So my birthday was Sunday. I am now 36. I don't feel that old at all. Didn't do anything special - watched the latest episode of 24. Thought it was pretty good.
The next day, I flew to Houston to spend Thanksgiving with my sister Kim and my parents, who drove down to Houston from St. Louis. I also finally got to meet Luis, Kim's boyfriend. Luis is certainly a nice guy and a nerd like me (he is a biostatistician). Sadly, however, I can't say it has been an altogether pleasant experience. My parents have spent most of their time obsessing at Kim's apartment. Consequently I have chosen not to spend a lot of time there. Kim is the child that they really wanted to have. Kim will call them multiple times a day, Kim will ask them for advice (and money), Kim lets my parents stay connected in her life. I don't. I talk to my parents maybe once a month, and then only when they call. I don't tell them the details of my life, because I know on some subconscious level that I can't. My mom has this annoying habit of wanting to solve everybody's problems. This wouldn't be so bad, but she combines this with an overinflated sense of correctness. So after she tells you how to solve your problem, she will then call back later asking how her solution worked out, assuming of course that you did it her way. When you have to explain, well, circumstances changed, and I didn't exactly do it your way, and, well, things are different now, she will want to know why you didn't call her back, or how come you didn't do it her way anyway. And I frankly don't want to explain every single decision in my life to her. So I simply don't let her get involved from the beginning. And talking to Dad is the same as talking to her. So conversations with them, in person, when I can't feign an excuse to end a phone call, are a challenge.
So, this afternoon is Thanksgiving dinner. I'm going to be thankful that it only happens once a year.
Thursday, November 27, 2008
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
So Obama won.
Well that sucks. I was hoping McCain could pull it out at the end. But it was mere wishful thinking after all.
On the one hand, I think Obama is going to be a disaster for the economy. He will not hesitate to raise taxes and with the ultra-liberal Congress he's working with, the only question they will ask him is "how high do you want to go?" He wants to give "tax breaks" to people who don't pay taxes, which means eventually that we will have half the country who don't pay any taxes at all. That is not a sustainable democracy.
On the other hand, though, as others have pointed out, the situation right now is almost exactly what the situation was in 1992. And yeah it was a disaster for a while but the world didn't come to an end and it did pave the way for the eventual return of the Republican Party to control in Congress.
So I'm anxious about what Obama will do but I am also cautiously optimistic that through the current set of tribulations the Republican Party will rediscover its conservative soul.
On the one hand, I think Obama is going to be a disaster for the economy. He will not hesitate to raise taxes and with the ultra-liberal Congress he's working with, the only question they will ask him is "how high do you want to go?" He wants to give "tax breaks" to people who don't pay taxes, which means eventually that we will have half the country who don't pay any taxes at all. That is not a sustainable democracy.
On the other hand, though, as others have pointed out, the situation right now is almost exactly what the situation was in 1992. And yeah it was a disaster for a while but the world didn't come to an end and it did pave the way for the eventual return of the Republican Party to control in Congress.
So I'm anxious about what Obama will do but I am also cautiously optimistic that through the current set of tribulations the Republican Party will rediscover its conservative soul.
Quick Update - The Corn Maze
So for Halloween this year I didn't go trick-or-treating but I thought I would try out the "world's largest corn maze" which is - you guessed it - right here in Nebraska, only about 15 miles from Lincoln. The bottom line is that I never want to experience any kind of maze, corn or otherwise, again. Here are a few pictures that perhaps illustrate why this is so.
First, there was the pumpkin launcher. Actually this did look like fun, but it was more for kids. Those rubber bands sure hurled those pumpkins a long way. Oh, and note the condition of the sky. It's close to dusk.
Here is the beginning of the corn maze.
Here is a view of the barn from inside the maze.
More corn. Hey look, it's getting a little darker.
Look, it's more corn!
Wouldn't you know it. More corn.
There's a &%$^&load of corn. And now it's almost completely dark and I have no flashlight.
