NaNo Update

Barring some sort of divine intervention (unlikely), I'm not going to come anywhere close to winning NaNo this year. On the upside, I have at least made an attempt at writing every day this month, and it'll have gotten me about halfway there. I think that in some way my heart wasn't really in it this year: I've been all to aware that my time in London is coming to an end, and couldn't bring myself to spend that much time inside writing.

In other news: this morning was nice. Something woke me up at around 8 AM, and I'm fairly certain it was thunder, as there was quite a storm outside. I spent about an hour lying there, nicely cocooned under fuzzy blankets, listening to the wind blast rain against my window and the occasional din of thunder, feeling warm and lazy and in every way content. It was just one of those nice moments when you're completely relaxed, not asleep but certainly not awake. There's a layer of warmth keeping you safe from the bad things in the world, nice and cozy and insulated. Those occasional moments make crap weather worth it; if you live someplace that never has storms or cold or rain, you wouldn't get to experience that delicious moment of knowing that it's cold and blustery and wet out there, but everything's different in here where you are.

Music stuff

Via BoingBoing, here's an interesting review of Microsoft's Zune player from the Chicago Sun-Times.

Y es, Microsoft's new Zune digital music player is just plain dreadful. I've spent a week setting this thing up and using it, and the overall experience is about as pleasant as having an airbag deploy in your face.

Ouch.

I've heard a lot of bad things about the Zune - it'll wrap every file up in some sort of DRM, regardless of what the file is, the interface is clunky and awkward, the actual player is ugly. Sounds like that's all true, the then Zune is certainly not going to be on my wish list anytime ever. It's not compatible with Windows Media Player? That's mind-bogglingly idiotic.

Apple makes an MP3 player. While I dislike the inherent trendiness of the iPod, even I admit it's ingenious. It's visually appealing, the controls are completely intuitive and simple to use, and it manages to, for the most part, keep both the music industry and the consumers happy in terms of DRM. It works nicely with the desktop software, which also has an appealing interface. It does what you want it to do and nothing more.

Microsoft finally decides to hop on the bandwagon. They, apparently, create something that comes bundled with bloated software, terrible controls, numerous technical problems, horrible licensing agreements, and just barely attempts to do what people want it to (take music from your computer, play music). It also does some stuff you explicitly don't want it to (smother the life out of your Creative Commons-licensed data).

Is anyone surprised?

Rain rain, go away...

I was just going to go for a jog, something I have not been doing anywhere near enough (read: at all) for the past few months.

Then there was a bright flash of light. And thunder. And copious quantities of rain.

*sigh*

Soon enough I will be in the sunny sunny desert again...

Gobble Gobble!

Today's addition to "The list of things I have done here that I could not do at home in the states": Bought a bottle of (cheap) wine at a grocery store. I'm sure that it would send anyone who actually knows....anything, at all about wine into spasms, but hey, I can do it now so I did.

Also, the British Pound is now worth $1.896 US. This makes me feel less impoverished for once - I'll be reentering the states with over £300 in hand (from my deposit on my room). That will magically double in value when I get home. Neato.

Neato!

A blog I've fairly recently discovered and have been loving is Neatorama. It's a like a less-techie BoingBoing: neat sculptures, quirky news, and so forth.

Two entries on the front page have tickled my fancy* today: Presidential oddities, and right beneath that, an explanation of what Prince Charles' medals are for. Apparently, one of them indicates that he is a "Knight of Most Noble Order of the Garter". Which sounds horridly Monty Python-esque, doesn't it? And makes me giggle.

*I'm not certain that my fancy was in fact tickled, as I'm unaware as to whether or not I truly have a fancy. But assuming I do, and it's ticklish, these two blog entries have certainly done the trick.

Why we need an international standard of writing dates

Seeing how my credit card company is American, a payment being due on 12/11 is not a reason to panic. That means that the payment is due on the 11th of December, a date that has not yet occurred.

It does not mean that the payment was due seven days ago on the 12th of November. I do not need to worry about being hit by various late fees and whatnot.

Also, credit card companies are such vultures, especially when it comes to students like myself. Last month I didn't pay my bill in full. I paid about 90%. That day, they increased my credit limit by 30%.

Disclosure: This blog does not contain spinning things

A Welsh sausage-maker has been told he has to rename one of his products. Why?

Apparently, it's possible that someone may buy some "Dragon Sausages" and expect that they are, in fact, made from dragon meat.

Because...you see, dragons aren't real, but...

