oh word

I can't believe we stayed up until 4AM playing Boggle.
I can't believe we took Boggle from the bar when it was closing.
I can't believe Stevens got a tattoo.
I can't believe Linda's dog got stolen three times.
I can't believe I got two hours of sleep.
I can't believe I made it to work by 7:45AM.
I can't believe it is 70F outside.
I can't believe I'm still at work.

too clean

My apartment smells like a girl. Susan's friend Linda is staying with us, and I guess that tipped the scales in the feminine direction. Before, the combination of me and the trash can was able to equalize the aromatic smells that Susan was able to put in place. Now, the balance has been tipped.

Maybe I should shower less now?

religion, explained

Susan and I had a conversation where we tried to outline the major differences between world religions. Well, I Googled up this site that helped us out a lot.

pants tent

This is like a bad remake of a Seinfeld episode... and no, I'm not talking about "Curb Your Enthusiasm". The way my pants are bunching up makes me look like I’m carrying a baby in a completely wrong place. I think my co-workers are gonna think that I’m *really* excited about my work. This sucks. Never wearing these pants again.

credit report

I remember trying to get my credit report a few years back, and it was a definite pain. This time around, they've cleaned up their act - you go to AnnualCreditReport.com, enter a couple of things, and presto - they list all the places that own you. I was so impressed I even splurged $5.95 to find out my credit score. Clearly, their investment in usability paid off ;)

here goes another one

In a disturbing continuation of the trend, Yong pulled a Schrock by proposing to a girl most of us (and by “us” I mean my friends) have not even met. He seems to be even more eager to jump into wedlock by setting the wedding date as the not-so-distant July 1st.

Yong, congratulations and everything. I’ll just start a chart on my wall with the names of all my friends, crossing out the ones that have crossed over. What to call it? Wall of Emasculation, perhaps?

stores are dead to me

Mark the day - March 26, 2006. That is the day that Stan officially gave up on finding anything in a store. From now on, it's online or bust.

The item that I really needed was a USB switch, so I went online to check what time Radio Shacks in the area were open until. Serious UX faux pas - I could find where the stores where, but not what time they closed. So, Circuit City became my destination.

I walk into the store, go to the everything-USB section, and guess what: nada. They have a couple of hubs, a USB card for a laptop, and that's about it. I felt like a Soviet citizen circa 1989 - I have the money, I am willing to buy, but there's nothing on the shelf!

Well, maybe their customer service could save the day. Nah. The store clerk was about as helpful as a tree stump, and had about the same amout of knowledge about electronics.

So much time wasted on drving, parking, and for what? Very unsatisfied, I went back home, did a one-minute search on eBay, and ordered exactly what I needed for half the price of what I would've paid in the store. That's it, no more shopping, just shipping!

one-size-democracy-fits-all?

So the US kicked the bad Taliban out of power (after helping the Taliban come to power, but who cares about that). Yay!

So now women in Afghanistan can vote. Supposedly. Still, double yay!

So now Afghanistan is a democracy. Triple yay! Quietly ignore the fact that the only thing produced by the whole country is hashish, but, again, who cares. Afghanistan is free to choose its own fate. Unless...

Well, minor wrinkle here. Afghanistan is free to play by its own rules, as long as these rules are OK to the Americans.

A trial that's currently going on in Afghanistan could not highlight this issue better. Some poor chap converted to Christianity, and now he's on trial. The judge rightfully notes that the newly-adopted Constitution states that no law can supersede the law of Islam. Fair enough: the Constitution has been voted upon democratically. Now, Koran can be interpreted to suggest the death penalty for any Muslim who converts to another faith. This shouldn't be a big surprise to the West: the Bible has been used to justify the killing of "savages", "heretics", homosexuals, Jews, as well as the aforementioned Muslims.

Again, the US finds itself in a corner. In theory, democracy is a great thing, where the populace elects its own government. But what if a "free" society elects a terrorist organization to take control, as did happen in Palestine? Or, what happens if a "democratic" country shuns the idea of religious freedom?

The ideals that the Americans take for granted - freedom of speech, freedom of religion, liberty and a car in every garage - are not intrinsic to the concept of democracy. Those are Western creations, add-ons that the Founders built it into the US Constitution.

So, if we build democracy in Iran, and the Iranians (after a referendum) decide to declare war on the US, then what do we do? Then again, why look past Afghanistan… what does our Christian Crusader Bush do now?

dead-end IT career?

Intersting post (and even more interesting comments) on Slashdot today.

davis sq.

So I was walking through Davis Sq. last nite, and saw the strangest thing - a guy was riding a unicycle, pushing a stroller in front of him with his kid in it. I walked a few more yards, and saw a bycicle delivery guy from Red Bones. Don't know why, but for some reason seeing things like that makes me feel good about the area where I live. If the rest of the world converts into either Christianity or Islam, bans abortions, alcohol, freedom, and turns on itself, maybe there would still be left these islands of normality...

