new web site!

1. Two days worth of teaching myself CSS, +
2. Two days worth of hand-coding HTML, +
3. Two days worth of finishing an image that has been sitting unfinished on my hard drive FOR LIKE A YEAR, +
4. Wasting time I should use for research

= pretty snazzy new web layout.

great combination of bumper stickers I saw on a car the other day

1. Klein’s Archery
2. Born to Hunt
3. Support Our Troops
4. Kerry-Edwards ’04
5. [Gay pride flag]

Word 2007 wish list after a few days of use

1. CITATION SYSTEM IMPROVEMENTS.  I am probably most excited about this feature of the New Word.  But I write scientific papers and conference proceedings, not English papers, so MLA and Chicago are less useful to me than  journal citation formats.  I need the ability to easily (i.e., not days of XML programming) define my own citation styles.
2. Tabbed browsing if I open up multiple Word documents, rather than opening a new window each time.
3. Styles from a template should appear in the ribbon before the default styles.
4. Better layout of the ribbon for picture tools.
5. Better layout of the ribbon for tables.

Air Force mess halls are

• delicious
• nutritious
• full of friendly staffers
• inexpensive

failures today

1. Matlab curve fitting for system ID
2. Food shopping
3. Gift-seeking
4. Hanging out

Lists of Things Official 2008 Campaign Coverage: Who’s the real conservative?

• John McCain
  • Cut Congress’ $223 million “Bridge to Nowhere”
  • Stay in Iraq for 100 years
• Pick a Democrat, any Democrat
  • Who cares about the “Bridge to Nowhere”
  • End the Iraq War (est. current price tag: $2 trillion; est. price tag for continued combat operations: $10 billion per month)

Note for the mathematically reluctant: $10 billion/month × 12 months/year × 100 years = 12 trillion dollars, or approximately the entire US 2006 GDP.

seasons and characterizing factors

1. Winter (December, January, February):  At least 6″ of snow.
2. Spring (March, April, May):  Melting, rain, and sprouting.
3. Summer (June, July, August):  Sun.
4. Fall (September, October, November):  Wind and leaves.