doesn't make sense

have spent most of the weekend nursing myself back to health, which translates into sleeping and doing a little bit of work while watching episodes iv, v, and vi.

there's still one thing that bothers me: when luke leaves degobah in order to rescue han, leia, et al, obi-wan and yoda converse as luke's x-wing takes off. obi-wan says, "he is our last hope." yoda disagrees, rebuking him,"no, there is another."

how could obi-wan not know about leia? when lucas filmed empire, it was possible. however, then he contradicts himself in episode iii by placing obi-wan at padme's side when she gives birth to luke and leia.

have been on the message boards (theforce.net and starwars.com, among others), and have yet to find a satisfactory answer.

anyone?

tired

uggg. tired.

started with last week's travel debacle in boston. never caught up from there. ok, actually, i had a really relaxing weekend in soflo, and then searso's parents were staying with us (yes, dr. w and i are married AND we have room mates. there's a sitcom out there somewhere). they cooked delicious dinner for us EVERY night. it was fantastic.

then had a super early flight to boston for more recruiting. i actually like going to boston. but i woke up with a sore throat that developed into full blow hanta virus. if moe had known, he would have probably quarantined my plane. boston is cold as balls this time of year.

the highlight was seeing nobf and dr. nobf for dinner and then staying with them.

getting up at the crack of dawn to fly back to atlanta sucked. got less than 3 hours of continuous sleep thanks to my congestion. landed and then interviewed seo candidates for six hours. worth doing, but i'm really about to drop.

have my fraternities career workshop tomorrow. should be our best ever. more about it later.

the phat free is hilarious

those crazy kids at the phat free are hilarious.

love this spoof on he-man:

I bet you are wishing I gave you the super-intelligent robot face right about now...

Across the galaxy, in Eternia, He-man strikes up an instant messenger conversation with Man-E-Faces, a warrior who fights beside him for justice and freedom. He-Man's intentions are dismal, so he naturally finds it difficult to arrive at his point of emphasis.








He-Man4ever: Hey man, what's up?



Man-E-Faces: Not much. I just fought some bad guys. Stinkor got all up in my face. I had to fuck him up.


He-Man4ever: I fucking hate Stinkor. Which face did you use? I bet you went with the robot.


Man-E-Faces: No, I went with the monster. I was feeling pretty angry. I felt the monster fit my mood much better than a robot or a gay-looking dude with a pinkish-purple mask.


He-Man4ever: True. The pinkish-purple mask does not scream out to the world that you are into having sex with women. Anyways, did you hear about She-Ra?


Man-E-Faces: Yeah, I didn't want to say anything, man. That fucking blows.


He-Man4ever: No shit. I can't believe she let Orko pound her in the two-hole and video tape it.


Man-E-Faces: I heard he put a spell on her, man. She-Ra is usually a little more classy than that, at least for a girl named "She-Ra."


He-Man4ever: Whatever, dude, feeding a bitch 12 shots of Rumple Minze doesn't constitute rendering a spell. Orko is still a shitty fucking magician. Fuck him. He can keep her. My new girl, Teela, loves to go reverse cowgirl and cooks like a mother fucker. She-Ra smelled like self-tanner, cooked like fuckshit, and had hairy nipples.


Man-E-Faces: You drive home a good point, my friend. All three of my faces can agree with that. LOL


He-Man4ever: How about you never use that LOL shit with me again or I'll cut your legs off with my He-Man sword. I hate that fucking shit.


Man-E-Faces: Sorry.



He-Man4ever: Thanks. I have to admit, bitching about She-Ra wasn't the true reason I initiated this chat with you. I have some serious shit to talk about.


Man-E-Faces: No prob. What is it?



SkullFucker69: 8======D



He-Man4ever: Skeletor! Get the fuck out of here, you son-of-a-bitch. This is a private conversation.


SkullFucker69: Whatever, He-Man, I have to drive Beastman to his date with Prince Adam anyway. Then I'm gonna go buy a bottle of Rumple Minze for a very special friend. LOL


He-Man4ever: Fuck off. I told you that Prince Adam is not fucking gay. He is very manly and good at sports. He wears all of that pink and purple shit because he is secure in his masculinity. Stop spreading fucking rumors!


SkullFucker69: Whatever. ; )



Man-E-Faces: What a cock sucker.

Why does everyone thing I'm gay?

He-Man4ever: Whatever, forget him, let's get down to brass tacks. As you know, we have been getting slaughtered financially the last couple years. Our good guy forces aren't pulling in the wages we once did long ago.


Man-E-Faces: Universe saving doesn't pay like it used to, old friend.



He-Man4ever: That's my point. I'm glad you understand the business side of all this. You see, I had a few consultants come in and take an inventory of staff talent...and it seems that you pretty much amount to a piece of shit when it comes to defending the universe. You are no longer a member of the Heroic Warriors.


Man-E-Faces: ?



