tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-92720982024-02-19T06:27:30.403-05:00Cheese, Chalk, and a BeardHeatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07149642558736378260noreply@blogger.comBlogger106125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9272098.post-18084638368603883292009-08-07T15:54:00.004-04:002009-08-07T15:59:36.461-04:00A primer on health reformI've been meaning to blog about health reform forever, since that's what I do with my days. But the issue is so big, it's been hard to know where to start. But someone recently asked me for a primer on the issues, so the rest of this post is lifted verbatim from the email I sent him.<br /><br />One of the challenges in the health reform debate is that the system is such a mess, nearly everyone who works in health policy agrees that we should do SOMETHING, no matter how imperfect. So nearly every reputable source I'm going to give you is going to be in favor of any legislation that comes out of a Democratic Congress.<br /><br />The other challenge is that until the past few weeks, the proposals for how to make all this happen have been vague, and everyone favors reform but doesn't necessarily care that much about the details. Also, legislative analysis apparently bores audiences, so there's not a lot of specifics on the different legislation for a non-policy audience.<br /><br />With those provisos, here's my best attempt at a list:<br /><br /><a href="http://www.rwjf.org/healthreform/product.jsp?id=46990#" target="_blank">Eight Myths About Health Care Reform</a> - From the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, a good primer on the disinformation<br /><br /><a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/package/health-care-reform09/index.html" target="_blank">In Search of Health Reform</a> - An interactive feature that gives a good overview of the problem and the proposed solutions.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.kff.org/pullingittogether/051809_altman.cfm" target="_blank">The Experts vs. The Public on Health Reform</a> - The CEO of the Kaiser Family Foundation, a non-profit health policy foundation, takes on how health policy experts view the issues, versus how the public views the issues.<br /><br />This is the point where I take a break to say that I am a health policy wonk, and that the information I added below might take you into minutiae that you really just don't care about.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/26/opinion/26krugman.html" target="_blank">Not Enough Audacity</a> - Paul Krugman makes the case for a public plan.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/15/opinion/15brooks.html?ref=opinion" target="_blank">Fiscal Suicide Ahead</a> - And David Brooks argues why we need cost containment, and why we're unlikely to get it.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2009/06/01/090601fa_fact_gawande" target="_blank">The Cost Conundrum</a> - A really influential article about the structural problems that Brooks is talking about above.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.newyorker.com/archive/2006/08/28/060828fa_fact" target="_blank">The Risk Pool</a> - This is an article that Malcolm Gladwell wrote in 2006. It's not really central to the issues being debated right now, but I think it provides a compelling framework for how we think about risk and insurance. Anything risky is best spread out among as many people as possible. This means that buying health insurance is harder and harder the fewer people are in your "risk pool". It's why we have Medicare (old people are terrible risks) and why people want a mandate that everyone have health insurance (more people spreading the risk), and so this issue is what underlies a lot of the fundamentals of health reform.<br /><br />Finally, I tag bookmarks on Delicious with <a href="http://delicious.com/heatherpedia/healthreform" target="_blank">healthreform </a>when I remember.Heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07149642558736378260noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9272098.post-62109383275681125142009-07-31T10:54:00.001-04:002009-07-31T10:54:16.763-04:00Pandora WhiningI listen to Pandora a LOT. Several hours a day, every day. In July they added a limit to their ad supported service limiting "free" listening to 40 hours a month. I got an email saying "although this change affects only 10% of our listeners, you are one of them!"<br> <br>Once you reach the 40 hour limit, you have two options. You can pay $1 to continue to use the ad supported service for the rest of the month, or you can pay $36 for the year to upgrade to the premium, non-ad supported service. I actually think this is a fairly nice way to deal with generating more revenue while keeping the service affordable. BUT I'm annoyed with two things about this arrangement.