Nah. Not worth the energy of trying to make this seem less idiotic.

Note to self:

The words "I don't need an umbrella" are hereby suspended from my brain. They will be re-introduced to my vocabulary when I return to New Mexico, where the chances of me getting stuck in a downpour are far, far less than they are in London.

Just saw Casino Royale. Some mixed feelings, which I will write up when, say, my hair stops dripping.

Cardiff, as promised

On Monday I was going to go to Cardiff.  Then I hit snooze one too many times and showed up at the coach station just in time to be told that the Cardiff bus had just left.  Whoops. 

So yesterday, I got up when my alarm went off for the first time, and, feeling quite pleased that I should have an easy journey, meandered to the local tube station.  I live about a ten-minute walk from a station on the Victoria line, the bus to Cardiff left from Victoria station, so all I really had to do was get on the tube, sit there, get on a bus, and sit there.  Travel at it's best, and it worked great.

Until I got there and discovered that, hey, no Victoria line service today.  Why?  Because the tube always fails when you need it most, of course!  It's a law of nature.  There was, however, at that moment a National Rail service to Liverpool Street (within Central London) pulling in, so at the station attendant's urging, I and several others dashed over the bridge crossing the National Rail platforms, and wedged our way onto an overcrowded early-morning train.  It's a faster service than the tube, because it doesn't stop anywhere else along the way, but it's a little more expensive and then I had to wait for ten minutes once I got off that train to pay for the journey I just took.  Alas.

In the end, I made it to the coach station with plenty of time, and it was a more-or-less scenic drive.  The bit of water that you drive over going to Cardiff (I guess it's just the Atlantic; who knows?) is very muddy and not at all appealing.  Lots of sheep along the way. 

We arrived at the central station in Cardiff, and it began to rain.  Of course it was not raining at all for the entire three-hour journey there; only once I stepped off the bus.

I got a cup of coffee and hoped the rain would stop.  It did not.  So I braved it, and went to check out Cardiff Castle, which is smack in the center of Cardiff, very large, and very impressive.  They've preserved some of the actual rooms and have guided tours, but I passed on that because A) it was ten pounds and B) I didn't want to wait an hour for the next tour.  But I walked around the grounds, took some pictures, and once again realized that my life will only be complete when I have a moat around my place of residence.  With crocodiles.  (Not that there were crocodiles in Cardiff, I think it's a bit cold for them there, but it would be neat.)

It was still raining and I was getting a bit chilly, so I headed over to the National Museum, which is also the National Gallery.  They're sort of one and the same, the two entities galleries' leading into the other.  The museum had some dry but informative panels about the various critters and flora that call Wales home, such as "Big giant fish that will steal your soul if you're not careful" and "ducks" and "I'm not actually that interested in the seventy-three different species of ferns that grow in Wales".  But there was also some (more kid- and short-attention-span-friendly) neat stuff on basic geology and the development of the land that is now Wales, and medieval history and whatnot. 

Wales is officially bilingual and about a quarter of their population can/do speak Welsh to some degree.  It's similar to the situation in Ireland in that all the signs are bilingual, but I think far more people actually speak Welsh than Irish.  What makes me think this is that every single video display in the museum - and there were a good number of them - played twice in a given loop: first in English, then again dubbed in Welsh.  Which caught me rather off-guard: "Oh, good, this nifty video presentation about dinosaurs in ancient Wales is just ending, so I can watch it from the beginning."  <Video starts, with absolutely incomprehensible noises>  "Oh.  Or perhaps not."  Also, I stopped in a drug store to pick up some batteries (stupid camera eats them like I eat chocolate), and the "Till x, please" announcements (to tell you which register is now available) was also in Welsh.  Apparently, "Till one, please" takes about twenty-seven syllables in Welsh, and I'm betting you also have to cough up your larynx to get the pronunciation perfect.

Additionally some of the art in the Gallery was pretty nice, though too many Impressionist paintings for my taste.  But I'm not much of an art geek, so I'll spare any psuedo-intellectual commentary on that.

I also spent some time just walking around.  Here's something odd about Cardiff: a few years ago they built a new stadium (the aptly named Millennium Stadium, built in 1999), and they decided to build it in the city.  In the middle of the city.  Pretty much across the street from the also aptly-named Central bus station.  I can't imagine what traffic must be like in the city when there's a big match there.  Granted, they're less dependent on cars here than us dirty, dirty Americans are, but still: It's a huge stadium in the center of their city.  Odd.

