favorite author used to be Salman Rushdie, for phrases like (from memory, i.e. roughly) "the station wagon of despair." This phrase from early in Hemingway's "The Old Man and the Sea" reminds me of Rushdie, although chronologically Rushdie follows Hemingway:

The sail was patched with flour sacks and, furled, it looked like the flag of permanent defeat

going to the mawl

yes, last night i visited the mall. i went for some hair dye (bright pink!) and it turns out that you go to the mall for that. so i went.

1) agghh!

2) the parking is insane. you park far far away. at least it makes people walk a little.

3) i saw a woman sitting in a wheel chair that was powered by bicycle pedals that her feet were pedaling. i wonder what the story with that is. what kind of illness makes you able to pedal but not able to stand? maybe something neurodegenerative that affects balance or coordination?

4) agghh!

Night Palms

I'm alwasy fascinated by the patterns of the lights on the palms. Last night I was in the lab past midnight, working and grading, and when I passed these on my way home I had enough energy to take a bunch of shots. I'm not totally happy with them, but they're not bad. 

Heartbreak

The dog in this picture, AR's dog, was killed today when she was hit by a car. She was a young dog, enormously sweet and enthusiastic. She was a therapy dog and, with AR, visited people at the hospital. She stayed with me several times.

Scratches on the subway window

 

Big Pimpin'

This is the car I rented on the East Coast. It was hilarious. And fun. 

Special K in the window

 

Lloyd Bentsen: "You're no Jack Kennedy"

LB to Dan Quayle in the 1988 vice presidential debate:

Senator, I served with Jack Kennedy. I knew Jack Kennedy. Jack Kennedy was a friend of mine. Senator, you're no Jack Kennedy.

RIP, Lloyd Bentsen.

Coney Island

One of my favorite places anywhere. Ever. 

the nocebo effect

According to this article, the nocebo effect is pain in response to the expectation of injury, the converse of the placebo effect. Apparently (according to wikipedia and other web sources) "nocebo" isn't just a clever re-working of a familiar word, but means "I shall harm" in latin. And "placebo" means "I shall please." Dude, I'm getting my knowledge on!

HC thinks I have a very active nocebo response. I'm sure she's right.

Did I use "converse" correctly in that first paragraph? Probably not. I think the converse of the placebo effect (aleviation of pain in response to an inactive treatment) would be a treatment in response of aleviation of pain. The converse is the inversion in relation. The obverse is taking the opposite of two conditions. Maybe the obverse of the placebo effect (aleviation of pain in response to an inactive treatment) would be iatrogenic (doctor-caused) pain, an increase in pain in response to an active treatment. The contrapositive, is a combination of the two, an an active treatment in response to an increase in pain, or business as usual. Wikipedia describes nocebo as the reverse of the placebo. Seems altogether too simple.

Arroyo Seco

Pretty. Urban. 

Urban escape

Mac and I dropped into a quiet arroyo today. It was a hot day, but this little piece of shade was nice. 

Blue Parrot Man

Remember him? He's been spotted again.

farmer's market

Yesterday AR took me to the Pasadena Victory Park Farmer's Market. It reminded me of when my route from work to the bus after work in Seattle took me through Pike Place Market. There were rows and rows of produce stalls, and I would pick up what I needed for the night. I wasn't feeling the produce purchasing yesterday, but AR pressed a quart of strawberries on me, and they were amazing. So ripe you didn't think they could get riper. You could almost taste the dirt on them. Next week, hopefully I'll be more in the mood to stock my produce larder. 

the delight of a child? nauseating.

if i want indiscriminate sentimentalism with my food, i'll get my own side of hallmark, thank you very much?

Eaton Canyon

A denuded yucca, high above the burbs of the San Gabriel Valley. The air here has been miserable. I've been running outside, which has its own rewards, but I can feel my lungs fighting the junk in the air.

symphony: tremendous

i'm not a huge symphony person, but i really enjoyed this performance by the LA philharmonic at the walt disney concert hall. it was my first visit to the hall, and it was all that a person could expect. it also indicates how seriously angelenos take their cars: the beautiful and expensive design started the minute you stepped from the parking garage floor into what, in another city, would have been a stairwell. instead it was a large open set of escalators and stairs. i'm a total fool for beethoven, and the 7th and 8th symphonies were fantastic. there was also a new piece by anders hillborg which i wasn't crazy about. my fellow concert goers (from my lab) liked it a lot; they also said that the wonderfulness of the concert was in no small part due to the conducting of esa-pekka salonen, but i didn't have anything to compare it to.

Map My Run

Map My Run is a very cool tool. It uses Google maps to plot your run; you click on the turns and it calculates distance. If you add time and personal info, it calculates pace and calories burned. Sweet!