Category: General

Berkeley Newscenter was just a redesigned way of giving out press releases for UC Berkeley launched a few years ago. Sometimes presentation means a lot and it definetly makes it a lot easier to find things.

Sometimes they profile classes that the students are taking and for some reason, in recent semesters, a couple of the classes they profile, I have taken or am taking. Here’s the for the search engine class I’m taking, one for my earth resources class, and one with my bioethics professor. Probably near every class and professor are being highlighted or were highlighted at some point, but the fact that it happened when I was encountering them…it kind of makes me wonder if I’m being stalked by Newscenter (j/k).

So I finally turned 21 last Friday. There now no more age barriers for me in this country except to rent a car and to run for president. As best as I can piece together, my birthday involved jumping in the pool with the heater off, getting a massive headache in the afternoon, and lots of vomiting. Yeah, you get the idea.

One of the things I was thinking about was how fast do we really “grow up.” As soon as the number changes on our age, does that make our maturity, preferences, or child like tendencies disappear? Not really. They are out grown, but not in the blink of an eye. I was wondering as a kid how could I live differently from how I lived before. To be honest, I don’t think I do very much, but I can see it changing and changing more. Geez, it’s scary.

Edit: I forgot to mention my friend Wenjie came over unexpectedly for a job interview in San Francisco. I hadn’t seen her for a really long time.

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My interview with running back Tiki Barber from the New York Giants is up this week. I had a blast doing it.

Fark thread advising a kid about college parties:

“If it’s a frat party – expect it to suck.”

He/she never went to Alpha Delt party, have they?

Man, I’ve been off LJ for a while. I read my friend’s pages daily, but my 1 to 2 posts a week have decreased substantially I guess.

Anyways, thanks to a friend who had free tickets, I got to see Brian Wilson in concert at the Greek Theater in Berkeley on Friday night. Unfortunately, he hasn’t quite aged that well. During the concert, he basically sat at his stool and moved his arms a few times to show he had any signs of life. So of the songs also just seemed inappropriate for him to be singing about at his age. And of course, my familiarity with the Beach Boys isn’t too high (I only know like 3 songs by them). But hey, we got the tickets for free, so we got what we paid for I guess.

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Danica McKellar (Winnie from the Wonder Years) profile is on the College Flashback this week (no I didn’t talk to her, but I did get in contact with her agent to set this up). In case you missed it, Buzz Aldrin spoke to me for last week’s edition.

So I finished my internship at U.S. News and World Report two weeks ago. The web team had both lunch and dinner paid for by the company, as both part of my going away and the launch of the college rankings, to which I had to stay at the office until 10 PM helping to get those things up. Also not to be missed is our College flashback feature, where we ask celebs about their college experiences. I helped quite a bit with it, and even got to speak to this week’s celeb, Buzz Aldrin.

I had been resting in Los Angeles with my family for a little while, before going back to Berkeley. I got to show my parents the Best Colleges issue (which had my name on the masthead as producer). Down in LA, I saw The 40-year Old Virgin, which was a great movie and went to see the crappy, but still in contention LA Dodgers at Chavez Ravine. All in all a good rest before going back to Berkeley.

So many things to do in Berkeley. Frat rush, podcasting, launching the new ADPHI blog (not up yet, but our new web design is pretty slick), turning 21 (two more weeks) and more are some of the things I’ve got to work on.

One of the many Jennifers I know: “I get so stressed out having to check my email all the time.”
Me: “You know a lot of productivity experts say not to check email all the time to keep yourself focused”
Her reply: “Do you have a philosophy for everything?”

The Photo guy at U.S. News after I describe what happens to the human body after prolonged low gravity conditions: “So is space travel your beat or something?”
Me (meekishly): “No, I’m just into it”

Rayna (after I complained about movie theater prices and commercials): “Do you know how angry I’d be if I knew how I was being screwed on everything?”
Me (rhetorically): “Why do you think I’m so angry all the time?”

Me: “So I think the week before I started, the web team got Google hats. I so wanted one.”
Vicky H.: “Oh come on. Seriously, would you really want a Google hat?”
Me (in a very serious tone): “Yes…I…would.” (not that I’d wear it though)

Somebody from LexisNexis after noticing my constant smiling: “You’re either the happiest guy in the world or you’re up to no good.” (at the time I was thinking of ways to outsmart her, so probably the latter)

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If you watch CBS, you might see those commercials for the show “how I met your mother…” In one of them, the character Neil Patrick Harris is excited about something and says emphatically, “yes, this is totally going in my blog.” I can see me being him in the next few years. Oh what am I saying, I already say that…

What Does Fat Taste Like?–Probably nothing. Most scientists think that pure fat has no taste at all. That applies to trans fats, other unsaturated fats like sesame and corn oil, and saturated fats like butter and lard. The mouth senses five basic flavors: sweet, salty, sour, bitter, and umami (or glutamate, like MSG). Though some evidence suggests rodents can taste the flavor of fat, researchers haven’t conclusively shown that human beings can detect fats with their taste buds.

Stoned scientists-Marijuana and psychedelics have inspired many of the modern world’s greatest minds. (via Kottke)

LJ Friendsmap Generator-LJ friends on a Google Map.

Here’s mine: http://rezendi.zigamorph.net/friendsmap.htm?userName=fine_al

My friend (whose name I will keep hidden) sent me a letter he is writing to someone (whose name I will also keep hidden) who apparently smells bad. Very bad. Apparently, it’s so bad, he’s been gathering signatures to petition that he bathe and clean himself up. I have no way of knowing if any of this is true (and I honestly doubt it is, but you never know in this crazy world), so I have hid all the names to prevent anyone from being hurt needlessly.

We, the undersigned, were disgusted and flabbergasted when [the person in question] admitted that he did not brush his teeth daily. After he confirmed this travesty, “Deep Throat” informed us that he has failed to shower or properly bathe for more than 16,071 days (or about 44 years).

[Person], we hereby formally and sincerely ask that you change your uncleanly ways. We are asking that you brush your teeth for a minimum of 30 seconds daily (two to three minutes would be ideal) and pray that you will shower 4-7 times a week.

By achieving these seemingly minimal standards your unbearable blend of gasoline, onions, and body odor will be drastically reduced, if not altogether eliminated.

Talk about scary. Apparently, my friend will be sending this letter to the press. I have no idea if they’ll do anything about it, but if you see anything that sounds like this, just remember you heard it hear first.