I really didn't have that much time in Cardiff - it's three hours away from London which is really at the very upper limit of a feasible day trip, and the last coach back was at 6.  So, having suitably frozen myself walking the unforgiving Welsh streets, I made my way to the bus station, waited for what should have been ten minutes but turned out to be 25, and then the journey home took an extra half-hour because of traffic.  My own transport woes aside, I must give Cardiff my official stamp of approval: Ka- chunk.

Tired...

Finally got to Cardiff. Had a pleasant, if not amusingly-not-as-planned, time with the getting there and the being there. Tomorrow I shall type that all up for the masses (all...three of you), but for now? I was out of bed at about 6 AM, on my feet from 11:00 - 5:30, and finally got home at 10:30. So: good night.

I will say that I'm immensely pleased with the Guardian today. Why? Not their pleasantly liberal bias, but I actually picked up a paper copy today for some bus reading, and not only did I get a quality paper, but I also got a large wall-chart (not a poster, apparently, though there's not much...charty about it) of...wait for it...cows.

Had I bought the paper yesterday I apparently could have gotten Sheep, and I think tomorrow is Poultry. Huh.

My, what a tasty court case!

Two of my favorite foods, head-to-head in an epic battle for justice and legal recognition! In one corner: hailing from Latin America, often spicy, often copied, never dull, the one and only BURRITO! In the facing corner: A classic American staple, friend to busy office workers and schoolkids alike, comfort food to billions, the mighty SANDWICH! Let's get ready to rumble!

Read all about the shocking conclusion to this clash of titans here.

Frustrations

1. Missed the bus this morning, which means I walked to the tube station at 6:45 AM for no reason. Grumpy? Me? Nah.

2. Sorting out all the financial/housing/etc crap about returning to St. Johns would be a lot easier if I weren't seven bloody time zones away. Normally if I have to make an important phone call or something, I say, "Okay, I will do that first thing in the morning." Regrettably, "first thing in the morning" here is somewhere around 2:00 in the morning there. So, e-mail it is. Not as fast, but it saves me from sitting there listening to the phone ringing three dozen times, wondering why no one's in the office on a Monday morning.

3. Does anyone actually doubt that McCain will get the Republican nod for 08? The slamming they just took pretty much cements that they'll go with someone a bit more moderate (eg, not a psychopath). And I have no doubt that John McCain will beat anyone who the Democrats put up. So far, the only remotely impressive Democrat who looks hopeful is Obama. While I really like him and he seems refreshingly honest, he's inexperienced, and putting him across from McCain will only magnify that.

Don't get me wrong: Probably of all senators, if not all politicians in general, I respect McCain the most. I respected him a lot more before he backed down on the torture issue, but he's still one of those rarities that cares about the issues, not the party. I don't agree with him on a lot of those issues, but I certainly respect that he knows what he's doing and does what he feels is right.

Still, though. I can't shake the terrible feeling that the 08 race is going to end up being between a McCain/whoever ticket and a Clinton/whoever ticket, in which case, why bother campaigning? The republicans can just send Hillary a "thanks for handing us the presidency" card and walk in.


Not an annoyance: using the new beta version of Blogger, the comment notification email not only tells you what post is being commented on, but gives you both a direct link to the commenter's Blogger profile, but also a direct link to the commented post. Nice.

One less religion in the Middle East

Well then.

For one, I somehow doubt that the 32.9% percent of the world that's Christian is going to be getting a whole lot of sympathy.

As they get driven out of the Middle East.

Where two different minorities have been duking it out for eons.

And it may seem crude, but I can't help but think that the fewer groups in the region, the fewer people there are to fling rocks and bullets and explosive devices at each other, and that's a good thing.

Resolved

Tomorrow I shall spend too much time on a bus, taking advantage of the fact that a one-day return ticket from London to Cardiff is only twenty quid.

Regrettably, I shall not be able to go throw eggs or other such nonsense at the IBO office there, as it is not located within Cardiff proper.

It's three hours either way; I did that once or twice in Ireland and while it's tiring, it's doable. Wales ahoy!

Also, the new version of Blogger is cool. I'm digging the labelling capabilities, and am playing around with the Google/Picasa/Blogger conglomerate that either A) rocks or B) is a horrifying monster set to consume the world.

People who you probably don't want to mug, Part I

1. World renowned magicians, because chances are they'll just be hiding something up their sleeve.

2. A former boxing champion. No link for this one but there was a blurb in today's Metro that a sixty-something former boxing champion made some short work of some teens who tried to rid him of his wallet.

