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[Metope]

Well said, and also I think I'm doing the world a favour by doing art instead of medicine (by this I don't mean that my art is all that, but rather that I'd feel very sorry for those poor people who were my patients).

[Papersatan]

Cause you'd be artistic with their treatment? "suuuure we could sew that up, but don't you think if we let it fester first it could be a symbolic representation of the corruption within the government?"

[Tom]

I'm genuinely sorry for the misplaced vitriol, and I don't genuinely believe that. I apologise for any insult towards people studying  in any one of those innumerable areas.

[Lines]

Well said, and also I think I'm doing the world a favour by doing art instead of medicine (by this I don't mean that my art is all that, but rather that I'd feel very sorry for those poor people who were my patients).

Yeah, this. Organs are nasty. I'd end up telling everyone, "You know, your organs look disgusting. Make sure you keep them inside, ok?" Skeletons? Rad. Blood? Whatever. Organs and tissue? Gross.

[jhocking]

I shook Rahm Emanuel's hand in the subway this evening. It was pretty funny; I was just walking toward the subway stairs and after a bunch of people passed I was startled to realize I was face to face with Rahm Emanuel. Then I just reflexively stuck out my hand to shake as I walked by. Since he was right at the top of the stairs he kinda seemed to be campaigning or something, but for all I know he was waiting for someone.

[JD]

Was it the one he chopped the finger off of?

[Johnny C]

I shook Rahm Emanuel's hand in the subway this evening. It was pretty funny; I was just walking toward the subway stairs and after a bunch of people passed I was startled to realize I was face to face with Rahm Emanuel. Then I just reflexively stuck out my hand to shake as I walked by. Since he was right at the top of the stairs he kinda seemed to be campaigning or something, but for all I know he was waiting for someone.

you shook the hand of a man who will never be your mayor

[Johnny C]

way to kick a guy when he's down, joe

[Rizzo]

I applied for a job at Google two nights ago and today I got an email back saying they were interested in passing my application on to their hiring committee. FFFFFFFUUUUUU.

I'd really love to work there and I think in terms of my career skills etc my odds are ok. I'm worried they're going to want to see my university transcript which isn't great aside from my 1 semester of post-grad which I didn't finish. I would hope that they would allow me to explain why I didn't finish post-grad but who knows, employers can be kind of dicks...

FFFFFFFUUUUUUUUUUU.

It would be awesome for many reasons if I got this job: apparently working for google is cool, I'd have a job before I even got to Sydney, they pay pretty well, I'd be set up well to move into slightly different fields. I'm definitely going to continue with the application but do you guys think there are any obvious ways to increase my odds?

[october1983]

Plus, being on the inside when they take over the world can't hurt!

Also:

I don't genuinely believe that.

Yeah sorry, I kind of had a feeling I was overreacting as I wrote that - as someone who is trying to find funding for a Ph.D. in a country where humanities funding has just been gutted on the basis of "relevance" and "importance", I find it a frustrating topic and I guess I worry that even glib comments along those lines can reflect and even exacerbate the general tenor of dismissal. But then I'm pretty sure you are not the kind of guy to hold such attitudes, so I am sorry for reacting so badly.

[pwhodges]

humanities funding has just been gutted on the basis of "relevance" and "importance"

By people most of whose degrees are in...

[Elizzybeth]

Yeah sorry, I kind of had a feeling I was overreacting as I wrote that - as someone who is trying to find funding for a Ph.D. in a country where humanities funding has just been gutted on the basis of "relevance" and "importance", I find it a frustrating topic and I guess I worry that even glib comments along those lines can reflect and even exacerbate the general tenor of dismissal.

The provost of my university famously called humanities the "side dish" to the "main course" of hard sciences in some speech or other.  So frustrating.

[StaedlerMars]

Rizzo, I'm not sure what type of job you've applied for, but I have friends who applied for jobs at Google and they spent a lot of time learning algorithms and solving puzzles in preparation for the interview. They didn't end up getting the job, so maybe they were doing it wrong, but it's just an idea if you have some time, especially if you applied to a computing intensive position.

