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The saga continues...
Dec. 14th, 2008 10:40 pm[School] IS EXPERIENCING A POWER OUTAGE
Day and evening classes for December 15th have been canceled. Final Exams originally scheduled for Monday December 15th will take place on Monday December 22nd.
Due to the length of the power outage and storm recovery efforts we have had to revise the final exam make-up schedule. Each final exam has been put off exactly 1 week, taking place on the same day of the week in the same room at the same time. PLEASE KEEP CHECKING THIS SITE FOR UPDATED INFORMATION.
Final Exams originally scheduled for Thursday December 11th will take place on Thursday December 18th.
Final Exams originally scheduled for Friday December 12th will take place on Friday December 19th.
Final Exams originally scheduled for Saturday December 13th will take place on Saturday December 20th.
Final Exams originally scheduled for Sunday December 14th will take place on Sunday December 21st.
Final Exams originally scheduled for Monday December 15th will take place on Monday December 22nd.
IF NECESSARY Final exams originally scheduled for Tuesday will take place on Tuesday December 23rd
Messed up, no? Time to change my own plans for break. :(
Edit: Crap, I was going to send an email to all my students explaining this, but the email server just went down. All the school servers are currently running off of generators, and I'm guessing they're prioritizing fuel deliveries to them, so that's why some keep going down. I have to say I do *not* envy the IT people who must be continually resetting things b/c of this situation.
Winter PSA for pet owners
Dec. 12th, 2008 05:24 pmI live in New England, which was hit with a horrible ice storm overnight. Many people throughout my state are without power, and cities and towns are setting up emergency shelters for people without heat. While my heat is oil, both the burner and thermostat require electricity, so if it went out, we'd be going somewhere else. Which reminded me to do a mental inventory of my bird emergency kit.
For those of you with pets, please pick up some chemical hand warmers, which can be found for under $10 at sports stores and outdoors stores. Also make sure you have a carrier for your pet. If your heat goes out, wrap the chemical handwarmer in a couple layers of a hand towel or pillowcase (after activating of course, wrapping protects your pet from heat injuries as they can get quite hot), and place it in or next to the carrier. Make sure to also provide plenty of food and treats for your pet - most wild animals that freeze to death could have survived had they had enough food sources to be able to shiver.
If you need to evacuate, BRING YOUR PET WITH YOU, there's no guarantee that you'll be able to return to your home in a timely manner. Bring whatever you need for your pet to last a few days, as long as it doesn't require refrigeration or cooking. While you can keep food cold in your trunk, keep in mind that it may freeze and you may be unable to thaw it, since you do not want to waste body heat or chemical hand warmers on thawing food.
I hope none of you reading this ever need these tips, but it's better to plan ahead than to be caught unprepared.
x-posted
For those of you with pets, please pick up some chemical hand warmers, which can be found for under $10 at sports stores and outdoors stores. Also make sure you have a carrier for your pet. If your heat goes out, wrap the chemical handwarmer in a couple layers of a hand towel or pillowcase (after activating of course, wrapping protects your pet from heat injuries as they can get quite hot), and place it in or next to the carrier. Make sure to also provide plenty of food and treats for your pet - most wild animals that freeze to death could have survived had they had enough food sources to be able to shiver.
If you need to evacuate, BRING YOUR PET WITH YOU, there's no guarantee that you'll be able to return to your home in a timely manner. Bring whatever you need for your pet to last a few days, as long as it doesn't require refrigeration or cooking. While you can keep food cold in your trunk, keep in mind that it may freeze and you may be unable to thaw it, since you do not want to waste body heat or chemical hand warmers on thawing food.
I hope none of you reading this ever need these tips, but it's better to plan ahead than to be caught unprepared.
x-posted
Reason #4 to Vote No on Question 1
Oct. 16th, 2008 12:11 amI'm pissed at Gov. Deval Patrick's speech tonight in which he said that "no cuts would be made to education." [source] If that's really what he said (I didn't see a full text of his speech nor watch it), he's a lying sack of shit because every last institution of public higher education in the state is receiving cuts of around 5%. And if you think that's bad, the Suicide Prevention and Intervention Program is receiving a cut of 12% and Family Health Services by 23%. Suicide Prevention! Explain to me how that is "limit[ing] the impact on the state's most vulnerable citizens"?!?!