<br> <br>First, Pandora has made the interface for the $1 a month option cumbersome. You have to wait until you actually run out of time for the month and then enter your credit card number. It enters it as a one time payment, which means you need to type in your credit card number every month. This is obviously intended to steer you to the $36/year premium service.<br> <br>Which brings me to my second gripe. I feel like I am absolutely paying enough for my ad-supported Pandora already. Somehow from my music taste, Pandora's ads can divine my needs and desires more readily than even I can. So far, I have purchased Dove deodorant with matching body spray, renewed my passport, and purchased Venus Spa razor blades, pretty much all based off Pandora advertising. They know about my secret shame, enjoying Bud Light with Lime, and are trying to get me to buy some of that too.<br> <br>As it turns out, I ran out of Pandora credit yesterday, so I'll be using other free services for another day until it starts over. It's probably worth it for me to just upgrade to the paid service, but it will take me a bit to feel like it's not being imposed on me.<br> Heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07149642558736378260noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9272098.post-64226199864473356422009-07-23T00:02:00.006-04:002009-07-23T00:16:33.072-04:00Quinoa, Black Bean, and Corn Salad<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quinoa">Quinoa</a> is a South American grain that holds its shape nicely in salads. It's nutty and full of protein. I made this recipe up pretty spontaneously, because I knew I had quinoa and black beans in the pantry and limes in the fridge. I love bean and grain salads, especially in the summer.<br /><br />I think next time I'd adjust the proportions a bit (more quinoa!) and add some chopped cilantro. I also don't think the roasted corn makes that big a difference. Also, the dressing proportions are made up. I don't measure.<br /><br />1/2 c. dry quinoa, rinsed<br />1 c. water<br />1.5 c. canned black beans, rinsed<br />1.5 c. frozen corn kernels, thawed (I used Trader Joes roasted corn)<br />1/2 c. chopped red bell pepper<br />1 serrano pepper, seeded and chopped<br />juice of one lime<br />2 T. (?) olive oil<br />dash of hot sauce<br />1/2 tsp. oregano (Mexican if you have it)<br />1/2 tsp. cumin<br />salt and pepper to taste<br /><br />Add the quinoa and water to a pan, bring to a boil, turn down to low and let simmer until water is absorbed, 10-15 minutes. Transfer quinoa to a bowl and let cool. Add beans, corn, and peppers. In a small bowl, whisk together the remaining ingredients. Add dressing to salad, stir, and put in the fridge to chill. Enjoy!Heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07149642558736378260noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9272098.post-87734493843941645832009-07-11T16:49:00.006-04:002009-07-11T18:00:05.252-04:00Web Browser ABC MemeI just discovered the "Page Info" stuff in Firefox 3.5. I'm not sure if this is new or not, but it allowed me the opportunity to see how many times I've visited certain domains. Apparently I reload Facebook an average of 57 times a day.<span style="vertical-align: super;">1</span> Oops!<br /><br />And with that in mind, I now bring you the ABCs of my AwesomeBar.<br /><br />(Instructions: type the letter ‘a’ in your browser location bar and choose the first match from the dropdown. Repeat for each letter of the alphabet.)<br /><br />A: <a href="http://asitebyanyother.name/">http://asitebyanyother.name/</a><br />B: <a href="http://www.blindpigmusic.com/">Blind Pig Music</a><br />C: <a href="http://cheesechalkandabeard.blogspot.com/">Chalk, Cheese, and a Beard</a><br />D: <a href="http://delicious.com/">Delicious</a><br />E: <a href="http://etherpad.com/p2W41A16bS">Etherpad</a><br />F: <span class="author75-38-193-150-1244257094982-7812"><a href="http://groups.google.com/group/ubiquity-firefox">ubiquity-firefox | Google Groups</a> </span><br />G: <a href="http://getsatisfaction.com/mozilla/topics/error_gubiquity_is_null">Troubleshooting Ubiquity Interface Problems</a><br />H: <a href="https://ubiquity.mozilla.com/hg/ubiquity-firefox/">ubiquity-firefox: log</a><br />I: <a href="http://isohunt.com/"><span class="author75-38-193-150-1244257094982-7812">isoHunt - the BitTorrent and P2P search engine</span></a><br />J: <a href="http://www.jonathancoulton.com/">Jonathan Coulton</a><br />K: <span class="author75-38-193-150-1244257094982-7812"><a href="http://www.kff.org/pullingittogether/041609_altman.cfm">Pulling it Together: 19.7 - Kaiser Family Foundation</a> </span><br />L: <a href="http://labs.mozilla.com/projects/ubiquity/"><span class="author75-38-193-150-1244257094982-7812">Mozilla Labs » Ubiquity</span></a><br />M: <a href="http://maps.google.com/">Ann Arbor, MI to Monson, Massachusetts</a><br />N: <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/">NYTimes</a><br />O: <a href="http://www.orbitz.com/"><span class="author75-38-193-150-1244257094982-7812">Orbitz Travel: Airline Tickets, Cheap Airfare, Hotels, Vacations, Car Rentals & Cruises</span></a><br />P: <a href="http://hg.toolness.com/planet-ubiquity-redesign/raw-file/2009-03-03-blog-post/planet.html">planet ubiquity</a><br />Q: <a href="http://twitter.com/#search?q=ubiquity">Twitter / Search - ubiquity</a><br />R: <a href="http://www.recovery.gov/">Recovery.gov</a><br />S: <a href="http://www.songza.com/">Songza</a><br />T: <a href="http://www.theride.org/routes.asp">The Ride - Ann Arbor Transportation Authority</a><br />U: <span class="author75-38-193-150-1244257094982-7812"><a href="http://groups.google.com/group/ubiquity-firefox">ubiquity-firefox | Google Groups</a> </span><br />V: <a href="http://vimeo.com/5483375">How We're Releasing Ubiquity 0.5 on Vimeo</a><br />W: <a href="http://www.wowhead.com/">Wowhead: You'll be back.</a><br />X: <a href="http://xckd.com/"></a><a href="http://xkcd.com/">xkcd - A Webcomic - Form</a><br />Y: <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XOYAuk809fY">YouTube - Hey Paul Krugman (A song, A plea)</a><br />Z: <a href="http://www.zappos.com/">Shoes, Clothing, Handbags, Sunglasses | Zappos.com Free Shipping</a><br /><br />Only surprise is that Pandora didn't show up, although the URL of planet ubiquity is filled with Ps. Other than that, it looks just like my life. Music, ubiquity, nerding. I guess I feel like I read a lot more health news and a lot more wikipedia than this list would indicate.<br /><br />1: Is it wrong that I want to put a methodological note here? I've had this Firefox profile for 305 days, which I guessed with terrifying accuracy and then actually checked with a date calc.Heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07149642558736378260noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9272098.post-90528747382906824622009-06-15T10:21:00.004-04:002009-07-11T18:00:22.299-04:00Del.icio.usI finally bit the bullet and signed up for Delicious. I have resisted this for some time, because I hated the URL for the most part, but also didn't grasp the value of saving my bookmarks on the web. I even blogged about how much I hated it.<br /><br />Fast forward to today - I signed up three weeks ago and I LOVE it. Not only is it a great way to make my bookmarks searchable, but I also can share things I like with friends. The Firefox addon means it's integrated into my existing browsing habits almost seamlessly, and the tagging feature is actually fairly useable.<br /><br />I'll admit part of the appeal is that I read so much on the Internet these days, I kind of want a way to catalog that. So when someone is like "how do you know this?" I can actually just be like "go read what I have read".<br /><br />Here's my regular bookmark feed: <a href="http://delicious.com/heatherpedia">http://delicious.com/heatherpedia</a><br /><br />I've been tagging things "eggnog" for sharing with family and friends that are about the stuff I'm interested in, but for a more general audience. You can find those things here: <a href="http://delicious.com/heatherpedia/eggnog">http://delicious.com/heatherpedia/eggnog</a>Heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07149642558736378260noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9272098.post-73827335811059471932009-05-27T13:14:00.005-04:002009-07-11T18:01:30.418-04:00Silence of the LampsThis is the first "web comic" I ever went crazy for, back in 1997.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.flamingmayo.com/poorlydrawnlamps/"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 258px;" src="http://www.flamingmayo.com/poorlydrawnlamps/lamp36.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>Heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07149642558736378260noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9272098.post-76635550664230219202009-05-22T23:00:00.006-04:002009-07-11T17:58:46.357-04:00Weekday Banana Walnut OatmealI saw a post on <a href="http://summertomato.com/">Summer Tomato</a> for <a href="http://summertomato.com/weekend-breakfast-cinnamon-raisin-walnut-oatmeal/">Cinnamon Raisin Oatmeal</a> labeled a "weekend breakfast", since cooking regular rolled oats takes a little while. Like Darya, I prefer real oatmeal to instant or quick, and I also am not really a bright sunshiney person in the morning. If it's more complicated than turning on the coffeemaker, I will probably not do it on a weekday morning.<br /><br />This oatmeal recipe is that easy. And cheap! And tasty! I use Trader Joe's unsweetened soymilk, so the honey makes it tastier. It can certainly be remixed with any combo of toppings based on your whims and what's in the fridge.