atoms into suns

Yay Red Sox

Why couldn't you have been good when I lived in Boston? I suppose I should be thankful for the fact that you won every game I went to see, except when you played the Twins, but since I'm from North Dakota, where everyone cheers for the Twins, that's okay. You taught me that seeing a baseball game live is far cooler than watching one on TV and that Fenway Park is the best place on the planet to watch a baseball game. And I never paid more than $14 to do it (nine years ago). Now, if you could explain to me why anyone would pay $14,000 for one baseball game, I'd appreciate it.

Politics

It's probably a good thing that I took a break from posting in the month before the election. I found myself getting very caught up in politics. This is a) something I've never done before -- I normally avoid politics because I find it pointless, obnoxious, and frustrating; b) maddening due to its inherent divisiveness; and c) specifically forbidden in the Baha'i Faith. The overriding theme in the Baha'i Faith is unity -- the recognition that God created us all equal -- and politics as practiced today is divisive and contentious and therefore against the teachings of the Faith. This doesn't mean we're supposed to ignore politics. We're expected to vote for the best candidate for the office, regardless of party.

I found it rather stunning just how divisive it got; even our food choices were politicized. (You want Heinz ketchup on those freedom fries?) I'm glad it's all over, and even more glad that there weren't challenges that would cause the result to be dragged out even longer than last time.

GIMP

See that picture in the previous post? I cropped that all by myself, using The GIMP. I'm quite proud of myself, since my previous attempts at using gimp have resulted in stupendously horrendous results. And lest you think I'm simply technically incompetent, I present my proudest geekly achievement: Learning LaTeX and vi simultaneously in roughly a 24-hour period in order to post Polymer Physics problem set solutions online. Gimp just hates me.

Where'd Everybody Go?

In the space of a few weeks, several of the blogs on my sidebar have shut down or disappeared.

John Wiegley has quit blogging since a high school student plagiarized one of his entries, which led to him being accused of plagiarizing her paper. I'm too annoyed to even comment.

Sina Mossayeb's blog has disappeared.

HijabMan is still around, but has put out the (mostly-)blank white facade while undergoing a major renovation.

And most surprising and troubling of all, Laura has put up a "Closed" sign. I really hope this is only temporary, since her blog has become one of my favorites (and I'm not just saying that because she linked to the big news in my last post). Some of her posts in the past month or two have really gotten me thinking, even keeping me up at night. She has a way of writing simple posts that act as Pop Rocks in my brain, causing flashes here and there, leading to little epiphanies... and big ones. If you're really done, Laura, I figure you have a really good reason, but know that you'll be missed. I hope you come back soon.