[Graphite]

Don't go for Med unless you absolutely want to do it. Speaking as an Australian, there aren't enough places and resources to go around. It's a such a waste when all these students use their parent bought English/Eco/Legal Studies/History marks to take places in public med schools only to drop-out and take up law or get their masters in some ultimately pointless humanities field.

Idunno dude, speaking as an Australian working at a university right now, we need all the international students we can get. Our uni just decided on some pretty insanely massive cutbacks because, now that our immigration laws have changed, we can expect far fewer international students round these parts. As much as it is troublesome to know that not every kid who gets into med ultimately wants or deserves to be there, that's often just as true of local students who get in and end up transferring out due to a lack of real love or aptitude for the subject. Ideally people would only study courses that they are really into and committed to, but failing that... well, basically, you should come to Australia and help keep our education system running because apparently international students are what keep our unis chugging along financially to a great extent. (Also in an ideal world there would be greater resources available to international students so their drop-out rates weren't as high, but hey, in a really ideal world we would be running a Whitlam-era tertiary education system where everyone could get into uni for free.)

[snalin]

Jens - you can probably take some science courses at unis and then transition. Think of it like taking a level in bard before you roll sorcerer - saves you a ton of time and resources, plus you'll know some stuff that'll help you through at least your first year.

[snalin]

humanities funding has just been gutted on the basis of "relevance" and "importance"

By people most of whose degrees are in...

you know, that's a very good point. I hadn't thought of it like that.

[StaedlerMars]

I think I just committed myself to going to Critical Mass on Friday!

[jhocking]

way to kick a guy when he's down, joe

It's funny, I didn't know about that yet. I heard the news just a couple hours later; I wonder if he thought I was being sarcastic?

I applied for a job at Google two nights ago

What job did you apply for? Since they have an office here in Chicago I've thought about applying but I don't know if my skills are relevant to the work they do here; I would be a good match for positions in some of their other locations, but I don't think I fit anything here.

[Johnny C]

humanities funding has just been gutted on the basis of "relevance" and "importance"

By people most of whose degrees are in...

you know, that's a very good point. I hadn't thought of it like that.

most of my english profs have, let me tell you

[Johnny C]

you haven't been in a proper humanities department until your prof has gone off on the administration for 20 minutes due to its corporatization and its increasing distrust of english departments because "english departments foster thought" (this is probably at least partly true btw)

[McTaggart]

My computing department does the same!

[Zingoleb]

I have a date tomorrow with the librarian wearing the Cthulu hat.

[Tom]

In other nerdy news I guessed correctly which fantastic four member was going to die. Q: What do I win? A: Nothing.

For those who want to know,

(click to show/hide)

it was the Human Torch. "Flame On!" indeed.

I just read it then. The last few pages are heartbreaking and all though Johnny was obviously going to do it was no less dramatic.

[JD]

I thought it was pretty obvious he was gonna go. Will they be called the threatening trio now?

[valley_parade]

So there, blog thread.

I just got off the phone with my dad. Seems like the surgery to fix his blown-out ACL went fine, and he's at home resting comfortably (if not a bit bored, he's not allowed to go back to work for about 4-5 weeks). Hurray, modern technology (and dudes cuttin' into other dudes' knees).

[vegkitkat]

I hate reading papers instead of being in the lab.  I can't wait for our starting material to come in so I can finish this goddamn compound and move offices.  Alas, I need to keep reading until then and until I can write up this review paper and try and get it published.

In more important news, should I go buy M&M's from the grocery store (5 min walk from my house) or should I try and stay on this healthy food thing I've been doing?

[Scandanavian War Machine]

So there, blog thread.

I just got off the phone with my dad. Seems like the surgery to fix his blown-out ACL went fine, and he's at home resting comfortably (if not a bit bored, he's not allowed to go back to work for about 4-5 weeks). Hurray, modern technology (and dudes cuttin' into other dudes' knees).

good to hear!

my dad just had double acl surgery a few weeks ago and he's already back teaching gymnastics. he even did a flip a couple days ago.



he's crazy though. he climbed Mt. Baker as a 50th birthday present to himself. 