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihrwBGhWmkn3jmHvWIq2jNN8wSReJp-lyD8X0eQK2_2H-_7ihaaa0xhnoXhEPWpW5FqXCOBR9rogg5-s3diDsrxovDQyGJ9nxaF6Osg87hE4Xn7vzVTeOmqh1bxgAG_AQGUNJmfA/s1600-h/100_3020.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: right; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihrwBGhWmkn3jmHvWIq2jNN8wSReJp-lyD8X0eQK2_2H-_7ihaaa0xhnoXhEPWpW5FqXCOBR9rogg5-s3diDsrxovDQyGJ9nxaF6Osg87hE4Xn7vzVTeOmqh1bxgAG_AQGUNJmfA/s320/100_3020.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5338852400608926834" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Banana-Walnut Oatmeal</span><br /><br />1/2 c. rolled oats<br />3/4 to 1 c. milk or soymilk<br />sliced banana<br />walnuts<br />1 tbsp. honey<br /><br />The night before you want to eat this, put the oats and soymilk into a bowl and put it in the refrigerator.<br /><br />In the morning, take it out and stir, then pop it in the microwave for 2 minutes. Remove, stir, and microwave another 1-2 minutes. Top with banana, walnuts, and honey. Yum!Heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07149642558736378260noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9272098.post-77104091801610306902009-05-21T04:32:00.003-04:002009-07-11T17:59:22.748-04:00Wayback MachineWhile trying to update a broken link on Wikipedia, I came upon some adorably outdated articles I wrote for <a href="http://thedartmouth.com/">The Dartmouth</a> my freshman year in college. <a href="http://thedartmouth.com/1998/11/09/news/imacs/">The first</a> is a meditation on how overpowered iMacs are as public <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BlitzMail">BlitzMail</a> machines. Check out those system specs! (These same iMacs would later spawn the great <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2002/03/17/us/pinkeye-cases-baffle-2-ivy-league-colleges.html">pink eye epidemic</a> of 2001-2002.)<br /><br /><a href="http://thedartmouth.com/1999/05/10/arts/lamps/">The second</a> was an article about some of my favorite websites at the time. Oddly, some of those sites are still around, and are hilarious!<br /><ul><li><a href="http://www.flamingmayo.com/poorlydrawnlamps/">Poorly Drawn Lamp Page</a></li><li><a href="http://www.twinkiesproject.com/">The T.W.I.N.K.I.E.S. Project</a></li><li><a href="http://www.perp.com/whale/">The Infamous Exploding Whale</a> (Ha! This is what things were like before YouTube, kids!)</li></ul>The remaining sites have vanished into the tubes, never to be seen again.<br /><br />And finally, I don't want to forget <a href="http://thedartmouth.com/1998/10/30/news/inn/">my 1998 interview</a> with <a href="http://www.iw.net/%7Ea_plutonium/">Archimedies Plutonium</a>. The article is nothing special, but you really should read about the man himself, or you may live out the rest of your life without understanding that the whole universe is actually one giant plutonium atom. He is also apparently a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Usenet_celebrity">usenet celebrity</a>, and has quite the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Likebox/Archimedes_Plutonium">Wikipedia user page</a>. For anyone out there still wondering, he actually <span style="font-weight: bold;">did</span> scrub pots at Dartmouth, until he was replaced by an automatic dishwasher, attempted to sue the school, and subsequently left Hanover because the people there were too backward to handle his science.Heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07149642558736378260noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9272098.post-67254776813768305192009-05-14T12:15:00.006-04:002009-07-11T18:27:39.585-04:00Must Listens on the Web<p style="">I started my summer internship at the <a href="http://www.chrt.org/">Center for Healthcare Research and Transformation</a> on Tuesday.<span style=""> </span>One of the perks is I get to listen to music.<span style=""> </span>One of the drawbacks is that music has to mostly come from the web.<span style=""> </span>There is of course <a href="http://www.pandora.com/">Pandora</a> and <a href="http://www.last.fm/">Last.fm</a>, but sometimes you want a whole album, or a specific artist, or a playlist that exactly matches the way researching the ROI on high quality preschool programs makes you feel.<span style=""> </span>And for those things, my friends, I have compiled a list for you.</p> <p style=""><o:p> </o:p></p> <ul><li><a href="http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=98679384">Exclusive First Listen on NPR Music</a> – I am listening to John Vanderslice’s new album on here right now, which is fantastic.<br /></li><li><a href="http://beta.wilcoworld.net/records/thealbum/">Wilco (The Album)</a> – this is a one off rather than a constant resource, but Wilco’s new album is streamed in its entirety.<br /></li><li><a href="http://songza.com/">Songza.com</a> – basically an aggregator of streaming content from <a href="http://www.youtube.com/">YouTube</a> and <a href="http://www.imeem.com/">iMeem</a>, among others, you can make playlists on here.