He-Man4ever: Dude, your amazing ability is that you switch between three fucking faces. It's retarded. You were good for about zero missions. You are completely useless. I hate you.


Man-E-Faces: What about undercover missions? I was sweet for those.


He-Man4ever: No, man, you weren't. You are a fucking pink-masked dude, a robot, and a green monster. The only scenario I could even dream of using you for would be if we encountered an evil planet of retarded blind kids. Even then, I would just have you hug a bomb and throw you out of my Wind Raider as I flew overhead . Everyone knows your gig.


Man-E-Faces: It's just like that?



He-Man4ever: Dude, Skeletor makes fun of you for having a gay three-way every time you masturbate. You are an embarrassment. Mekanek even cracks on you as well. That's right. The guy whose only ability is to make his neck shoot straight up in the air thinks that you are more of a fucking shithead than he is.


Man-E-Faces: I don't know what to say.



SkullFucker69: 8======D + ( ( ) = Prince Adam



He-Man4ever: Ignore him.



Man-E-Faces: I guess I'll head out to Grayskull and get my shit. This was a real dick move and you know it. I should give you a dose of big, green, monster face.


He-Man4ever: Hey, hey, hey, watch your tone, Man-E-FECES. Before you get all bent out of shape, I want you to remember three things.


He-Man4ever: First, I ride a fucking huge, green, panther-like animal that is covered in battle armor. He could bite your rotating face off, swallow it, and shit it out on the ground before you could lift a finger. Mostly, because you suck balls.


He-Man4ever: Second, I seriously kick anyone's ass who ever fucks with me or my planet. Consider the fact that I have a dude with a fucking skull for a head who wants to kill me and wipe my blood all over his balls (or so I've heard). I eat breakfast only miles away from his crib, Snake Mountain. It's filled with beasts, skunks, and a bevy of animal-themed characters who are solely dedicated to ending my existence. So, if you ever think you are going to come around, change into robot monsters and start making me nervous...


Man-E-Faces: Sorry, man...I just need some time right now. This is a lot to swallow. I spoke out of anger. My bad.


He-Man4ever: I wasn't finished, shitdick. Listen.



He-Man4ever: Third, I will cut you into a bountiful mix of randomly-sized pieces with my huge fucking He-Man sword because I am the baddest son-of-a-bitch in the universe. Don't ever fucking forget that, you face-changing fucktard.


Man-E-Faces: : (



Man-E-Faces has signed off.

Auto Response from Man-E-Faces: I am out being a HUMAN ROBOT MONSTER, leave a

day 2

in day 2 of a not so fun trip. was supposed to be a quick 24 hour trip to boston and back. the weather had other plans.

got to logan at 9:30 am yesterday. was high enough on the standby list to get on the 10:30 flight (was booked on the 4:30). sweet. they board us after 2 hours of delay and de-icing. when a plane is de-iced, you have 25 minutes to take off before it you can no longer be assured that ice has not built up again. the implication here is that from the moment the plane is cleared, the clock is ticking.

delta ends up canceling the flight because the flight crew could not get boarding door closed within the 25 minute window. everyone is on board, but the crew doesn't know who is and is not on the plane. for security reasons, they can't close the boarding door until every passenger is confirmed. the flight attendants are literally running up and down the aisle calling out last names. they run out of time and the show is over. they announce that the flight is canceled for weather reasons, but that's only partially true, a flight attendant confides in me.

this theme of disorganization continues. i play the gate game, running from gate to gate trying to get a plane, any plane. i get a different answer from each new agent to whom i talk. the gate agents say to call the 800 number. the phone reps on the 800 number say that this close to take off time, only the gate agents can do anything.

the next plan was to get on a nashville flight and then drive to atlanta (about 3 hours--totally doable), leaving at 6:30. i could be in atlanta by midnight. the first gate agent says she can't do anything, because nashville is further than 100 miles from my original destination, even though there are seats on the plane. i even offer to buy a walk up ticket. she shakes her head. so i call the phone rep. she says the flight is full. at this point, i have a hard time believing anything.

i suck it up. get myself into a zen state. i pride myself on my ability to keep it together on getting on any flight that i want. and as a gold medallion, i'm usually at the top of the list.

get back in line with the gate agent. get a different agent (this time, next to the one who told me no). she books me on the flight. the agent next to her (who said last time that it could not be done) actually helps her do it! i'm hoping that she doesn't remember me.

i am set. i think that i'll actually get to atlanta tonight.

an hour later, the plane is de-iced and ready to go, but they can't find the crew! what? how can you not find the crew?

we miss the window and they close the airport. that's it.

it's now 9:00 pm.

in booking me on the nashville flight, they have someone lost my original reservation to atlanta. strangely, my co-worker who has been on the same itinerary does not suffer the same result. so he has a confirmed seat for the next day, but i don't. there is so much of a back log that delta cannot confirm me for anything until saturday. i'm supposed to fly from atlanta to south florida on friday. shit.