This just in: Google helps you find information!

I'm not quite sure what I'm missing about this BBC story, which contains gems such as this:

A team of Australian doctors Googled the symptoms of 26 cases for a study in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Well, uh, I'm fairly certain that's not particularly unique or groundbreaking. Most everyone who has a job that allows it (eg, excluding manual laborers) has at some point Googled something work-related.

The authors say Google can be a "useful aid", but UK experts said the internet was "no replacement" for doctors.

...Yes, a fast, accurate way to find specific information in the over-ninety-some thousand terabytes of information out there can be very useful for all people, including doctors. I don't believe anyone is proposing cancelling all med school programs and replacing doctors offices with webcafes, though.

"Also, a lot of sites are not credible. There are lots of good sites out there, but we also know that there are many that are not credible."

Again: this isn't breaking news, nor anything particular to looking up medical information. The greatest thing about the internet is also the worst thing: absolutely anyone can put absolutely anything out there, and it's damn hard to police. I'm okay with that; I don't think we should start tightening restrictions on who can put up a website or anything like that. But yes, this means you can easily come across false information. It's not hard to figure out what's a reputable source and what's not, though.

I sometimes feel that there's some bizarre, only vaguely-tangible generation gap at play here. To me and most of my age group, this article is a sort of "well...yes...what's your point?" type thing. Of course people use Google to find information and of course sometimes they find bad info using it. What the hell else do you use for extra research, if not Google?

But I was only 10 when Google was first being developed; it became available to the public in '98. While the particular search algorithms Google use were new at the time, the concept of searching the internet wasn't, and both the internet and computers in general were technology I very literally grew up on (I think I was maybe five when we got our first PC; it was a Gateway 386 [I believe]. We got an external modem [maybe a 28.8?] as soon as there was use for it, and I'm fairly certain my father installed a CD drive when they became available, too - it wasn't built in. Thanks for all that, by the way, dad - seriously.) So the conceptual chain of need information => search Google => enjoy is second nature to me.

As an example (and not to pick on my parents; it's just something fresh in my mind) my parents were here in London visiting me last week. I had an old mobile phone that I wasn't using, so I put off selling it on eBay and lent it to them, so we could get in touch if need be. And while they certainly understood how to use a mobile phone, they requested me to show them how to lock/unlock the keypad, how to turn it on and off, and so forth. Compare that to when I got my new phone: a friend handed it off to me, I spent maybe ten minutes playing with it, and...boom, I got it. I think that I, having grown up with them, have a more innate understanding for GUIs and key combinations doing different things and whatnot.

And I've rambled enough now; off for me to do something productive.

A cool thing I found! On the Interwebs!

This is an amblypygid:

It's not a spider, but it's related. According to Wikipedia, it can be up to 4cm long and tends to live under stones and stuff. While I think it's extremely neat looking, I'm not certain I'd like to see one scamper across my hand as I moved a rock while camping.

Taking a break from CNN

On complete, immature impulse I bought a copy of Ong-Bak yesterday. Watching it, I sort of wonder if I could somehow convince Tony Jaa to marry me.

Or teach me muay thai.

Or both, actually. Because...if you have the slightest interest in martial arts movies, go out and watch it, and you will understand. The plot is...okay. The acting is in Thai with subtitles, so even if it's pretty bad I can blame it on that. Tony Jaa, however, is pure martial beauty. Early on there's a scene where he's just working out on his own and not introducing other people's faces to his knee, and I just watch it all day.

Christmas, a bit early.

Not only is there now a Democratic House: I'd have been satisfied with that.

Senate will either have a Democratic majority or be evenly split. That's icing on the cake.

The Speaker of the House is a woman who, politically-speaking, I respect very much: she's also the first woman to hold such post. I feel as if I've got my cake and am eating it as well.

And now, this. Rumsfeld is resigning. More or less in disgrace.

We may still be a nation of bigots who don't believe two consenting adults should be allowed to get married if they want, but you know what? I believe I may feel a bit of hope for America stirring deep in my heart.

In celebration of common sense

Today I'm wearing my glasses instead of my contacts. I don't think I've gone a normal day (ie, not a day when I'm deathly ill) wearing glasses since the first day I got contacts, about three and a half years ago.

Why? Because my eyes have decided to celebrate Halloween a bit late and, for the past few days on and off, be all ghoulish and bloodshot and gross. No irritation or pain, so I'm not overly worried about it, but it's quite annoying. As much as I like looking like I got punched in the eye, I don't.