<span style=""> </span><a href="http://songza.com/hlke">My own stream</a> has whatever playlist I’m into right now, and the blog has <a href="http://songza.com/blog/category/featured-playlist/">featured playlists</a> each day.</li><li><a href="http://www.youtube.com/">YouTube</a> – sometimes it’s easier to just use the YouTube interface to save more than one playlist. Two of mine are <a href="http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=070A93F29350B253">songs I loved at 13</a> and one of Irish folk singer <a href="http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=8CBEE164C217439D">Lisa Hannigan</a>.<span style=""><span style="text-decoration: underline;"> </span></span><a href="http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=070A93F29350B253"><br /></a></li><li><a href="http://twitter.com/search?q=%23musicmonday">Twitter music Monday</a> – this one takes a bit of work.<span style=""> </span>On Mondays, people on Twitter post songs they like.<span style=""> </span>Those songs may rock, or they may suck.<span style=""> </span>It’s part of what makes it awesome.</li><li><a href="http://hypem.com/radio">Hype Machine Radio</a> – this is one of the cooler music aggregator ideas going on out there.<span style=""> </span>Basically they aggregate music blogs, see what is trending, and make those songs available.<span style=""> </span>The last three songs were T.I., Jordin Sparks, and Sunny Day Real Estate.<span style=""> </span>Our collective consciousness has spotty but intriguing taste in music.</li><li><a href="http://www.musicforbusypeople.com/">Music for Busy People</a> – by invite only.<span style=""> </span>If you know me, you should ask me for an invite.<span style=""> </span>Makes me feel cool in a totally lazy way.</li><li><a href="http://sxsw.com/music/">South By Southwest Music Player</a> - songs from this years SXSW artists (it's a link in the right hand column)<br /></li></ul>Heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07149642558736378260noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9272098.post-60917491477873712652009-02-11T19:19:00.004-05:002009-07-11T21:24:35.513-04:00tofu and self-nurturingThe past month has been 100% crazytown for me. Sarah came home to Massachusetts, so I took the week of Martin Luther King day to fly back there to visit for a week. Not content just to see my sister after a year and a half, I also managed to dart down to New Haven to see Grace, and from there we went to NYC to see Ted and meet up with Chris and Zach too. I returned to Ann Arbor for five days, only to leave again the following Saturday for the <a href="http://www.academyhealth.org/NHPC/">National Health Policy Conference</a> in Washington DC.<br /><br />That's a whole lot of awesome life experience packed into one month, especially if that month also happens to be the first month of a new semester. And while I value those experiences, all that activity left me feeling very drained and like my head was just spinning all the time.<br /><br />Last semester I often stayed on campus until 7, 8, or 9 pm to study or work. I am definitely more productive when I just keep plugging away on campus, but a certain level of stress brings on rapidly diminishing returns in the form of me needing to sit around and do nothing for a while (an evening, a weekend, the whole of winter break) to recover. So I've settled on a gentler approach. When I'm done with classes/committments most days, I come home. I continue to work here, but I feel much more relaxed in my own home, changed into loungey clothes, in a comfy chair.<br /><br />With all of this lounging, it's tempting to pop a Lean Cuisine into the microwave and keep reading. But as I mentioned in my last post, I've been cooking dinner. Real food. It's glorious. Tonight I made a <a href="http://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/garam-masala-tofu-scramble-recipe.html">Garam Masala Tofu Scramble</a> from 101 Cookbooks, and it has reminded me the extent to which simple vegetarian food is my comfort food. I've been out of the cooking swing of things for so long, the concept of weeknight meals had begun to elude me. Now that I'm doing it again, I remember how much cooking relaxes me. Chopping vegetables is meditative, sauteeing is magical, and relaxing with the result is deeply satisfying. Mmmmmmm, tofu.Heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07149642558736378260noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9272098.post-51610772979941647852009-02-09T23:53:00.004-05:002009-07-11T18:01:11.424-04:00warm chickpea and broccoli saladI've been craving vegetables for several days now. Not just like "I could use a salad". Elaborate fantasies about roasted beets and fennel salads.