Doctoral Candidate

After two and a half excruciating hours of experimental design presentation and cross-examination by five very smart professors, I passed my oral qualifying examination this afternoon. I am one step closer to becoming a doctor of philosophy. Huzzah!

Karaoke and a wee bit of drinking to commence very soon...

We're #1!! Woo hoo!! *cough*wheeze*

Yippee! Take that, Houston!

LA's the Capital of Dirty Air Again (LA Times)

Close enough

On the Colbert Report tonight, during the "interview" with Mary Roach, author of "Spook: Science Tackles the Afterlife" (paraphrasing the exchange only so very slightly):

Colbert: ... isn't this just another East coast, intellectual, ivy league... you did go to an ivy league, right?

Roach: No, actually I went to Wesleyan.

Colbert: Close enough.

"Keep an open mind, but not so open that your brain falls out" - Richard Feynman

Yep, that's right, kids! Time for more fun with Intelligent Design!

My favorite part of CNN/AP coverage:

In addition, the board rewrote the definition of science, so that it is no longer limited to the search for natural explanations of phenomena.

... it's a good thing I make my own beer.

And it read, "Ice Cube's a pimp" (yeah)

It's been a good day.

Artist: Ice Cube
Album: The Predator
Song: It Was a Good Day
Typed by: OHHLA Webmaster DJ Flash

[Ice Cube]
Break 'em off somethin
{*inhales*} Shit..
{*exhales*} Yo..
Yo.. uhh..

[Verse One]
Just wakin up in the mornin gotta thank God
I don't know but today seems kinda odd
No barkin from the dog, no smog
And momma cooked a breakfast with no hog (damn)
I got my grub on, but didn't pig out
Finally got a call from a girl I wanna dig out
(Whassup?) Hooked it up for later as I hit the do'
Thinkin will I live, another twenty-fo'
I gotta go cause I got me a drop top
And if I hit the switch, I can make the ass drop
Had to stop, at a red light
Lookin in my mirror and not a jacker in sight
And everything is alright
I got a beep from Kim, and she can fuck all night
Called up the homies and I'm askin y'all
Which park, are y'all playin basketball?
Get me on the court and I'm trouble
Last week fucked around and got a triple double
Freakin niggaz everyway like M.J.
I can't believe, today was a good day (shit!)

[Verse Two]
Drove to the pad and hit the showers
Didn't even get no static from the cowards
Cause just yesterday them fools tried to blast me
Saw the police and they rolled right past me
No flexin, didn't even look in a nigga's direction
as I ran the intersection
Went to $hort Dog's house, they was watchin Yo! MTV Raps
What's the haps on the craps?
Shake 'em up, shake 'em up, shake 'em up, shake 'em
Roll 'em in a circle of niggaz and watch me break 'em
with the seven, seven-eleven, seven-eleven
Seven even back do' Lil' Joe
I picked up the cash flow
Then we played bones, and I'm yellin domino
Plus nobody I know got killed in South Central L.A.
Today was a good day (shit!)

[Verse Three]
Left my nigga's house paid (what)
Picked up a girl been tryin to fuck since the 12th grade
It's ironic, I had the brew she had the chronic
The Lakers beat the Supersonics
I felt on the big fat fanny
Pulled out the jammy, and killed the punanny
And my dick runs deep, so deep
So deep put her ass to sleep
Woke her up around one
She didn't hesitate, to call Ice Cube the top gun
Drove her to the pad and I'm coastin
Took another sip of the potion hit the three-wheel motion
I was glad everything had worked out
Dropped her ass off and then chirped out
Today was like one of those fly dreams
Didn't even see a berry flashin those high beams
No helicopter looking for a murder
Two in the mornin got the Fatburger
Even saw the lights of the Goodyear Blimp
And it read, "Ice Cube's a pimp" (yeah)
Drunk as hell but no throwin up
Half way home and my pager still blowin up
Today I didn't even have to use my A.K.
I got to say it was a good day (shit!)

[Ice Cube]
Hey wait, wait a minute Pooh, stop this shit
What the fuck I'm thinkin about?

Massachusetts misses me

My birthday approaches, so I was not too surprised to receive a driver's license renewal form in the mail yesterday... until I noticed that it was from Massachusetts. Yep, mailed to my Los Angeles address and listing my old Dorchester, MA apartment as the "residential address."

I filled out a change of address form online, but I fear I will have to telephone and explain that I am not some college student merely in California for a few years. I moved away over two years ago, and don't really have thoughts or plans to move back.

At least they stopped sending me car excise tax bills and haven't tried to claim I owe income taxes. Yeesh.

Yet another example of the inmates running the asylum...

Debate rages on use of cervical cancer vaccine
While almost 100% effective, some contend use condones teen sex

Rob Stein, Washington Post
Monday, October 31, 2005

..."There are those who would say, 'We can provide a better, healthier alternative than the vaccine, and that is to teach abstinence,'" Rudd said. (associate executive director of the Christian Medical and Dental Associations)

(via Eschaton)