fresh_s

fresh_s @ 2009-12-18T18:57:00

2009-12-18T23:46:26Z

i admit i never thought i'd have the gumption to bike through winters up here. but so far, i'm loving it!

reasons to wear a helmet - #2

2009-09-01T12:41:38Z

helmets protect you from falling debris

yesterday while riding, i felt something heavy drop onto my helmet. it had the acceleration of something that had fallen from a fair height above, and the sound and feeling of something that absorbed the shock of the fall through splatter.

i can let you imagine all the things that could have fallen on my head, just as i spent the next 15 minutes thinking about what mystery substance came so close to destroying my day at school. the moral of the story is - helmets protect you from falling debris. (in actuality, it was a huge tree berry of some sort. the splatter was about 2 inches in diameter -- a small chunk did get through one of the vents, but was easy to pick out of my hair. the sticky mess could have been worse. thanks, helmet!)

winter beards

2009-09-01T12:20:37Z

being back on the bike recently has been great! my new commute is roughly 25 minutes to school, 15-20 back. i take a longer route to get there because i prefer bike lanes and milder hills in the morning to the chaos that would be faster but otherwise less enjoyable.

i'm thinking about gearing myself up more properly this year for colder riding. i need
1. a jacket - windproof but breathable, visible. never too cool for safety!
2. a face covering that is less scary than a ski mask. maybe my next knitting project will have to be one of these:

also, i'm selling the clydesdale. it's been a good run, but i just don't have time to take her out cruising these days. further, i just don't have the leg power to get her very far on the rolling hills of greater boston. farewell and fair rides, clydesdale! you'll be missed.

using craigslist

2009-07-10T03:09:26Z

when searching for an apartment in the housing offered section, enter the maximum monthly rent that you wish to pay in the "max" field.

when searching for a roommate in the housing wanted section, enter the rent that you will charge your renter in the "min" field. NOT the "max" field.

I can only surmise that people are doing this entirely backwards. Why? Because of the dozen replies that I've gotten so far, all are above my price range. While it's possible that everyone offering rooms within my price range is not bothering with the "housing wanted" section because they know they'll get a thousand replies anyways, if people were searching correctly, they would not even be finding my ad -- which clearly explains that my maximum rent is well below their price. It's an inefficient process for all of us.

rarr.

in other news, my current sublet set-up is amazing. this roommate match has worked out so well... one might even say... swell.

holy moly

2009-06-27T03:54:16Z

these guys are awesome:
Liquid Crystal Project

dear graduate school,

2009-06-26T20:05:22Z

congratulations, you are officially testing and teaching me. even when i don't pass in one way, i am learning that i'm succeeding in another. because despite feeling like a train wreck, somewhere beneath all these insecurities that you've released, i still believe that things can be okay in the end.

hmm

2009-06-13T18:52:19Z

i think it's kind of interesting that even though i'm pretty sure the news radio station that my parents like is not explicitly a conservative one, it often airs rather conservative commentary. ...but the traffic reports this morning mentioned kept mentioning a "big parade" coming through downtown. big parade? an inexplicable, unnamed, big parade that will affect downtown traffic? that's the pride parade, idiots. it's not a dirty word.

fresh_s @ 2009-06-09T13:18:00

2009-06-09T17:13:05Z

the good news is that after wearing the same pair of pants for a month, i'm finally getting around to doing my laundry. the bad news is that in the 2 months since i last did laundry, the price went up to $1.75, so i can't afford to wash as much as i wanted to.

fresh_s @ 2009-06-03T21:20:00

2009-06-04T01:14:18Z

http://www.6billionothers.org/index_en.php

in celebration of bike to work week

2009-05-09T02:21:27Z

check out the winning bike design from bicycle design's contest:

seems like the yabba-dabba-do version of GM's latest innovation

summer looks: pair with fu manchu beard

2009-03-19T01:18:22Z

oh no they didn't

www.slanties.com

opportunity mapping in MA

2009-02-27T08:56:16Z

this study geographically maps an index of opportunity over MA. intriguing. (watch out, the link is to the pdf)

January 2009 by the Kirwan Institute for the Study of Race and Ethnicity, this "opportunity mapping" analysis reviews how neighborhoods influence the lives of residents in distressed communities and explores the relationship between residential segregation and opportunity isolation. The report addresses the critical questions of how to remedy opportunity isolation and connect marginalized residents to critical opportunity structures.