<br /><br />I've really enjoyed reading the New York Times series <a href="http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/health/series/recipes_for_health/index.html">recipes for health</a>. This past week was broccoli, and although broccoli isn't something I really need a recipe for, new ideas are always good. I made the <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/05/health/nutrition/05recipehealth.html?em">warm chickpea and broccoli salad</a>. It came out nicely, although I would caution you that shaking the covered bowl to distribute the dressing might make the broccoli crumble a bit. I'd probably add a little more broccoli next time, although I have no idea if I used the amount called for in the recipe.<br /><br />I've decided to make time in my day for cooking dinner. It helps me to feel less rushed, and more in touch with what I need to be balanced and healthy and calm. After dinner tonight (and last night) I took the time to get coffee ready to go for the morning and throw smoothie ingredients together too.<br /><br />Sleeeeeepy! Night!Heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07149642558736378260noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9272098.post-20602806967637905582009-01-08T13:51:00.003-05:002009-07-11T21:24:09.466-04:0024 minutes of bloggingI started my second semester yesterday, and I'm sitting here in my health services survey class with 24 minutes of time left on my battery. So here's 24 minutes of my thoughts!<br /><br />My first semester ended on a really positive note. My grades were good, but most importantly, I really saw my ability to focus and get shit done. Honestly, when I started, that was my biggest worry. As a recalcitrant procrastinator when I was an undergraduate and even when I was taking grad classes in Arizona, I became pretty convinced getting anything done was always going to be a struggle. But in the middle of the semester, something changed. I realized I wanted to be here, and that this work was important to me. I also realized that the sky wasn't going to fall if my work wasn't perfect. Yup, that's right, I'm a perfectionist who procrastinates, imagine that.<br /><br />This semester is looking okay so far. I'm excited for my regression class and for econ, and less so for the health services survey class. My politics seminar has a lot of potential, and I'm oddly excited for a presentation-based class. I'm going to make the world's most awesome PowerPoints. I'm also trying to get into a class on decision-making and risk simulation stuff, in my ongoing attempt to be 70% as cool as <a href="http://www.fivethirtyeight.com/">Nate Silver</a>. I want to learn Monte Carlo simulation!Heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07149642558736378260noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9272098.post-32858252627880724042008-11-13T22:07:00.001-05:002008-11-13T22:08:38.892-05:00Kitties!Sometimes you just need something to take you to your happy place:<br /><br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/hPzNl6NKAG0&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/hPzNl6NKAG0&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>Heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07149642558736378260noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9272098.post-59022006229001236142008-11-02T14:22:00.003-05:002008-11-02T14:30:24.972-05:00Ah, InternetsHere is what has been distracting me today:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://daikon.fluff-friends.com/"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 396px; height: 220px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJ5Bf5Ji7ZxxwCc-Ok386IaGY2NzDULy9F51hdGTrFI_FphWwj4Pq-JUTMiw5rTvmHw98Yf0byckLeG9a_54-8lC6HgjLw47JXYIP51MwEXqijsLN8vNhwhyphenhyphenEJkVLAHXvPyO120w/s400/fluffbook.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5264143051135281554" border="0" /></a><br />For those of you not familiar with (fluff)friends, it's like a tamagotchi for your Facebook profile. You can pet it and feed it and it can race with other people's fluffs. I'm sort of in love with my pet radish, who in turn has a pet tofu. I can almost understand the pain of the 7th grader in my gym class senior year (I was a teachers assistant in gym my senior year for reasons still not fully understood by me) who had her tamagotchi thrown over the fence by a very mean boy. The background picture and speech bubble are new as of today. Yup, I can have a politcal virtual radish if I want it.