No Prerequisite » Uncategorized

Coming soon

Jason — Thu, 28 Jun 2007 01:32:02 +0000

Well, Friday’s the day I guess. The day when people will be lined up for the latest from Steve Jobs and his California-based money-making machine. I won’t be one of those lined up: I’m not sure how interested I really am, and even if I was, I can’t justify the expense. Plus, reviews have been mixed.

I’m talking, of course, about Ratatouille, the new animated feature film from the Disney-Pixar partnership that brought you Toy Story, A Bug’s Life, Toy Story 2, Monsters, Inc., Finding Nemo, The Incredibles, and Cars. (Steve Jobs [of Apple fame] is the largest shareholder of the former company, and former CEO of the latter.) With movie tickets costing so much, I think it’ll probably be a rental, if we see it at all (if Deb protests, there’s always a matinée.)

Or did you think I meant something else?

Reboot

Jason — Mon, 07 May 2007 15:06:02 +0000

Well, I’ve rebooted the blog again, more for server-side reasons than anything. I haven’t bothered to import any of my old posts, as there weren’t that many of them and those who might be interested in reading them probably already have. I’m going to try to make posting things here a part of my routine, in the hopes that I’ll continue it come fall when I’m in Germany. My track record doesn’t make that seem too promising, but as they say, past performance is no guarantee of future results. Maybe that can work to my benefit in this case.

Highway Vigilante

Jason — Tue, 10 Oct 2006 02:22:01 +0000

For many, the idea of vigilantes “taking justice into their own hands” has negative connotations. Lynch mobs in the American south may come to mind, or criminal excess in the name of righting a wrong. As the Oxford English Dictionary points out, the term originally referred to “a member of a vigilance committee”–like a neighborhood watch–or “a night-watchman,” both of which are viewed much more positively (or, at the very least, neutrally.)

The other day, as we were driving to visit my parents, I had the pleasure of witnessing some vigilantism of the latter sort. The highway on which we were traveling had merged to one lane because of construction. However, the signs indicating the merge preceded the closure of the left lane by several miles. While most drivers dutifully merged when instructed, some took advantage of the open left lane to speed ahead of everyone else. The problem with this is not simply the fact that the “late mergers” “cut” in line, but rather the fact that the slow progress of the merged traffic–the whole reason they feel the need to speed ahead–is a result of “late mergers” forcing everybody else to slow down when they cut into the correct lane at the last minute, usually from a much slower speed or even a standstill.

Enter our vigilante. As one “late merger” made his way past us, the driver of a large pickup-truck up ahead noticed his approach. The truck had already been hugging the center line to discourage drivers from passing him, but now the truck moved into the other lane entirely, blocking it and forcing the “late merger” to slow down to the same pace as all the other drivers. More cars stacked up behind him, but the driver of the pickup kept at it, driving as though he were in the merged lane–slowing down, speeding up–despite the open road ahead of him.

And so I thank the unknown vigilante for stepping in and teaching the drivers behind him a lesson–or at least frustrating them and providing everyone else with a little satisfaction.

Moving Countdown

Jason — Fri, 03 Mar 2006 02:18:36 +0000

It’s getting close, and yet there’s still so much to do before we move… and I don’t just mean packing. Reading keeps piling up, and I still need to make some progress thinking about my long term project, comps, etc. Spring break will offer little relief, I’m afriad; there’s moving to be done as well as trying to get ahead, for once, on this semester’s work. My only hope is that getting ahead will make it possible for me to start working on other things a little at a time.