Still beautiful, luckily. Ithaca is giving you slackers who spent yesterday working a chance to redeem yourselves.
You're probably not reading this today. Why? Because as I write this post, chances are you're in line for a new iPad, which was released today. Why am I not in line? You might ask. Well, it's quite simple actually- I don't really need to pay 500 bucks for something I already have.
Buying an iPad is
Like paying for condoms with
A vasectomy
Sorry for the crude analogy. But seriously. I can see the merit of an iPad. It's small and very convenient for someone who doesn't have a laptop. It's like an iPhone, but easier to navigate, and without the phone part. There are all sorts of cool things that it could do using the touch technology, and I can really understand it. However, if you have a laptop and have an iPhone, there's not much reason for it. Anything I might use the iPad for I could use my computer for more efficiently. The iPad cannot multitask and just in general is an unnecessary novelty for a laptop-owner. But, since it's Apple- everyone, of course, needs to have one. So let's all just run out to the Apple store like the sheep we are and buy those iPads that will fill no existing void.
Really though, Steve Jobs is a genius. Anything he makes, people will instantly find a need for, even if they didn't think they had any use for it before. The iPad will come in handy to tons of people, and if I had one I probably would find it invaluable too. Only it costs $500 and I'm not about to spend that on something I really don't need at all and wouldn't use too much.
Saturday, April 3, 2010
Friday, April 2, 2010
Enjoy it while it lasts
It's a beautiful summer day. That's right, not Spring: Summer. All because Ithaca's cool like that, and does not believe in Fall or Spring, as I have reiterated a countless number of times.
Unfortunately, it is still Ithaca, and we still have the month of April, and therefore we will still be having plenty of rain to come. Yes, this gorgeous weather won't last forever, so take advantage of it while you can. Go outside, go biking, go hiking, play frisbee, play golf, play frisbee golf, sun tan, photosynthesize (which, in spite of what science may tell you, can be done by human beings), and just have a good time. Wait. I've forgotten something. We're at Cornell.
Weather isn't much
Concern when you spend your days
In the library
I've probably posted something along these lines before, but bear with me. While it's true that good weather is always a blessing, when you spend your days buries in bookshelves, you don't pay much attention to weather. Whether the weather (see what I did there?) is good or bad doesn't matter, since it'll be nighttime when you're out anyways.
We just returned from spring break and already there are papers to do and prelims to study for. But such is life. I would urge you though, no matter how many equations you need to memorize, poems you need to analyze, essays you need to improvise, or Wikipedia articles you need to plagiarize, to go outside. Have fun, enjoy this weather while you can, because you never know when the rain will return. Just remember: don't do anything you might regret, use protection. Sunburns are a pain in the ass (although that's one spot that hopefully won't get sunburned).
Unfortunately, it is still Ithaca, and we still have the month of April, and therefore we will still be having plenty of rain to come. Yes, this gorgeous weather won't last forever, so take advantage of it while you can. Go outside, go biking, go hiking, play frisbee, play golf, play frisbee golf, sun tan, photosynthesize (which, in spite of what science may tell you, can be done by human beings), and just have a good time. Wait. I've forgotten something. We're at Cornell.
Weather isn't much
Concern when you spend your days
In the library
I've probably posted something along these lines before, but bear with me. While it's true that good weather is always a blessing, when you spend your days buries in bookshelves, you don't pay much attention to weather. Whether the weather (see what I did there?) is good or bad doesn't matter, since it'll be nighttime when you're out anyways.
We just returned from spring break and already there are papers to do and prelims to study for. But such is life. I would urge you though, no matter how many equations you need to memorize, poems you need to analyze, essays you need to improvise, or Wikipedia articles you need to plagiarize, to go outside. Have fun, enjoy this weather while you can, because you never know when the rain will return. Just remember: don't do anything you might regret, use protection. Sunburns are a pain in the ass (although that's one spot that hopefully won't get sunburned).
Thursday, April 1, 2010
Cold Hard Truth Day
There's not a cloud in the sky on this fine, warm day. And today, it is the first day of April, otherwise known as April 1st.
There's this silly tradition people have where April 1st becomes April Fools day. It becomes this crazy day loved by kids where you can say practically anything and get away with it. If you are waiting for the perfect moment to propose to your significant other, it's now- since you can just say "April Fools!" if they say no. In all honesty, April Fools day is perfect for cold hard honesty. Think about it.
April Fools day is
The day to test the waters
For any big news.