<br /><br />I need to dig myself out of the <a href="http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/12.10/tail.html">long tail</a> of the Internet and back into the stuff I have to do for tomorrow.Heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07149642558736378260noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9272098.post-57879860318886930242008-11-02T01:04:00.000-04:002008-11-02T01:05:20.831-05:00Great Obama Video<object height="344" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/TW-6DpC-mj8&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/TW-6DpC-mj8&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" height="344" width="425"></embed></object>Heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07149642558736378260noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9272098.post-78988394261800399292008-10-23T23:55:00.002-04:002008-10-23T23:56:55.963-04:00100th post!I'm going to use this opportunity to let all you googlers know that I have no idea if Zach Braff has a beard or not, but <a href="http://community.livejournal.com/ohnotheydidnt/13708268.html">this picture</a> seems to indicate he does.Heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07149642558736378260noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9272098.post-28380736300078022012008-10-22T01:33:00.003-04:002009-07-11T21:48:22.389-04:00A glimpse into my wikibrainThe last seven wikipedia pages I have visited:<br /><ol><li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juan_Soler">Juan Soler</a></li><li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cataplexy">Cataplexy</a></li><li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burma-Shave">Burma-Shave</a></li><li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Drake">Frank Drake</a></li><li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Savasana">Savasana</a></li><li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abaya">Abaya</a></li><li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benazir_Bhutto">Benazir Bhutto</a></li></ol>Why 7? Because it's the most illustratively biased sample!Heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07149642558736378260noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9272098.post-45062809569471143492008-10-07T08:45:00.003-04:002009-07-11T22:21:00.543-04:00blogging from my iPodis less than ideal. Does anyone know how to copy/paste on the iPod touch or iPhone? Is it possible to save images off the web? At least I'm getting better at the keyboard.Heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07149642558736378260noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9272098.post-87352757920394027092008-10-06T01:02:00.001-04:002008-10-06T01:03:27.781-04:00Yes we can!I love the song in this video, "Fake Empire" by The National, but the video's pretty sweet too.<br /><br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/EcRA2AZsR2Q&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/EcRA2AZsR2Q&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>Heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07149642558736378260noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9272098.post-7585104238402641192008-10-04T03:20:00.002-04:002008-10-04T03:32:37.935-04:00Wikipalin<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk:Sarah_Palin#Binocular_vision_disorder">This entry</a> from Sarah Palin's Wikipedia talk page is just too funny not to share. Some dude watches a YouTube video where he decides Sarah Palin looks cross-eyed. He then creates an account on Wikipedia called "Esotropic Flautist" (she's playing the flute in the video) to discuss why her vision issues haven't been discussed in the mainstream media. The internet sure is changing the discourse...by making it stupid!Heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07149642558736378260noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9272098.post-42893959604504660542008-10-01T01:14:00.003-04:002008-10-01T01:22:34.914-04:00Oh no they didn't!Oh, yes they did. The New York Times has an article posted <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/01/business/economy/01leonhardt.html">comparing the mechanics of the current financial crisis to those that caused the Great Depression.</a><br /><br />Just in case this post doesn't clarify what I've been doing lately, I've been reading a lot of the New York Times in between studying and watching episodes of Scrubs. I'm studying econ for a midterm on Thursday. Drawing pictures of demand curves seems especially quaint in the midst of what apparently may be the dawn of the new depression, but I suppose an understanding of microecon will help me with my macroecon?<br /><br />As a side note, when I was home this summer, my mom kept telling me that I was "really intense." I never quite figured out what that meant, but it had something to do with always discussing really serious topics. Today as I rambled on the phone about the likely voter models used in polling, I couldn't help but giggle at the fact that I'm also the person she comes to when she has a serious question.