Hi all,

I am a first year doctoral student with a dying Dell. Some of this is due to 3 years of use and abuse (my average computer-life), and some is due to a recent virus. Anyway, it's probably time to invest in a new laptop since I can't get anything done in the lab and I can't spend 30 minutes everyday doing a system restore anymore.

I have a few classmates who are recent Mac converts and love it so far. I saw Papers and thought that'd be great for organizing all my articles. I'm nervous about switching to a Mac, however, because I use SAS for most statistical analysis. Is there anyone out there who has had a good experience using SAS on a Mac? It looks like I'd have to get Windows for it and have Word installed on both the Mac and Windows side if I want to be able to cut/paste from SAS into Word easily. I want to be reasonably sure this is going to work nicely before I shell out the cash.

There is probably some other software packages that are not Mac-compatible, but I figure anything beyond stats, writing, and talk-prepping I can do in the lab.

My alternate plan is to buy another PC but not from Dell. I guess the appeal of the Mac is apparently high user happiness and lower likelihood for viruses.

Any input is welcome (yes, even the comment snarkfests that tend to happen here...)

Thanks.

I haz an account at AO³

No invites as of yet.

*goes to play with new shiny*

Oh, I'm Ithiliana over there too.

I am interested in learning about as many different beliefs related to text/script/written language and to tattoos as possible.  One person has recommended to me John Rush's Spiritual Tattoo: A Cultural History of Tatooing, Piercing, Scarification, Branding, and Implants.  I haven't checked it just yet, and no one's yet recommended anything about text.  I'm specifically looking mostly for religious and magical beliefs about text itself or about particular magical texts, as opposed to generic beliefs such that a particular text is sacred or the like.

I'd like similar information about tattoos, but broader information about cultural notions of the form and function of tattoos is good.  I'm also looking mostly for noncontemporary beliefs, though contemporary beliefs that have roots in or are revivals of older beliefs would be good (such as the recent Maori revival of tattoo traditions that had more or less died for a century or so).

Can anyone make any recommendations?

Katie, Emmy and I had a very brief chat, and have collectively decided that Glee stopped being even irritatingly fun two episodes ago and we're not going to watch it anymore. I mean, Emmy, who regularly watches the episode saying "potato potato potato" over Finn's lines, couldn't even get herself to do it, because she was watching the whole episode with a look of horror. Katie wisely decided not to watch it at all.

There was a stage where Glee was just irritating but with some awesome. I still love Mercedes and Kurt, and there have been a few songs that I've really enjoyed their version of. (I really liked the boys' mash-up in "Vitamin D", for example.)

But, I think there are two things that sum up what I think it really wrong with Glee.

First, and I don't think this is a spoiler:

Defying Gravity is a duet.

( Spoiler )
This is the show that's supposed to make people with disabilities feel empowered.

You know what really makes me feel empowered? Having a really vibrant community of people with disabilities that I've met through the internet and off-line. Having people who love and trust me enough to call me out on shit when I say something ignorant or thoughtless about disability. Having people who respect my work enough to read it and give constructive feedback. Having women with disabilities being willing to share their varied sexual experiences and expressions on a public blog that I'm a part of. Having a lot of people I've known over the past few years tell me how much they appreciate my posts about disability and how they've really thought about the stuff I've done. Having sabotabby write a rant about how inaccessible the museums are in Toronto, and have that rant not only be discussed by their board of directors, but be reported in the local newspaper as something important. Having a whole lot of people, even people I don't know, who don't know me, contribute to that list of YA books about people with disabilities.

Those things, those things that are actually about us, about our lives, about our experiences, are really amazing and actually empowering to be a part of. They've given me the self-confidence to write more, to question more, to ask for more, and to admit when I'm wrong.

Glee just makes me feel very very sad, and very very tired.

If you want to talk about the episode with me, don't hesitate to drop comments.

Originally posted at http://trouble.dreamwidth.org/535265.html. You can comment here or there using OpenID. Comments at Dreamwidth: .

What we like at the end of a week of too many 15-hour days and too much grading:

nap with warm, sleepy cat
meatball subs
homemade chocolate chip cookies
someone else to do all the cooking
good podcast to listen to while washing dishes
mind-rotting TV
early bedtime

Tomorrow: Bob Dylan!

Hi, my name is Nancy and I am currently a graduate student in the biomedical sciences. I am confronted with a difficult situation in the lab I am working in now, and would love to from anyone who has an opinion or advice on my circumstances!

( Read more... )I'm afraid that the grass is just greener on the other side, and I may have to just suck it up.

I would GREATLY appreciate any advice, recommendations, or input on what I could do! I need to make a decision by early next week, so it is a rather urgent situation...thank you SO much for your help!!!

I'd like to pretend that this is going to be my first book review of 2009 (!!!), but it's not. I just needed some space to complain about a part of this series that consistently bothers me. I read the fourth installment in 2006, and in the intervening three years, I forgot myself and bought the fifth and sixth installments earlier this year.

The Obernewtyn Chronicles are series of YA sci-fi/fantasy novels about a post-apocalyptic world. After a nuclear holocaust known as 'the Great White' the world has shunned technology, believing that it's what caused their downfall. The protagonist, Elspeth Gordie is a 'misfit', a person born with abnormal mental abilities due to the fallout of the Great White, and one thing leading to another, discovers that she is destined to find the nuclear weapons systems which caused it in order to save the world from a second nuclear disaster from which it would never recover.

Through her search, she learns more about the world before the Great White, which was apparently divided into five major powers: The Americas, Chinon (China/East Asia), Tipoda (Australiasia), Europa (Europe), and Gadfia... which is a land of black and brown-skinned slave-owning desert dwellers who oppress their women so much that they escape and start their own country.