[scarred]

my dad is 56 and keeps talking about doing mt. rainier.

he better do it soon, otherwise 0_o

[tania]

my dad is 60 and my sister is planning on buying him and my mom tickets to climb kilimonjaro next year. she has a lot of money. if it transpires that means he'll be 61, maybe even 62 when it happens.

crazy parents!

[nekowafer]

My dad is a bigger wuss than I am. About everything. And boy am I ever a wuss.

On the other hand, my mom goes to death and hardcore metal shows and met her 26 year old boyfriend there. I am 25, by the way. My boyfriend is 29.

This disturbs me on several levels. This kid isn't even a mature 26.

Also she stole all the clothing I no longer fit and so she wears Tripp bondage pants and band tees.

[Patrick]

Guys I am having the craziest week.

I've got 4 gigs coming up soon that I'll be playing with my buddy Lukas. He and his girl have appointed her as our general manager, which is a little weird but whatever (more in the relationship thread). Fixing my guitar is a fun project that is figuring out more ways to be annoying as the days go by. Work is proving to be difficult to come by, but the gigs are hopefully going to make up for it.

I'm also discovering that if I had the resources I would probably do well by hiring a personal manager. I am clearly not qualified for the job.

[JD]

My dad is a bigger wuss than I am. About everything. And boy am I ever a wuss.

On the other hand, my mom goes to death and hardcore metal shows and met her 26 year old boyfriend there. I am 25, by the way. My boyfriend is 29.

This disturbs me on several levels. This kid isn't even a mature 26.

Also she stole all the clothing I no longer fit and so she wears Tripp bondage pants and band tees.

Your mom sounds pretty awesome.

[JD]

Really though I don't meet enough people who like hardcore so she could drown puppies in her spare time and she'd still be awesome.

[tania]

man i dunno i am pretty sure anybody who drowns puppies is definitely not awesome no matter who they are

[tania]

[JD]

fuck em

[nekowafer]

Lucky for you, she does the opposite! She's a cat lady.

[bainidhe_dub]

That actually does not preclude her from drowning puppies...

[Johnny C]

fuck em

Hall of Fame.

i told the bee joke like a week and a bit back to a roomful of half-strangers and made one guy like visibly angry

[Johnny C]

i don't know how you tell the joke in real life tommy but i literally lost my place at one point and had to start like thirty seconds back

[sean]

ok guys i have a thing i am seriously concerned about and i guess this is the best place to post it?

so at my school, i have this friend. he is a pretty good dude, but sometimes he does really stupid and self destructive things. recently, he has basically stopped eating. for the past week and a half, he has basically replaced food with drinking nakeds (this is naked for the unfamiliar, its basically a fruit juice made out of shit tons of blended fruit, its basically liquid calories/nutrition, which is completely unsuitable to replace actual eating with). i've been giving him a lil shit for not eating, since he sometimes doenst eat as much as a human probably should, but recently he has just straight dropped eating. so today, me and two other friends went to chipotle to get dinner, and he hadnt eaten a thing all day and he only got a bag of chips. we all asked him why he wasn't eating a thing and he said he just hasnt had an appetite recently (his usual response) and then my other two friends went into this huge discussion about their prior eating disorders and how its really bad and unhealthy and he just kind of shrugged it off, despite the fact that we all expressed legitimate concern for him. i contacted his ex (yeah this sounds weird but i am really close to his ex and they used to be engaged, so she obviously knows him better than most people) and she told me in the past that he has had issues with eating due to self image but like now, he has never admitted to it and is in denial about it like all of the other issues in his life. he's the type of guy who really seriously never opens up about anything concerning himself and like i am really concerned about him continuing really self destructive habits.

tl;dr my friend has issues and i need life advice from all of you older folk with more life experience on how to handle this properly.

[Dollface]

im too lazy to write so i made this.  
we have blast site next to our appartment building and every morning around 7 they blast some rock.

[The Seldom Killer]

tl;dr my friend has issues and i need life advice from all of you older folk with more life experience on how to handle this properly.