After a while I latched on to some other people who did have flashlights and I just followed them out. Overall it took me about 1.5 hours to navigate the maze. The sign at the entrance said the estimated time of completion was 45-60 minutes. Yeah right.
These things are more for kids. And I am too old to deliberately try to get myself lost. I do that often enough with my own research projects!
First, there was the pumpkin launcher. Actually this did look like fun, but it was more for kids. Those rubber bands sure hurled those pumpkins a long way. Oh, and note the condition of the sky. It's close to dusk.
Here is the beginning of the corn maze.
Here is a view of the barn from inside the maze.
More corn. Hey look, it's getting a little darker.
Look, it's more corn!
Wouldn't you know it. More corn.
There's a &%$^&load of corn. And now it's almost completely dark and I have no flashlight.
After a while I latched on to some other people who did have flashlights and I just followed them out. Overall it took me about 1.5 hours to navigate the maze. The sign at the entrance said the estimated time of completion was 45-60 minutes. Yeah right.
These things are more for kids. And I am too old to deliberately try to get myself lost. I do that often enough with my own research projects!
Sunday, October 26, 2008
Game Day - Pictures
Tailgaters play a little bean bag toss on the parking lot in front of the stadium.
The view of the stadium from the tailgaters' parking lot.
A bronze statue of Brook Berringer (No. 18) and Coach Tom Osborne. Berringer was a QB for the Huskers in 1996 who died tragically in a plane crash. Oh, also some random kid.
Garage rooftop tailgating.
There is a U.S. Senate race in Nebraska right now and the supporters for Johanns (R) and Kleeb (D) can be seen. They were the most polite supporters that I have ever seen.
A really big clock inside the stadium.
The view of the field from my seat. There's the Cornhusker Marching Band, "the pride of all Nebraska".
The Huskers running onto the field after the tunnel walk.
Huskers QB Joe Ganz, No. 12, warming up before the game, along with his media entourage. I've often wondered how college kids like him, who are also statewide celebrities, can focus on their education in the media frenzy atmosphere that they inhabit. Maybe, they don't.
Formation for the opening kickoff.
There's a tradition here that when the Huskers score their first touchdown, the fans release red balloons. There were a lot of balloons released.
Timeout!
A closer view of the new stadium skyboxes. I believe there is approximately a 200-year waiting list for the boxes.
There's Hamilton Hall, the chemistry building, as seen from the stadium. Rumor has it that once upon a time, chemistry grad students would sit on the roof of the building, drink beer and watch the game. Remarkably, this practice was deemed "unsafe" and the practice stopped (before my time, I might add). I can't imagine what could be unsafe about sitting on the top of a roof with no guard rails, getting drunk, in a building filled with hazardous chemicals. The nerve!
A key 3rd-and-short play for Baylor, late in the game. The Huskers defense would end up stopping the drive.
The gigantic "N" and "Nebraska" flags that would be run around the end zone after each Husker touchdown. This display came after the Huskers' last touchdown of the game.
The final score. The giant Jumbo-tron screen was, sadly, to my back so I didn't get to see it terribly often. If I go again I should want to find a seat at the opposite endzone.
Game Day - During and After
Well of course, being the idiot that I am, I dawdled too long in my office and was almost late getting to my seat for the kickoff. I just barely made it. And, being the bigger idiot, I didn't bring sunscreen or a hat, and it was a very sunny day. So my face is a little sunburned right now. All in all I would say that the experience was actually rather unpleasant. The seats consisted of numbers on metal benches; my seat was on the aisle, and the lady sitting next to me was, shall we say, quite "ample" so that meant I only really got half a seat. For much of the first half my body substantially obstructed the aisle, which was jostled whenever anyone went up or down the aisle (say, after touchdowns). And the bright sun didn't help either. The prices at the concession stands were of course outrageous ($3 hotdog, $4 ice cream, $3 soda).