Waiting to come out to your parents? Do it today! If they're appalled, say April Fools. Want to introduce your non-Jewish girlfriend to your Orthodox Jew parents? Do it today! Want to confess to the police about your hit and run last year and how you panicked and just kept driving and driving and have since carried all of the guilt with you? Don't do it today, they won't care if its April Fools day.
In other news, I'm pretty sure that today's weather is Ithaca's April Fools joke on us.
There's this silly tradition people have where April 1st becomes April Fools day. It becomes this crazy day loved by kids where you can say practically anything and get away with it. If you are waiting for the perfect moment to propose to your significant other, it's now- since you can just say "April Fools!" if they say no. In all honesty, April Fools day is perfect for cold hard honesty. Think about it.
April Fools day is
The day to test the waters
For any big news.
Waiting to come out to your parents? Do it today! If they're appalled, say April Fools. Want to introduce your non-Jewish girlfriend to your Orthodox Jew parents? Do it today! Want to confess to the police about your hit and run last year and how you panicked and just kept driving and driving and have since carried all of the guilt with you? Don't do it today, they won't care if its April Fools day.
In other news, I'm pretty sure that today's weather is Ithaca's April Fools joke on us.
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Summer Soliciting
It's yet another cold and cloudy Ithaca day. In other news, pigs still can't fly.
For the past few months, I, like many other college students, have been involved in this horrific thing known as the job and internship application process. I've sent a number of job applications out, and am sending more by the day, it seems. It really appears that companies try their best to screw you over though, if I'm not mistaken.
Job applications
Are just like college ones, but
Without safety schools
Really, think about it- you apply to a bunch of jobs, and are expected to do so by a certain time. Then, they decide that they will never ever get back to you, and you end up screwed over because by the time you find out you didn't get it, it's too late to apply for other jobs. And I don't think there's such thing as a safety job (except maybe those officers who help kids cross the street (bad pun)). Personally, I would much rather hear back from a job saying that I didn't get it than not hear back from it at all. And I think that's the case with most people. So please, when you're reading those cover letters and decide a candidate's not fit for the job, maybe you should let them know, so they can try for something else? Or just leave them screwed over and playing video games in their basements all day long.
For the past few months, I, like many other college students, have been involved in this horrific thing known as the job and internship application process. I've sent a number of job applications out, and am sending more by the day, it seems. It really appears that companies try their best to screw you over though, if I'm not mistaken.
Job applications
Are just like college ones, but
Without safety schools
Really, think about it- you apply to a bunch of jobs, and are expected to do so by a certain time. Then, they decide that they will never ever get back to you, and you end up screwed over because by the time you find out you didn't get it, it's too late to apply for other jobs. And I don't think there's such thing as a safety job (except maybe those officers who help kids cross the street (bad pun)). Personally, I would much rather hear back from a job saying that I didn't get it than not hear back from it at all. And I think that's the case with most people. So please, when you're reading those cover letters and decide a candidate's not fit for the job, maybe you should let them know, so they can try for something else? Or just leave them screwed over and playing video games in their basements all day long.
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Childproofing Cornell
During my brief hiatus from this blog, I made a number of astute observations which I intended to blog about. However, I have since forgotten them, but I ensure you that they were quite the clever considerations.
For want of Windy City whimsies, I shall serenade you with closer-to-home matters. Well, not really serenade, but I felt it sounded nice.
It's really nice to be back at Cornell. I already have a lot of work and the weather sucks, but it's still nice. What's not nice on the other hand is the unavoidable downer that I am forced to witness multiple times per day. I didn't wish to write about this, but I feel that I have little choice in the matter.
Each morning, on my way to class, I have enjoyed beautiful views of the gorge and that nature around it. It's a highlight of my day. However, the university administration decided to fence off the entire gorge area overnight. Now, the bridge and all of the surrounding nature is lined with a 10 foot tall fence. Not just any fence though. This is a barbed wire fence. The type used in prisons. In concentration camps. The purpose of these are to prevent suicides, or at least reduce the ease with which they can be committed. Here's what I think:
Fencing off the gorge
Is like childproofing your home
For a teenager
I mean, really. We go to Cornell. We're Ivy League students. If you've made it this far, you're probably pretty smart (I say probably because that's not necessarily true). So to put a fence around the gorge is like using a child lock on your teenager sitting in the car, or assuming that a tamper-proof medication top will keep him out. It's just not effective. If the teenager wants out of the car, he'll find a way to open it up. If he wants to get into a medication, he'll open the tamper-proof lid. And if an Ivy League student wants to take his own life, he will. I don't mean to sound pessimistic, but that's the case. You need not to address the means, you need to address the cause. Without causation, there is no need for medium. If you ask me, it's only a matter of time before students rally and say "President Skorton, tear down this fence!"