But my point.
The state is already facing severe budget cuts even without losing 37% of the state's revenue by removing the income tax. Vote no.
But my point.
The state is already facing severe budget cuts even without losing 37% of the state's revenue by removing the income tax. Vote no.
Reason #2 to Vote No on Question 1
Oct. 3rd, 2008 03:16 pmWhat this is all about
Reason #2: Tax cuts may actually increase government spending!
Thanks to![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
seekingferret for the link. I haven't read through it entirely, but I'm fascinated by the possibility - it seems entirely illogical that tax cuts would NOT reduce government spending. The point here is if people want to reduce government expenditures, cutting taxes may not do the trick.
Reason #2: Tax cuts may actually increase government spending!
"[T]his paper examines the behavior of government expenditures following legislated tax changes that narrative sources suggest are largely uncorrelated with other factors affecting spending. The results provide no support for the hypothesis that tax cuts restrain government spending; indeed, they suggest that tax cuts may actually increase spending." --Dr. Christina Roma, UC Berkeley Professor of Economics
Thanks to
seekingferret for the link. I haven't read through it entirely, but I'm fascinated by the possibility - it seems entirely illogical that tax cuts would NOT reduce government spending. The point here is if people want to reduce government expenditures, cutting taxes may not do the trick.Reasons to Vote No on Question 1
Oct. 2nd, 2008 12:25 pmIn November, Massachusetts ballots will have the question "should we repeal the state income tax." The supporters say it will give each citizen back an average of $3,600. For everyone else, consider that the income tax represents 37% of the state budget, or $12 billion. I urge all Massachusetts citizens to vote NO on this question (Question 1, and it will be on the back of the ballot with the presidents on the front). To this end, I'm going to post some reasons why you should vote against Question 1.
The reason of the day:
The reason of the day:
"The state could fire all 67,000 state employees - every prison guard and college teacher - and still have to find another $7 billion." --The Boston Globe
Boston area dog photography
Apr. 2nd, 2008 08:03 pmIf you or anyone you know is in the Boston area and has a dog, a professional pet photographer I know is looking for models. She's on LJ as amavia (personal) and rubicat (professional), and her professional webpage is Rubicat.com. She took awesome photos of Gabe when I first got her, and she's got a great rapport with animals.
amavia (personal) and rubicat (professional), and her professional webpage is Rubicat.com. She took awesome photos of Gabe when I first got her, and she's got a great rapport with animals. I am in need of some more dog models for various pet care books. I need both inside and outside shots, and I even need a few shots in my studio (on a white background). I live in Arlington Center. I am hoping to get a good mix of shots taken around town (for dog-walking shots), in parks, and inside homes.
For your trouble, I will give you a CD of all the images I take. I will require a model release for each dog, and if any humans are in the shots, I'll need releases for them as well.
Breeds needed:
Basset Hound
Bulldog
Beagle
Pembroke Welsh Corgi
Cocker Spaniel
Feel free to pass this along to anyone who might have a pup I can photograph. Thanks!
Visited with The Bird this afternoon. I managed to come NOT at a mealtime and I think that could be part of why she was calmer than usual. Either that or she's getting used to me. Nah. ;) I tested out my new earplugs w/ her and they nicely prevented the ringing when she yells sitting on my shoulder. Nice.
The good news is last week they did the throat culture and earlier than that clipped her nails (whew! doesn't hurt nearly as much) and sent out the DNA sexing blood sample. They're expecting 1.5-2 weeks on the throat culture, and possibly a bit longer on the DNA sexing. As soon's the throat culture comes back they'll call me. And I'll make her a vet appt and take her home! :)
I got to listen to Carline (I think I got her name right now) talking to a 9-year-old boy and his father who were in the early stages of researching buying a budgie. She gave them an overly fastidious view of bird care (things like wash the entire cage every day) to balance what the boy was saying he read in a minimalist book on parakeet care. It was nice to see that they were actually listening to her and thinking about what she said and comparing it to what they thought they already knew. The only part that bothered me was when she asked them who would take care of the bird, the father said the boy would and he didn't want to have anything to do with it. The boy's 9 years old. We got Peeper when I was 12 and I was pretty responsible for a 12-year-old, and I did *NOT* take care of her. I worry that if they got a budgie it might end up starving in this situation, and it was clear to me that Carline's schpiel was motivated by similar concerns. It was quite heartening to see. I like this place more and more all the time.