Fortunately the Huskers won, but it was close for a while. They actually trailed at halftime but the defense really stepped up in the second half and shut out Baylor completely from scoring. I actually got to see the Huskers score a safety - a relatively rare thing for all of football. But there were tons of Huskers penalties during this game, just like with the Missouri game. That was a bit strange because I thought they had turned that problem around. It seems that the Huskers this year are exhibiting a "conservation of improvement" - when the defense improves, the offense backslides, and fumbles on 3rd and goal; when special teams steps up, the defense then allows an 80-yard pass play. All the parts are there, they are just not in a rhythm. Next week we play Oklahoma, which is a very good team but not unbeatable. There is some optimism that we can actually beat them this year, although I wouldn't bet any money on it. But even if we don't beat Oklahoma, there is considerable enthusiasm that we will actually make it to a bowl game this year, finishing with at least 6 wins. Right now the Huskers have 5 wins. After Oklahoma the Huskers play Kansas, Kansas State, and Colorado. Kansas will be a close game; Kansas State should be a sure win; and who knows about Colorado. It's a rivalry game, and at home. Colorado hasn't looked too good this year but with rivalry games you never can tell. So we may even have 7 wins this year.
But by far the coolest part of the game for me came even before the kickoff. I was in a narrow hallway waiting to get to my seat, with a crowd of other people, when the National Anthem started playing. People stopped moving forward, took off their hats and sang along. That is actually unusual nowadays! What's more, there was a guy in the back who I guess didn't know what was going on and was shouting towards the front "hey let's go" and so forth, noting that progess in the line had stopped. He was immediately shushed by the other fans, out of reverence for the National Anthem. It's instances like these that make me proud to be associated with Nebraska.
In my next post I'll have some pictures.
Fortunately the Huskers won, but it was close for a while. They actually trailed at halftime but the defense really stepped up in the second half and shut out Baylor completely from scoring. I actually got to see the Huskers score a safety - a relatively rare thing for all of football. But there were tons of Huskers penalties during this game, just like with the Missouri game. That was a bit strange because I thought they had turned that problem around. It seems that the Huskers this year are exhibiting a "conservation of improvement" - when the defense improves, the offense backslides, and fumbles on 3rd and goal; when special teams steps up, the defense then allows an 80-yard pass play. All the parts are there, they are just not in a rhythm. Next week we play Oklahoma, which is a very good team but not unbeatable. There is some optimism that we can actually beat them this year, although I wouldn't bet any money on it. But even if we don't beat Oklahoma, there is considerable enthusiasm that we will actually make it to a bowl game this year, finishing with at least 6 wins. Right now the Huskers have 5 wins. After Oklahoma the Huskers play Kansas, Kansas State, and Colorado. Kansas will be a close game; Kansas State should be a sure win; and who knows about Colorado. It's a rivalry game, and at home. Colorado hasn't looked too good this year but with rivalry games you never can tell. So we may even have 7 wins this year.
But by far the coolest part of the game for me came even before the kickoff. I was in a narrow hallway waiting to get to my seat, with a crowd of other people, when the National Anthem started playing. People stopped moving forward, took off their hats and sang along. That is actually unusual nowadays! What's more, there was a guy in the back who I guess didn't know what was going on and was shouting towards the front "hey let's go" and so forth, noting that progess in the line had stopped. He was immediately shushed by the other fans, out of reverence for the National Anthem. It's instances like these that make me proud to be associated with Nebraska.
In my next post I'll have some pictures.
Saturday, October 25, 2008
Game Day - The Pre-Game
So I'm here in my office, which is right across the parking lot from the stadium, about 2 hours before the game is set to start. I had to get here this early if I wanted any hope of finding free parking in a walkable distance. It is a bit cool outside, about 40 degrees, but it is supposed to warm up to about 60 for game time. You can definitely tell it's game day; the reds and whites are out everywhere. Not too many crazy drunk people stumbling around, but after all it is an early game so I suppose it's not too surprising. I haven't seen any Baylor fans yet (or at least, those who would self-identify as Baylor fans); maybe they are still cowering in their hotel rooms? :) The parking lot just east of the stadium is Tailgating Central so I will head out over there and take a few pictures.
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