Read and download this report at: http://www.mlac.org/pdf/Geography%20of%20Opportunity_MA_full%20report.pdf

return to the world

2008-12-16T02:50:07Z

i have one more exam. hanging on by the skin of my teeth after midterms, i think i'm finally getting back into the swing of being a student. and i am back with a vengeance. please let me pass this semester. please.

but anyways, since today was the last theory exam, i'm taking a breather to find out what's happening in the world and the lives or people other than the make believe ones in the two person economy or closed economy with no government, no technological progress, population growth rate of n, and depreciation on capital of \delta. what i've found so far are two interesting pieces on chinese america:

UMD report on Chinese Americans - November
http://www.racialicious.com/2008/12/11/comprehensive-new-report-on-chinese-americans/#more-2077

Addicted To Race
http://www.addictedtorace.com/?p=219

What’s the forgotten story of ethnic cleansing of the first Chinese Americans in California and the Pacific Northwest? How did the Chinese fight back against these racist acts of violence? And what lessons can we learn that apply to today’s debates on immigration?

I didn't pay for a $30/month subscription, but the interview sample clip is very interesting.

alternative fibers

2008-12-16T02:21:12Z

http://www.dettasspindle.net/WoofspunDogYarn/WoofspunDogYarn.html

if you want a hat/scarf/mitten set made of alaskan husky, you'll have to take a number, please.

fresh_s @ 2008-12-02T21:46:00

2008-12-03T02:45:52Z

holy sht.

http://www.feministing.com/archives/012439.html

i'm not sure what else to say.

spoiler alert

2008-09-25T11:36:39Z

sam yoon might run for mayor next year?!

but, more on that another time. our economy is only going down in a hellfire and demons are trying to keep the throne.

always wear a helmet, always have insurance

2008-09-23T00:03:32Z

every day on my way to school, i think of the spots in my commute where i'm most likely to get into an accident. i have always figured that it will be at cleveland circle, coming straight through the intersection against a car making a left. however, today i got in an accident all by myself! BUT, to my credit, it /was/ at cleveland circle.

anyways, the moral of the story is... always wear a helmet. i honestly have very little idea of what happened, because one second i was going down the hill, and the next i was lying on my face on the ground. i'm pretty sure my wheel got stuck in the trolley tracks while i kept moving. i have a minor scrape on my left knee, but for the most part, my face stepped up to the task of being full landing gear. i am extremely thankful for my helmet, as i have scrapes and a medium bump on my forehead. i have no idea what would have happened had i not been wearing one. aside from the scrapes and bumps, i think i took off a chunk of tooth enamel. i know that i should go to a dentist, but i have no dental insurance. and, actually, the hospital thinks i'm uninsured too, because i haven't yet received my health card. at least, in reality, i'm fortunate to have it. this type of stuff is expensive.

oh well. time to do homework.

writer's block

2008-09-08T00:10:02Z

dear fellowship selection committee,

please send $$$.

i'm famous! don't fact-check that.

2008-08-29T18:36:07Z

remember when the internet was smaller, and for shits and giggles you could google yourself and find what you and other versions of you were doing? back in the day, a simple search on my name would pull up less than 30 pages, including all of my school and extracurricular stuff, along with poems by some lady with the same name out in the western US. the other day, i thought i'd try it again. nowadays there are apparently so many people with my name that i don't show up anywhere in the top results of a name search. you can, however, find all sorts of social and professional networking pages for 'me," as well as some very bad poetry and art by 'me.'

sweet! and not so sweet.

2008-08-14T15:12:08Z

i just talked with one of my previous bosses -- probably my most positive working experience ever... and we may be working together in the near future! he may use me as support for some consulting that he has been working on. i am extremely excited.

also - i don't know what to do about the clydesdale. i made a last minute decision to ship it up here, but things keep going wrong. first, the shop here in boston cancelled my shipment without telling me. now my second shipment is not showing up in my fedex account for some reason and i'm not sure why. if it doesn't work this time, i'm half inclined to take it as a loss and tell the shop they can donate it. damn, why did i have to love that bike so much?

also - no computer. the dear thing finally gave up on me shortly after the move. i've ordered a mac, and it's on its way here from the olympics.

olympics - holy sh*t, michael phelps. oh god oh god oh god oh god. if you haven't been watching the races, you've missed out. beautiful.