The good news is last week they did the throat culture and earlier than that clipped her nails (whew! doesn't hurt nearly as much) and sent out the DNA sexing blood sample. They're expecting 1.5-2 weeks on the throat culture, and possibly a bit longer on the DNA sexing. As soon's the throat culture comes back they'll call me. And I'll make her a vet appt and take her home! :)
I got to listen to Carline (I think I got her name right now) talking to a 9-year-old boy and his father who were in the early stages of researching buying a budgie. She gave them an overly fastidious view of bird care (things like wash the entire cage every day) to balance what the boy was saying he read in a minimalist book on parakeet care. It was nice to see that they were actually listening to her and thinking about what she said and comparing it to what they thought they already knew. The only part that bothered me was when she asked them who would take care of the bird, the father said the boy would and he didn't want to have anything to do with it. The boy's 9 years old. We got Peeper when I was 12 and I was pretty responsible for a 12-year-old, and I did *NOT* take care of her. I worry that if they got a budgie it might end up starving in this situation, and it was clear to me that Carline's schpiel was motivated by similar concerns. It was quite heartening to see. I like this place more and more all the time.
Snow redux
Dec. 14th, 2007 05:33 pm* I went snowshoeing today, and brought my camera. They're in the process of being posted to my flickr account. Lots of fun. I saw two other people admiring the same view of one of my photos, one with a camera.
* Due to the traffic snarls, some Boston students didn't get home until 11:30pm!
* State secretary of transportation is under the misguided opinion that they did a good job of clearing highways and preventing traffic snarls over the rest of the state.
* We're expecting another huge snowstorm this weekend.
* As mentioned in the last two links above, some Darwin award candidate took it into his head last night at 1am that it was a good idea to drive his snowmobile eastbound in the center westbound lane of I-84. The "car carrier" tractor trailer driver who disabused him of that notion, as well as of his life, also sustained minor injuries in the collision. I feel bad for the trucker. Those things are really difficult to handle, and with the snowmobile oncoming there's no way the truck driver could've had enough reaction time to get out of the way.
* Due to the traffic snarls, some Boston students didn't get home until 11:30pm!
* State secretary of transportation is under the misguided opinion that they did a good job of clearing highways and preventing traffic snarls over the rest of the state.
* We're expecting another huge snowstorm this weekend.
* As mentioned in the last two links above, some Darwin award candidate took it into his head last night at 1am that it was a good idea to drive his snowmobile eastbound in the center westbound lane of I-84. The "car carrier" tractor trailer driver who disabused him of that notion, as well as of his life, also sustained minor injuries in the collision. I feel bad for the trucker. Those things are really difficult to handle, and with the snowmobile oncoming there's no way the truck driver could've had enough reaction time to get out of the way.
Yard Sale?
May. 28th, 2007 10:37 pmAre there laws against yard sales anywhere? I keep filling up bags with clothes in good condition, some of them are even fancy, like fancy shirts that my Mom got me that just aren't my style so I *never* wore them. So I'm wondering if I can just plunk down on my yard some weekend morning and sell them for something like $1-5 each.
What American accent do you have?
Created by Xavier on Memegen.net
Created by Xavier on Memegen.net
New York City. You are most definitely from New York City. Not New Jersey, not Connecticut. If you are from Jersey then you can probably get into New York City in 10 minutes or less.
Take this quiz now - it's easy!
Yoinked from
tikva.Mere's in labor!
Apr. 6th, 2007 05:03 pmTo anyone who's LJ friends with meredithanne42 or unofischal, I got an email from the latter this afternoon saying that it's happening!
meredithanne42 or unofischal, I got an email from the latter this afternoon saying that it's happening! Meredith started having contractions at 3:30 this morning, and we checked her into the birthing center at FMC around noon. Her due date is April 22, so this was a little surprising, but she's not so early that there will be problems of any kind. Contractions are about four minutes apart! And we still need to decide on a name...