so we get a room at the hilton across the street. get up at 4:30 this morning, armed with seat request cards for the 5:55 am flight. i'm number 3 on the standby list (which is 67 people long). no luck.

so now i sit at the gate for the 7:30 flight. it's full.

it's entirely possible that i won't get on any flights today.

the news is playing the story of a jet blue flight that sat on the tarmac in ny for eight hours yesterday. the employees did not know what to do and offered no information to the passengers.

what's evident is not that the weather wreaks havoc with air travel, but that air line employees are not well equipped to handle these situations. all of the employees were polite and obviously trying their best in very, very difficult situations. however, that is not good enough. these situations call for improvisation in the light of limited information. what employees need is transparency to information systems. the most difficult part for travelers is not the delays, it's the complete lack of consistency in answers. at times, it seems as if the agents are making it up as they go along. for the past 24 hours, i've had the unique opportunity test this system, as i'm traveling with a co-worker on the same itinerary but separate set of reservations. at times, we've stood in line, talked to different agents at the same gate and gotten different answers.

stuck in logan

boston.

cold.

it's easy to forget how cold it gets. this kind of cold puckers your ass and freezes your nostril hair. walking across the charles from pinocchio's pizza to campus yesterday shocked my system. also, stepping out of the cab into a 5 inch deep puddle of slush and ice water was a treat. hopefully, none of my toes will fall off before i get back to atlanta.

long day at the big h yesterday, but met some good candidates. they are inevitably, as nobf put it, "polished."

had a nice breakfast with nobf this morning. she's fresh off a trip to tokyo for a bio tech conference and visibly pregnant. she won't tell me what names she and dr. nobf are considering.

now i'm stuck in logan. there are "ice pellets" on the plane and they have shut down the airport.

dr. wintermute

yesterday was a big milestone in the wintermute household. dr. wintermute passed her dissertation defense. the faculty actually let me sit in on the whole defense, and it went really well. she got to slide # 2, and from there they wanted to discuss future analysis, application to other areas of study, and of course publication. they asked us to leave the room at the end, and deliberated for literally three minutes. bobbi (my undergrad advisor and the woman who married us) came by to congratulate dr w. the faculty had to go to an 'emergency' meeting, so we made our own reception by taking some champagne and plastic cups and sitting on the quad, gulping it and hoping that emory security didn't come by.

we had a very relaxing evening, having dinner with dr. w's advisor and some close friends from the phd program and then meeting up with j-watt and moe at hand-in-hand. sadly, metalsome monday did not make the cut. my body thanked me this morning when i got up to pack. am on board right now, about to head to boston for interviews at the big h.

it's hard to believe that six years have gone so quickly. i know, it's so cliche. i met dr. w in october 2001, having just moved to atlanta; she was in her first semester of grad school.

congrats dr. wintermute, i'm so proud of you!

triple D day...countdown

today is dissertation defense day.

countdown has begun. we're going packing up materials now. defense begins at 3.

mrs. w will be a doctor by the end of the day!

wookie prisoner trick

how great it is for lost to be back. a solid episode. and a great star wars reference. what more could i ask for? sawyer pulling the wooke prisoner trick was an instant classic.

some big days ahead. just pulled in atl this afternoon. mrs. w flies up tomorrow afternoon. the plan is to have a relaxing weekend. monday is D day. after almost six years, mrs. wintermute is defending her doctoral dissertation. we'll have a doctor in the family (ok, not the first--have a few cousins who are docs and one in med school). my mom's dreams will come true.

the plan for monday is to have a small celebratory dinner with mrs. w's adviser, then toast with friends at hand-in-hand, and then hit metalsome monday.

next stop: washinton DC

drumroll.

we have our next step: washington dc. ok, kind of. we'll really be in bethesda, MD. since i like pointing out to bloodninja that long island doesn't count as ny, i'm striving to be precise.

mrs. wintermute accepted a post doctoral research fellowship at NIMH. it's an awesome deal, and we are both super-excited. you might even say that we are psyched.

mrs w. wrote it up best in her blog here--no need for me to repeat what she blogged so eloquently.

we have a lot of friends there, most notably the chief (college room mate, i was his best man and he was a groomsmen in my wedding) and his wife (one of my best friends from freshman year of college). some other good college friends live there,too.

and most importantly, we will be much much closer to our family. mrs. w's brother and his lady live a couple hours away in VA, and all of my mom's family (grandmother, two aunts, an uncle, cousin, and two nieces) live nearby in baltimore. my grandmother couldn't believe it when i told her we were moving there. my dad's family is nearby, too. shan de la shan is moving to dc to work at the justice department. and i have five first cousins in manhattan, a 3 hour train ride away.

we're actually going to become property owners, too. the house hunt begins.

afi

afi's new album is simply the sweetest piece of music released in the last year.

love like winter is the stand out song. i've listened to it five times tonight.