aeryn

squeekiemouse, fiddle_witch, and I got back to the house tonight, and left immediately to get groceries. We noticed that our whiteboard had been erased - which pissed us off and confused us, because that's where we keep our shopping list. None of us had done it, and our other two housemates, alexq and creeping_dark, weren't likely to've, either.

So we compiled our list, got groceries, and came back. As we started to unpack, we got more and more creeped out. Stuff had been moved - things we weren't likely to have done, but things that could be explained away as carelessness, forgetfulness. Maybe even an earthquake. But there were so many strangenesses, it was hard to explain away them all. We had almost convinced ourselves we were all collectively going insane when, looking at my desk, I realized that my lamp had moved somewhere I would never have put it. And the white bowl my little brother had decorated for me, in which I keep all my change, was missing. It was not on, under, or around my desk.

Then squeekiemouse ran upstairs to her room to find that yes, her new iPod touch, which had been on her desk when she left, was missing, too. As well as all of her change, change containers, art markers, tools, and a small sculpture from her little brother.

fiddle_witch's digital camera and memory vault were gone. And I noticed that creeping_dark's change was gone, too. When he arrived, he realized his iPod, alarm clock, razor, tools, electric guitar case (but not guitar), and swords were gone.

We had been burgled over break.

Thankfully, nothing was taken that isn't mostly replaceable. We still have our jewelry, musical instruments, and computers (the latter because we took them with us). But we've lost our naivete, our sense of security in our house.

Because both the back and front doors were locked when we got back, it's likely that whoever stole from us used the ground-floor window above my desk to get in. We've since shimmed it closed, but I don't know how I'm going to be able to study there now.

Flist - send good wishes our way for stuff recovery. We could really use them.

And remember to lock your doors and your windows.

Blatantly stolen from Boing Boing.
Why does failure inspire some and demoralize others?
Posted by Cory Doctorow, November 25, 2008 4:38 AM
Stanford Magazine reports on the applications from psychological research Carol Dweck's work, which uses careful experiments to determine why some people give up when confronted with failure, while others roll up their sleeves and dive in.

...[S]ome of the children who put forth lots of effort didn’t make attributions at all. These children didn’t think they were failing. Diener puts it this way: “Failure is information—we label it failure, but it’s more like, ‘This didn’t work, I’m a problem solver, and I’ll try something else.’” During one unforgettable moment, one boy—something of a poster child for the mastery-oriented type—faced his first stumper by pulling up his chair, rubbing his hands together, smacking his lips and announcing, “I love a challenge.”

- From The Effort Effect

"We must accept finite disappointment, but we must never lose infinite hope."

~Martin Luther King, Jr.

wtf, YouTube? Why the videos of law students rapping about the federal rules of civil procedure and the model penal code?

In case you need more, here's a musical about law school life with a cameo of fiddle_witch's computer.

If any of you have an iPhone, you basically need to get this application. I've decided.

(I know my journal is basically just a bunch of links. I'll talk about law school at some point, but... it's Friday.)

I knew there was a reason I bought their stuff.

No on Prop 8

October 24, 2008

Apple is publicly opposing Proposition 8 and making a donation of $100,000 to the No on 8 campaign. Apple was among the first California companies to offer equal rights and benefits to our employees’ same-sex partners, and we strongly believe that a person’s fundamental rights — including the right to marry — should not be affected by their sexual orientation. Apple views this as a civil rights issue, rather than just a political issue, and is therefore speaking out publicly against Proposition 8.

This is especially awesome in light of the recent blackmailing by the "Yes on 8" campaign of companies that donated to "No on 8".

Hell yes.

So I finally ended it with my iBook G4. Or, well, it ended it.

It's been a week and a day since the new Macbooks came out, and now I have one.

I'm still trying to get used to the mouse, and I have lots of configuring left to do, but it looks like I made a successful backup and have the info I need. (And I really, really like how ridiculously shiny this laptop is.)

Now I no longer have an excuse for not outlining.

How do you say,

"I don't mind if you friend me to read my journal, but if you're friending me just to pad your userinfo flist without actually caring what I post... DON'T!"

in Russian?

I've seriously had 6 people with wholly-Cyrillic journals add me in the past week.

A note to foreign readers: THERE IS NOTHING OF INTEREST TO YOU HERE.

For that matter, there's nothing really of interest to non-foreign readers, either, but at least you might understand some of it.

Anyways, KNOCK IT OFF, RUSSIAN USERS OF LJ! Or at least have the courtesy to introduce yourselves first.

Me: I can't believe it's Monday.
Friend: ...It's Tuesday.
Me: That would explain it, then.

Also this week, I (very carefully) removed a black widow from my room.

Today I managed to lose $6. I think.

And the power just went out for like 30 seconds.

I have no idea what's going on, and am a little worried about what the next few days will bring.

( Fall Schedule )

It's kind of rough, because I am so used to planning my own schedule to take the classes I want when I want them. Because of that, and because I'm using a locker again, and because we're all so ridiculously into clubs, it's really strangely reminiscent of high school - like an alternate universe version I never actually attended.

Basically, it's a friendlier, more difficult high school. With no math. :D

The first week of law school at King Hall has been a mix of orientation and introduction to the American legal system. So far, I've sat through a multitude of presentations on what law school is, what law school isn't, and have basically learned that I should balance my work time with my play time or else I'll asplode. Oh, and to spend as little of my "future earnings" (i.e. loan money) as possible. Despite having failed to attend a plethora of student social activities, I did manage to meet some people who are pretty cool, too. Mostly, though, what I've learned this week boils down to the fact that I totally didn't know what I was getting myself into. Now that I know (or at least have a better idea), I don't want to run away screaming. But if I understand this correctly, you probably won't see much of me for the next three years.

I still heart you guys - and I'll sneak away as much as I can. But they let you eat in the library here, and give students keys to the building, even, so you might have to periodically remind me where I live.

ETA: I have 9 am Contracts. So you might have to remind me of other things, too, like what sleep is like and where I can get some.