Updates will be forthcoming!
As you may or may not recall, I pay just over $200/month for my gas heat bill, but electric heat is free. I must have the heat on if it drops below 24ºF out - under that temperature, a space heater is insufficient to keep my bedroom warm enough for Gabe and I. The bedroom can survive higher but still cold temperatures, but the rest of the house will be cold - if it's under something like 40ºF out, without the gas heater the rest of the house will be under 65º, the point at which my fingers are numb when typing.
Now that this week is in the 50's and 60's, it's time to decide whether to shut the heat off. What do you think?
[Poll #955499]
Now that this week is in the 50's and 60's, it's time to decide whether to shut the heat off. What do you think?
[Poll #955499]
Photo Scavenger Hunt
Mar. 5th, 2007 08:06 pmNext time you're bored in NYC (or most any city) for a day, grab a few friends, a camera, and print out copies of this list. Go to!
Personally, I find the "tightest parallel parking" category a bit cheesy, as the person could've been parked in, rather than getting into the spot in his/her own right.
Personally, I find the "tightest parallel parking" category a bit cheesy, as the person could've been parked in, rather than getting into the spot in his/her own right.
I snowshoed for an hour through the little park behind my house - though T$ says that you're not supposed to snowshoe unless there's at least 8" of snow on the ground, probably so there's less chance of hitting rocks under, but I don't treat mine as well as I should (2.4" reported), so whatever. Took a preventative puff from my inhaler before I left and never had lung problems. Heart rate was 140-170, still working on keeping it at the lower end of that range.
I wore silk long underwear, socks, new ski pants, silk undershirt, cotton long top, fleece sweatshirt, new "triple system" jacket, new winter boots, fleece scarf over my face, wool hat, sunglasses, hood over my head, snow shoes, new thick gloves, hydration pack. At the start there was a little breeze on my ankles, but I figured out how to pull the ski pants over the boots to stop that. Next time I need to readjust the snowshoes so they're a bit bigger for the boots.
Sat on the park swings for what must've been ten minutes without any ill effect, it was great. There were only two things I couldn't fix for this trip. There was mostly sleet coming down, and with that Noreast wind, it blew right in the eentsy crack between the sunglasses, scarf, and hood on my right cheek. I could probably buy a full face mask / ski mask to stop that, but I expect it's rare that I'd find need to use it. And the second was that the tube on the Women's *Winter* Camelback froze up. Next time I'll either put the whole thing on under my jacket (and over the sweater), or over the jacket and feed the tube up through the armpit hole in my jacket.
That was fun! :)
I wore silk long underwear, socks, new ski pants, silk undershirt, cotton long top, fleece sweatshirt, new "triple system" jacket, new winter boots, fleece scarf over my face, wool hat, sunglasses, hood over my head, snow shoes, new thick gloves, hydration pack. At the start there was a little breeze on my ankles, but I figured out how to pull the ski pants over the boots to stop that. Next time I need to readjust the snowshoes so they're a bit bigger for the boots.
Sat on the park swings for what must've been ten minutes without any ill effect, it was great. There were only two things I couldn't fix for this trip. There was mostly sleet coming down, and with that Noreast wind, it blew right in the eentsy crack between the sunglasses, scarf, and hood on my right cheek. I could probably buy a full face mask / ski mask to stop that, but I expect it's rare that I'd find need to use it. And the second was that the tube on the Women's *Winter* Camelback froze up. Next time I'll either put the whole thing on under my jacket (and over the sweater), or over the jacket and feed the tube up through the armpit hole in my jacket.
That was fun! :)
So how many of you are home b/c of a snow day? How are you spending it?
I slept in, am taking a leisurely lunch of Bagel Bites, after that I'm going snowshoeing in the park behind my house, then (after thawing out) I'll grade the stuff I should've done last night.
I slept in, am taking a leisurely lunch of Bagel Bites, after that I'm going snowshoeing in the park behind my house, then (after thawing out) I'll grade the stuff I should've done last night.