eta: my computer arrived. this has given me plenty of time to find out that this time the shipping bike shop cancelled the shipment. a bunch of back and forth clarified the shipment and i rescheduled a new pick-up for tomorrow. shortly afterwards, somehow the courier showed up at the shop, confusing the hell out of the poor staff (and me). damn bike. i am riding that thing even in my sleep if it ever gets here.

frick frack fuck half.com

2008-07-27T22:42:36Z

fucking half.com. i just spent an hour searching for the best deals on fall textbooks, and now it won't let me buy them for some unknown reason. the error on the checkout page? " We cannot complete your order due to the following reason:" There is nothing highlighted on the page and no links to where I can make any corrections. A fucking dead end. Fuck you, half.com.

iDrool

2008-07-18T02:05:45Z

recently i've been limiting myself to a max time spent on the internet (outside of work-related research) of 30min/day. this is possibly the simplest most considerate, self-pampering thing that i've done for myself in a while. there are some days where i don't even turn on my computer at home (haven't experienced this in many many many years). however, a good portion of my half hour has recently been dedicated to drooling over this:

http://vegandad.blogspot.com/

can i come over for dinner? i thought shmoo, from veganlunchbox was lucky. granted, i'm sure i would have been a hard sell on this sort of stuff when i was 10 or under, but who says i can't relive my childhood now.

the power of craigslist

2008-07-12T06:12:07Z

in less than 12 hours, i sold my little red bike. i rode it over to the selling point (i was afraid of running late), and i have to admit that i will miss it. the guy who bought it seemed really excited and enthusiastic about it, so i have faith that it has a good new owner.

geez. it all happened so quickly.

to sell, or not to sell

2008-07-07T14:19:17Z

i don't own many things at this point in my life, but i do own too many bikes. i sold rockstar (sigh!) to a friend who loves her. rockstar now goes by lemoncello, but i'm glad she has a good owner who is putting her to great use. but this still leaves me with two bikes and an impending move. what to do?

1. unnamed grocery getter, randor 10-speed, unknown year, bought for $40
i meant to fix this up, but in fact ended up leaving it in the same crappy state of affairs that i bought it. it is a perfect fit for me, though, and its one unique feature is those oh-so-convenient-but-poorly-designed suicide brakes that every haphazard and lazy person like me should have. steel lugged frame with what i'm pretty sure are steel rims. this bike is not very light. i thought i'd put a rack on it and use it for grocery getting. could use new break heads, tires and tubes and a general tune-up wouldn't hurt, i'm sure. worth taking up to ma? not sure.

2. the clydesdale, amf/raleigh 3-speed, 1975?, bought for $75
oh, sweet clydesdale. how i love thee and the sweat and tears that it takes to get you up the mt. pleasant where i live. steel frame, stand, rack, chainguard and fenders, you are so freaking heavy. but i love you. original shiny parts, we speed effortlessly upright along the streets (as long as they're not uphill). our trips to the pool, the market, the grocery. how can i possibly sell you? you were a totally sweet find.

...but i have my highschool hybrid waiting for me at home, which my parents have diligently been tuning every few years, and my dad's car does not have a bike rack on which to carry bikes. my stuff will fully occupy the trunk and at least part of the back seat. you can't take it all with you.

other things -
i'm selling the bed, the wardrobe, and the rice cooker. keeping my boombox, the wok, my plates, and the huge collection of Company mugs that i've amassed.

tangles

2008-06-27T01:24:13Z

i restarted the tangled yoke cardigan two weeks ago during a weekend excursion. amazingly, though i'm knitting on the same needles and my tension is pretty invariable, i'm hitting gauge this time. ...and i know because i swatched beforehand. somehow the knitting overseers just know when you've swatched and when you haven't. i'm one more roundtrip commute to work from finishing the main body. i love the way the yarn is working up, and the fabric looks great. we'll see what happens when i make it to the yoke.

i'd like to make something for J before i move out. i've thought in the past about making her something, but never really knew what. a sweater or shirt might be a little strange. i thought about a nice purse, but she has many bags already. for a while she had talked about wanting a good pair of slippers, so i thought about felting her a pair, but i think there's too much room for error since i've never felted before and don't really know her shoe size. then i thought about some nicely patterned dishclothes, but that doesn't exactly seem like much of a present. what to do, what to do?