Then I stepped into what looked like dried contents of somebody stomach, probably left over from St. Patty's Day. Hmmm. On a second thought, maybe I should move into the suburbs.

my car goes online

It was just a matter of time, and it has finally happened - my car has a blog.

If you're thinking, why in the heck would car need a blog, you're probably just jealous. But, in all seriousness, it would help me be more organized - and, seeing how I'm the only one reading my blog, the audience will be 100% satisfied.

being all grown-up

Susan and I just cleared another hurdle - we've had our first official dinner party. We've had people come over and eat before, clearly, but this one was the first to bear the "official" title. My mentor from Tufts, the former head of the Economics Department, was nice enough to drop by for dinner. We had lemon chicken, mashed potatoes, blueberry tea, and a cake creation that Susan created out of thin air. All in all, it was a success - even if the potatoes were a little burnt.

I guess the Russian side of me misses the real dinner party, where instead of going out to eat, you invite your friends over to do nothing besides talking around a table and eating the food that you made yourself. Oh yeah, that, and drink. A lot. Point is, in cooking for and setting up the party, you express gratitude to your friends. Restaurants - nah, not the same thing... Unless we're talking about Antonia's, which is really an extension of our house. But, anyhoo, the guest(s) have been fed, the dishes have been washed, and I am now peacing out for some zzzz time.

another man down

Well well well. It is official. Schrock is down for the count. He proposed to his girlfriend, even before getting the explicit approval from the Winchester crowd. Tsk tsk.

Everybody else from the WHS crew takes a deep breath and wonders if he is next...

dealing with lunatics

The management of Dubai Ports probably felt they were dealing with a bunch of paranoid schizophrenics during this whole "security scandal". This article in WSJ details how DP went to great lengths to explain that it will ensure security at the terminals that it rightfully acquired, certainly going way beyond what American companies are doing.

To recast this as a scene for a movie, we could have DP played by a reputable businessman in a well-tailored suit. The Senate can be portrayed by a, let’s see, a raving lunatic wielding a knife.

Businessman (offering a portfolio of documents): Here, we compiled a collection of documents that detail the rationale behind this transaction, and explain how it went through a full security review, as required by the laws of the United Sta…

Lunatic (interrupts, starts dancing in place): BAWAAAHUAAA! You’re an Arab! BUHAWAAAA!

Businessman (clears throat, adjusts tie): Well, actually, I was born in the suburb of London, but yes, my client is based in Dubai, a long-time ally of your governm…

Lunatic (starts making threatening gestures with the knife): Nine-eleven! Nine-eleven!! Homeland!! Security!!

Businessman (cautiously steps back): I assure you, my client is ready to assure the highest possible level of security in the terminal operations. In addition, the terminals will be secured, as they always have been, by the Coast Guard and…

Lunatic: BWAAAAHUWAAAAA!

Businessman (continues slowly stepping back without taking his eyes off the lunatic): Umm, okay, I’m just going to carefully... back... out...

whom do I root for?

Wow, this is turning out to be a heck of a season in Formula 1. Rule changes, new teams, American driver - this will be interesting indeed. The cars are going from V10 to V8, with only 2.4L of displacement. For comparison, my car has a 2.2L engine and makes 200hp. F1 cars are limited to 750hp (and we're talking N/A here). Needless to say, the cars are light as a feather, so driving them must be the most ridiculous thing ever.

But, I digress. The question before me is, who will be my favorite driver this season? We have the following candidates:
- Kimi, just because he took over where Mika left off, and (of course) because he's driving for McLaren
- Scott Speed, because he's American, and, well, let's face it, that's about as good of a name for a racer as any
- the Midland team, because it is owned by a Russian dude
- any of the Honda teams (Button would have to be the favorite there)

Ah, choices choices!

white stuff

I just downloaded the pictures from my camera, so I might as well share some with the populace. This is my baby in the last big snow storm:

Sue, on her first day of work:

Finally, me, about to pass out at the all-you-can-eat sushi buffet:

weather this

Today's forecast is in the 30's, tomorrow: 60F.

I (heart) New England.

here we go

Well, here we are. South Dakota is pushing to outlaw almost all abortions. This is definitely taking this battle up a notch.

When I came to this country, it took a while for me to understand what was the big deal with this whole abortion thing. On the surface, it is painfully clear that this option should be left available for women. Underneath, though, it is such a pivotal battle between progressive thought and the backward, "conservative", self-righteous, hypocritcal forces that most educated people have been able to rise above.

It's not hard draw parallels to other, similar ideological conflicts in American history - for starters, just go back to 1861...