Here are my excuses:
1. baby
2. had to give colloquium here yesterday
3. had to resubmit paper today
4. have to have draft of next paper to collaborators tomorrow
5. semester at loyola starts tuesday, need syllabus and lesson plan
what excuses do you all have?
Seriously, if anybody can think of an industry that is more backward-thinking, let me know. Good God, they’re hopeless.
Normally, I don’t mind when companies or even industries have their head up their ass, since I can simple choose to ignore their products. GM made foolish pension choices and worse design schedules? No biggie, I’m not wedded to big blue (oops, sorry boys, IBM took that).
But in this case, the RIAA is stifling creativity and thereby limiting the music that I get to hear. Always quick to shoot themselves in the foot, they have now used their power/influence to set a per-song performance royalty rate that will double the current fees that Web radio stations must pay to recording companies (of which a fraction of a percent will actually to go the artists themselves). I mean, when an entity freely promotes and introduces new music to potential buyers of said material, it surely harms the industry in horrible and catastrophic ways.
The upshot is this means that Pandora is T-O-A-S-T toast.
More philosophically, it’s frustrating because it is ever more clear that the RIAA, run by big recording labels, has no interest in actual music or artists, just in promoting their own pre-selected, crappy, untalented popstars.
Matt Nathanson, a singer-songwriter who has recorded for both major and independent record labels, said he is worried that the demands placed on Internet radio could “choke” the industry before it gets its footing.
“Net radio is good for musicians like me, and I think most musicians are like me,” he said. “The promotion it provides is far more important than the revenue.”
“Traditional” radio companies pay nothing in performance royalties.
Satellite radio pays 6 or 7 percent of revenue.
But since the internet is such a scary place full of bad people waiting to do bad things, webcasters pay per song, per listener.
I’m sitting in a seminar right now which is ending up being far funnier than it should be.
The talk itself is somewhat interesting, talking about how best to search and match things in spherical coordinates.
The funny part is coming because the speaker is nervous and keeps digressing… “Wow, time is going fast, I don’t think it’s just me, it can’t be this soda, wow, look at how much sugar this soda has” and then back to the talk.
So, I had thought the most uncomfortable friend request one could receive on facebook was from that old pseudo-acquaintance from high school who you never intended on speaking with ever again. Or perhaps from the random underage girl who thought that you reminded her of someone she saw on the street one time.
What, that doesn’t happen to everyone? Maybe it’s just me…
Regardless, let me tell you that when your mother befriends you on facebook it is way way creepier.
It’s like my whole world has been turned upside down. I feel like she just walked in on me doing something totally juvenile and I wanna tell everyone, “Quick, hide the #@$!!.”
How on earth is my facebook page supposed to remain cool with my mom as a friend? Someone explain that to me.
Am I overreacting here? Does anyone else have parents as friends on facebook? Is my mom just that cool or am I just that lame?
And before you start thinking that this is just my problem, let us not forget the 2 degrees of separation on facebook. By her being my friend, she is now only a stone’s throw away from all of your pages as well. Just think of that… my mother has access to all of your facebook pages. How long until YOUR parents join up? Maybe they already have!?!?
Run for the hills!!! AHHHHHHHH!
-Still Reeling in Hanover
This is a post requesting some input / discussion from people. Contribution would be much appreciated.
This spring I think it was, a number of “reviewers” came to visit and review our department as a whole. A number of the 4th/5th year students had lunch with these reviewers, and some discussion of the role of graduate students in the physics department followed, mostly pertaining to the fact that we have a small role in any of the decision making / department culture as compared to other physics departments, or even other departments on campus.
Examples of things of concern here include, but are certainly not limited to:
1) Creating a voice in department politics / decisions (ie faculty meetings, tenure, hire, etc …)
2) Graduate admissions (sort of included in the above, but
3) Adviser / advisee relations (broad, but important topic as some people know)
4) Organization / social structure (tea, incoming student mixer, prospective student events, etc)
5) Restoring a greater sense of community among physics students (ie digging older grad students out of their research caves, creating more general interaction and so on…)
Now, I’m not sure what I’m suggesting with this post since it is mostly to get feedback. However, some physics departments have their own physics grad student council (see MIT). I don’t think we have enough people to necessarily warrant that much organization, but I think periodic discussions as a student body would be good, and having a way to air grevances and have a voice in the department would be extremely beneficial.
Read more in the comments section of this post:
This could really be just a comment on Nathaniel’s post, but such an important public service message deserves its own post.
Jules, you will be pleased to know that there are not one but two BBQ joints at your disposal: Curtis’ in Putney, VT (about half an hour South on I-91), and Big Fatty’s just across the river in WRJ. I may have a slight preference for Curtis’ place just based on fond memories of summertime laziness, but Big Fatty’s does a good job too, and the convenience is pretty good for rural NH. They are both more of a wet sauce, more southern than western BBQ, so don’t go expecting Oklahoma/Texas-style dry rub, but Curtis’ ribs are great, as is the brisket esp later in the summer, and Big Fatty’s pulled pork sandwich is not a ripoff.
Since links are fun, I’ll save you the 7.2 seconds of Google-time:
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Have to give credit to Favre-less GB wideout James Jones for providing an excellent example of “takes a licking and keeps on ticking”. Any hit that knocks your helmet off your head and 10 yards down field is impressive, and to then turn that into a TD reception does count as manly.
Jones’ quote after the game:
“It was an in route, you know, we got the right coverage that we wanted, Aaron (Rodgers) threw it. I knew I was going to get hit. I didn’t know how hard I was going to get hit. I knew I was going to get hit though. Going through my head, was just, ‘catch the ball,’ and instead of tackling me, he tried to take me out for good … I was rang for a minute. Like I said, I was just praying I was going the right direction. I was rang for a minute pretty good, I had a little stinger. But it was fine.”
Oh yeah, and that Phelps guy got another gold. I guess 8 golds counts as manly. But even more impressive is missing the 50 meter freestyle gold by 0.01 seconds… when you’re 41! Wow.
