Graduate School

Brian has some good advice for surviving graduate school. Most people go through periods of wondering if they’re smart enough to be in graduate school. My friend Jordan discovered that most people at her grad school wondered if they had been admitted by mistake. I’ve found the same thing here at UW. The reality is… Continue reading Graduate School

What I am Reading

I am busy, so no regular posts today. However, here is some stuff I am reading: A New York Times article about the Lackawanna Six, the Yemeni-Americans in Buffalo who trained at an Al-Qaeda training camp in Afghanistan. An interesting article about the history of the oath of allegiance that naturalized citizens have to take.… Continue reading What I am Reading

Not a Genius, Not a Criminal

It seems like my best days are behind me. I won’t be making any major scientific breakthroughs now that I am in my 30s and married. Satoshi Kanazawa, a psychologist at the University of Canterbury in New Zealand, compiled a database of the biographies of 280 great scientists, noting their age at the time when… Continue reading Not a Genius, Not a Criminal

Not Evil Enough

I am disappointed. Via Al-Muhajabah.

I Wish!

I wish our school had stuff like this. Students now get massages, pedicures and manicures at the University of Wisconsin in Oshkosh, while Washington State University boasts of having the largest Jacuzzi on the West Coast. It holds 53 people. Play one of 52 golf courses from around the world on the room-sized golf simulators… Continue reading I Wish!

What Legend Are You?

You are a siren. What legend are you?. Take the Legendary Being Quiz by Paradox Definitely not me. But as The Poor Man would say, it’s the Internet, so it must be right. Via Unqualified Offerings.

September 11

I don’t know what to say about the dastardly terrorist attack two years ago. I have no interesting story of where I was. I was sleeping in Atlanta and was awakened by my roommate around 11am because of frantic calls by Amber from Jersey. She found out about the WTC attacks when she reached her… Continue reading September 11

Optical Illusion

There are some very interesting optical illusions here. I especially like the “rotating snakes.” Via Uncertain Principles.

Arrival Day

The Head Heeb has come up with an ethnic holiday for American Jews. As he explains, 349 years ago today, the ship St. Catherine landed at New Amsterdam carrying 23 Jewish settlers. They were not the first Jews to set foot on American soil — the merchant Solomon Franco had visited Boston in 1649 before… Continue reading Arrival Day

Are You a Neocon?

An interesting quiz. Surprise, surprise, I turn out to be a liberal. Liberals… Are wary of American arrogance and hypocrisy Trace much of today’s anti-American hatred to previous US foreign policies. Believe political solutions are inherently superior to military solutions Believe the US is morally bound to intervene in humanitarian crises Oppose American imperialism Support… Continue reading Are You a Neocon?