<br /><br />This election has me on the edge of my seat. Watching what the polls do in the next week and a half...it really could go either way! (Although I think Obama will outperform the polls due to on the ground organizing. It's an official prediction!)Heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07149642558736378260noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9272098.post-75761081904626535282008-09-28T13:38:00.003-04:002008-09-28T13:45:03.310-04:00Rich people discover busesApparently <a href="http://travel.nytimes.com/2008/09/26/travel/escapes/26bus.html">rich people have discovered buses</a>, reports the New York Times in their hard hitting look at what happens when rich people stop taking planes and start taking buses. Did you know that sometimes buses don't run on time? But that while you are on them you can do other things? Also, they cost less than airplanes! And you can use your laptop THE WHOLE TIME!!!<br /><br />Hi rich people, glad you've discovered something normal people have known forever. My name is Heather, and I took the bus before it was cool.Heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07149642558736378260noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9272098.post-4337054436253283092008-09-23T17:52:00.002-04:002008-09-23T17:58:30.393-04:00Haircut, and a comment on the lighting in cuban restaurantsThe combination of lighting in a restaurant and using your computer's LCD as a flash leads to not a great picture, but here it is nonetheless:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPjkkooiOT1qyoaI9yGskrae-wiaYZGdVvA7pO13CPBM1BmYXBywfEHcM62rlEbTDnRAGZkux4J1d2HqJq5_t-cruqRxOSCgtCQZBex8ZWKXjKgQzsyelRkaD81-_NqA0rKt2fxA/s1600-h/Photo+24.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPjkkooiOT1qyoaI9yGskrae-wiaYZGdVvA7pO13CPBM1BmYXBywfEHcM62rlEbTDnRAGZkux4J1d2HqJq5_t-cruqRxOSCgtCQZBex8ZWKXjKgQzsyelRkaD81-_NqA0rKt2fxA/s400/Photo+24.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5249339382411618994" border="0" /></a>Heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07149642558736378260noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9272098.post-21019833536414442002008-09-21T02:09:00.002-04:002008-09-21T02:17:09.357-04:00Abbreviated blogging:So here's what's going on, in digest format:<br /><ul><li>this was a tough week. the newness of grad school gave way to the realization that this crap is hard, and there's a lot of it. my study buddies are a great help.</li><li>i need to focus on sleep. when i get anxious, i sleep less, and when i haven't slept enough, it makes me get more anxious.</li><li>i ran this week! god, it feels so so good while i'm doing it, and so achey afterwards.</li><li>i've committed to working for the obama campaign until election day in any way i can, and am working on a cogent statement of why i want him to be our president.</li><li>more than obama winning, i just want there to be an HONEST political discourse. so keep talking to each other, or start the conversation if you haven't yet.</li><li>tomorrow i have a picnic and econ study group!</li><li>i REALLY need to find the good bike light.</li></ul>That's all for now, I really need to sleep. On the agenda for this week: research calls, Obama campaigning, plenty of studying, and even a first time RL meeting with a WoW friend!Heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07149642558736378260noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9272098.post-22269312554961269832008-09-08T01:08:00.002-04:002008-09-08T01:33:27.083-04:00grad school and icalMy first week (really, more like three and a half days) of grad school was crazy amazing and overwhelming at the same time. Today I actually sat down and made a chart of deadlines in iCal. The good news: I know when everything is due. The bad news: I have a TON of work to get done.<br /><br />Coming back to school was a difficult decision for me. In all honesty, I wasn't the world's best student as an undergrad. I pulled off decent grades, but it always involved a lot of gnashing of teeth, a few all nighters, and occasionally getting trapped in a construction site and wiggling through an 8 inch gap in a fence. This time around, I am a lot more focused, but there's still a certain amount of self-doubt lingering about my ability to really hunker down and get work done. Never mind the self-doubt about my ability to consistently show up for an 8 am class two days a week. (Biostats, no less!)<br /><br />All that said, I'm pretty excited about my classes. And the most reading intense classes are also the two areas I'm most interested in - policy and program evaluation. My research also looks like it's going to be challenging and fun. I'm still waiting to find out if I get an office or not, but in the meantime, the HMP student lounge appears to be sorely under-utilized, possibly because it doesn't have a coffee maker.<br /><br />Anyway, I'm headed to bed now, although staying on a reasonable sleep schedule is already a challenging area. *sigh*Heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07149642558736378260noreply@blogger.com0