Yes. So... that happened.

And then again The Stone Key, I took the liberty of marking all the pages with mentions of Gadfia and Gadfians.

"How can people make [God]?" asked Iriny.

"I don't know, but look at the [God] of the Gadfians, who regarded women as less than beasts and beasts as nothing. The men of that race believed that [God] made women for no other purpose than to beget and nurture more men to worship [God]. As the men believed, so their [God] was said to believe and if he disagreed, he never told anyone"

"Did their [God] not desire the worship of women?"

I shrugged "According to Gadfians [God] desired only fear and obedience from women, not love or worship. That is why the women and a few men left and formed a new exiled race."

A thought came to my mind which was so shocking, it took my breath away. What if Salamander [the only slave trader mentioned in the books!] had not just traded with Gadfian raiders, but was one of them! What if he hid his face and form as fanatically as he did, not to keep his identity secret, but to hide the colour of his skin! That would explain... the slaver's relentless viciousness, since ferocity and the need to oppress seemed characteristic of the Gadfian people.

There were a few others, but I think this adequately covers it? I'm not sure I even want to waste my energy analysing this?

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Don't watch this show! That could easily be the extent of this review, but I'm going to go further and explain why it is such an abomination.

Misfits is a Channel Four television programme, billed as 'Heroes with ASBOs' about a group of young offenders on community service who are struck by lightning and develop superpowers. Sounds like a lot of fun, right? Perhaps it will showcase a portion of society rarely shown positively and allow them to blow crap up and fly and stuff! I, too, once thought as you did.

( spoilers think that bitch was asking for it )

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A call to boycott feministing due to failures to work on disability issues.

I took Feministing off my reading list because of their Racefail09. They now have achieved DisabilityFail as well, after achieving TransphobiaFail and ClassFail.

Intersectionality is hard.

Oh hey, I forgot another post is up.

Power & Responsibility, which is about the care-giving dynamics in my relationship with Don. It's appeared here before, but I've edited it a bit. (But, overall, same message: Bad things happen when you put spouse in role as caregiver.)

There's a post going up later this afternoon about Sex & Scoliosis that I think people will enjoy. I can't remember what time it'll go up, though. But watch for it. It's good reading. (Also, tell me if the descriptions I did of the pictures are okay. It's picture heavy post.)

Originally posted at http://trouble.dreamwidth.org/534888.html. You can comment here or there using OpenID. Comments at Dreamwidth: .

This is an old meme, and I don't usually meme, but I was charmed by the results. Here's the drill: shuffle your iTunes library, and pick the first 20 songs with lyrics. The first lines of those songs, in order, and punctuated as necessary, form five stanzas of a poem. The name of the 21st song is the title of the poem.

This writing thing is easy! ( Here is my rather poignant poem. )

Wondering about what to do tonight? Come out and learn to swing dance! It's great fun, you don't have to know anything about dance to start. You also don't need to bring a partner.

So gather up your friends and Join the friendliest Swing Dancers in Tucson at Tucson Stomps!

This dance happens every 2nd Friday night.

United Methodist Church
915 E 4th Street
Tucson, AZ

We will have a lesson for beginners at 7pm. If you've ever considered learning a social dance, this is a wonderful place to start.

Open dancing is 8-11pm.

$7 entry fee gets you in the free lesson also. This month only $5 for you if you mention you saw it on LiveJournal!

We teach East Coast Swing at the lesson. Our dancers do East Coast, Jitterbug, Jive, Lindy Hop, Balboa, Charleston, Etc. All the dances from the 40's. We also have lots of people who do West Coast Swing, Blues, Fox Trot, Hustle and Mambo.

Tucson Stomps! event on facebook: http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/event.php?eid=198939910515&ref=mf

Howdy,

Does anyone know a place where I can get some stylish (vintage-ish) glasses frames without breaking the bank? ($30-70 range). Most of those designer shops are recockulously expensive.

Odd question, but this tucson group usually can deliver.
- dylan

Black elementary students told to act like slaves when class visits plantation.

Because we all know racism does not exist any more in the United States, oh, noes.

JetBlue is long gone, but starting on January 10, Southwest will have non-stop flights to LaGuardia/NYC! (I don't work for Southwest, I'm just a traveler who prefers non-stop to bizarrely circuitous, which was the case with my last flight between NYC & Tucson.)
www.southwest.com

"Plenty of colleges have a presence in Second Life. Pennsylvania State University is taking that a step further. Academic advisers at the university’s online campus are now required to be available for meetings with students in the virtual world every week..."

More here: http://chronicle.com/blogPost/Second-Life-Duty-Now-Required/8770/?sid=at&utm_source=at&utm_medium=en

And here: http://www.worldcampus.psu.edu/advising-in-second-life.shtml

Good thing? Bad thing? Inevitable thing?

Grading Drabbles Explanation Here!

Read nine students' work today (only one week's assignment), for a mere total of $31,5000 words.

Have seven more weekly drafts to read tomorrow (am still behind, but working through one week at a time). Since revision is not required (the focus is to get through a first draft, a la NoNaWriMo), I don't feel as guilty as I would if they were supposed to use my comments for revision right away.

Posted two grading drabbles; have two lined up for me tomorrow:

Frodo/Faramir for aprilkat

and

Eowyn/Faramir for toujours_nigel (Usually I write Eowyn/Boromir and Frodo/Faramir, but heck, it's a nifty challenge. The thing is: I never could see the book appeal of Faramir--I may be one of the few people in the world who LIKED Film!Faramir better--so this will be an interesting change!).