For want of Windy City whimsies, I shall serenade you with closer-to-home matters. Well, not really serenade, but I felt it sounded nice.
It's really nice to be back at Cornell. I already have a lot of work and the weather sucks, but it's still nice. What's not nice on the other hand is the unavoidable downer that I am forced to witness multiple times per day. I didn't wish to write about this, but I feel that I have little choice in the matter.
Each morning, on my way to class, I have enjoyed beautiful views of the gorge and that nature around it. It's a highlight of my day. However, the university administration decided to fence off the entire gorge area overnight. Now, the bridge and all of the surrounding nature is lined with a 10 foot tall fence. Not just any fence though. This is a barbed wire fence. The type used in prisons. In concentration camps. The purpose of these are to prevent suicides, or at least reduce the ease with which they can be committed. Here's what I think:
Fencing off the gorge
Is like childproofing your home
For a teenager
I mean, really. We go to Cornell. We're Ivy League students. If you've made it this far, you're probably pretty smart (I say probably because that's not necessarily true). So to put a fence around the gorge is like using a child lock on your teenager sitting in the car, or assuming that a tamper-proof medication top will keep him out. It's just not effective. If the teenager wants out of the car, he'll find a way to open it up. If he wants to get into a medication, he'll open the tamper-proof lid. And if an Ivy League student wants to take his own life, he will. I don't mean to sound pessimistic, but that's the case. You need not to address the means, you need to address the cause. Without causation, there is no need for medium. If you ask me, it's only a matter of time before students rally and say "President Skorton, tear down this fence!"
Monday, March 29, 2010
"Concrete jungle where dreams are made of"
It's over! It's all over! The end of spring break as we know it is here! And classes shall be commencing, again. Sigh. Well, not especially, since I like my classes, but still.
During break, I had a good time in Chicago. I had never been, so it was nice to see the city, and I must say- I was impressed. It is much more towering and much more extraordinary than Boston (which by Chicago standards hardly qualifies as a real city). It is just a fantastic city. If you asked me to compare it to New York City, here's what I'd say:
Chicago is New
York, minus the honking, mean
People, and litter.
Seriously. I heard more sirens than I did car horns. Of course, this could mean there are just many more emergencies than angry drivers, but from what I noticed, the only people who ever honked were cab drivers, and usually they had good reason to be doing so. At the same time, everyone there was nice. It's like they're under some sort of spell (let's call it "blissful ignorance") that makes them unable to realize what a mess our society is in. They just go about their days, greeting each other and smiling. Then, there's absolutely no trash. There may be a cigarette butt here and there, or the occasional puddle of dog pee, but from what I saw there was no real litter. I attribute this to the nice people who not only avoid littering but also pick up others' litter.
I guess what I'm trying to say is if you took a bunch of people from Chicago and made them live in New York, they'd end up dead or in a mental institution (and if you took Buddy from Elf and put him in Chicago, he'd fit right in).
The title quote is from Jay-Z's "Empire State of Mind."
During break, I had a good time in Chicago. I had never been, so it was nice to see the city, and I must say- I was impressed. It is much more towering and much more extraordinary than Boston (which by Chicago standards hardly qualifies as a real city). It is just a fantastic city. If you asked me to compare it to New York City, here's what I'd say:
Chicago is New
York, minus the honking, mean
People, and litter.
Seriously. I heard more sirens than I did car horns. Of course, this could mean there are just many more emergencies than angry drivers, but from what I noticed, the only people who ever honked were cab drivers, and usually they had good reason to be doing so. At the same time, everyone there was nice. It's like they're under some sort of spell (let's call it "blissful ignorance") that makes them unable to realize what a mess our society is in. They just go about their days, greeting each other and smiling. Then, there's absolutely no trash. There may be a cigarette butt here and there, or the occasional puddle of dog pee, but from what I saw there was no real litter. I attribute this to the nice people who not only avoid littering but also pick up others' litter.
I guess what I'm trying to say is if you took a bunch of people from Chicago and made them live in New York, they'd end up dead or in a mental institution (and if you took Buddy from Elf and put him in Chicago, he'd fit right in).
The title quote is from Jay-Z's "Empire State of Mind."
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