That basically sounds like anorexia. I'm in no position to offer any advice other than to seek guidance from a local anorexia support service. All I know from experience is that getting it wrong can be very enabling and it can be easy to get it wrong so stop giving him shit for it until you've got some other support.

[pwhodges]

my friend has issues

I have no direct experience of eating disorders; but what I do know is that trying to tackle his eating directly will get you nowhere, and if pressed too hard could drive a wedge between you.  He needs to be persuaded to find a way to confront his real issues that underlie this - you need to get advice and help from experts.

[Patrick]

My experience supports Paul and TSK's advice. I grew up anorexic. From 4th grade until basically freshman year, I wouldn't eat much of anything. I weighed 70lbs when I started 8th grade, and 75 by the end of the year. I didn't adjust well to my parents' divorce, and it manifested in a 'loss of appetite.' When my parents addressed my eating habits directly, I would just get annoyed at them. Saying you don't have an appetite when you go literally days without eating? I oughta sue yr buddy for plagiarism.

The fact that he doesn't open up to anybody about how he feels about things seems to me to be absolutely 100% the culprit. I never wanted to talk about the divorce. I just let it fester and rot in my brain all hours of the day. I didn't know I was doing myself any harm, I just felt like I'd be burdening people with my feelings. It's become a lot easier for me to discuss how I feel about things, but I still remember feeling like "Why would anybody care how I feel about this? It's not their problem, I'd just be giving them my problems."

I can't tell you how to deal with this (I certainly don't remember all the details), but I agree that you should definitely talk to somebody with training and experience. They know how these matters should be approached in order to best start the recovery process.

I really hope your friend is okay, man. Glad you're looking out.

[Gemmwah]

I've got a whole day off HOLY SHIT

[allison]

Sean throughout my childhood years my mom struggled with both anorexia and bulimia. Despite the concerns of her friends and family, it was difficult for her to accept that she had these problems and to deal with them. They were products of other things in her life being difficult - her poor relationship with her father, the failure of her marriage... Your friend could have other things that are troubling him, and this might be the way they manifest. If it is only about his self-image, it still is difficult to control.

Anorexia is not his fault nor do I believe that the people who suffer from it make the conscious choice to live that way. The point is you can't gang up on him - do not confront him in a group, because while you think you are expressing concern, it may come across as an attack. If you can, talk to him one on one and see if you can encourage him to talk about what it is that is affecting his appetite. Let him do the talking and if it helps him, encourage him to see someone who can really provide help.

[Drill King]

I've been anorexic since I was about 11, it was very serious until I was in my mid-teens. Anorexia is something that doesn't exactly go away so since then I've gone back and forth. But I haven't been in serious trouble for several years now. I really don't think anorexia is something that ever goes away, you just have to fight with it if it rears it's ugly head.

Don't gang up on him, it is the fucking worst. Do not ask him why he's not eating in a room full of people. It will make him lash out and likely cut you out. The best you can do is be a supportive friend, ask him how other things are. Don't badger. If you feel the need to tell him how you feel. Express concern to him in private, not in front of other people. Honestly, you can't really force him to do much, getting in contact with a professional for further advice is probably the best, but ultimately it's like an alcoholic, they have to make that decision to get better.

His sources could be from a lot of things, desire for control, conscious self harm, etc. sometimes it has very little to do with genuinely wanting to be a stick thin person. When I was extremely ill the thing I wanted most was for someone to notice, and express to me that they noticed and they cared. But during the years leading up to that point I hated people commenting on it, because it was my business. Um this is probably not making a lot of sense because it's a close issue and I just woke up oops.

Basically, be a supportive friend, just being around other people can really help, make him aware that you care about him without chastising him, get in contact with a professional who you can disclose more to and will be more apt to know the course of action in this situation.

[sean]

okay, okay this is great advice, thanks guys! i will definitely back off on him, the last thing i want is to hurt him anymore than he is already hurting himself. ill keep you guys updated/ask for more advice as the situation continues.

[Wraith11B]

While explaining a party to Dad over Skype, my 14-year-old sister explained, that "It's in a library, so there isn't like, anything crazy, like a keg stand or anything."