So, off I go feeling immensely self-conscious, because A) I haven't worn glasses in nearly four years and B) I hate how I look in them and C) I don't, in fact, see particularly well with them.

Alas.

I'm extremely happy right now.

Granted, Senate is still up in the air.

But Democrats took the House! I cannot begin to describe my relief and jubilation. Rick Santorum was defeated 59-41 in PA, Menendez over Kean 53-45 in NJ. I'm particularly gleeful to see how the NM races turned out: Richardson won with 68%, Bingamen kept his seat with 70%. Hot damn, that's an election!

I must admit I was torn about how I wanted New York to go. Clinton won, which is good because, if you hadn't noticed, I was sort of hoping for a Democratic takeover of Congress. On the downside? Clinton won, which means a much greater chance of the DNC eying her for 08, despite the fact that dear god NO.

Colorado, rather predictably, voted not to legalize marijuana. Colorado, Idaho, South Dakota, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and Wisconsin voted to ban same-sex marriage, and I voted to beat them over the head with a large stick. South Dakota voted against banning abortion, which means hello, Supreme Court case about abortion.

Arizona did vote for English as an official language (*sigh*), but according to CNN is still counting votes on the same-sex marriage issue. I'll keep my fingers crossed. A number of places raised minimum wage, it looks like, which is pretty good.

And how the hell did Leiberman win?! Connecticut, I take back everything nice I ever said about you, you idiotic coconut-brained dweebs! He's not human, let alone a Democrat! He's practically Cheney II and he used his concession speech to announce, basically that he wasn't conceding! Why would you vote for him?

I'm also interested that the Allen/Webb race in VA hasn't been called yet. If Allen wins? I give up on humanity, I think.

Can we send Katherine Harris to Israel instead Senate? I think it would be a better match: Congressmen tend to be old and staggeringly incompetent; everyone in the middle east just seems to be completely insane. Plus, she's either a raving anti-Semite or (in her own words) a "wannabe Jew", so she'll fit in nicely regardless of how she sorts that one out.

Here is some footage of a Fox News reporter being tortured. Interesting.

My inner geek is satiated

Taking a break from election stuff: this is just immensely pleasing to the geeky part of my brain*. I'm not entirely sure what's going on, but fairly obviously there is a scientist, up in space, and he is recording some experiments he's doing with water.

There's just something unspeakably cool about science when it's about "bubbles of water in a bubble of air in a bubble of water", when the words "bubble war" are used, and science is at it's peak when it uses Alka-Seltzer.

(via BoingBoing).

Glitches reported already

Problems already reported in Florida, Indiana, Ohio. Including malfunctioning e-voting machines in Florida.

On the positive-if-not-bizarre side of things, Bush and I actually agree on something:

"We live in a free society and our government is only as good as the willingness of our people to participate," Bush said, his wife, Laura, at his side and an "I voted" sticker on the lapel of his brown suede jacket.

"Therefore, no matter what your party affiliation or if you don't have a party affiliation, do your duty, cast your ballot and let your voice be heard."

All from CNN.com. I'm such a filthy, morally-lost whore for them come election days.

Happy Election day!

*twitch**twitch*

Me? Feeling far too intense about these elections? Nah.

The part that sucks is that exit poll data isn't going to start rolling in until, what, 7PM Eastern? Which means that I'm going to be sitting here in London at midnight, compulsively refreshing CNN.com, cursing the fact that the earth is round and trembling at the idea that I may still return home to a Republican-controlled congress.

Are you American? If yes, are you eligible and registered to vote? If your first two answers are yes and your second is no, why the hell not? If your answer is yes, then go out and vote*. There is absolutely no reason not to, and maybe we can get turnouts of more than 50% for once!

*Provided, of course, you're in a district/state where there's a seat up for grabs.

Election round-up

I personally am going to be on pins and needles until Wednesday when the election results are in.

I don't have a whole lot to actually say about this NYTimes story (Bush is trumpeting Saddam's sentencing as it's a day before elections? He's hoping to help out the Republicans? I'm shocked, I tell you!), but check out that picture. I'm really digging it for a number of reason:
1. Let's play "Spot the Secret Service agent"! Need a hint? It's not the old lady with the scarf, nor the little boy. Give up? It's the big beefy dude with a buzz-cut. You see? The one centered in the frame, who's staring through the camera, reading your mind, and is going to come, bust down your door, and mow you down with some appropriately-large gun.
2. The guy standing a bit behind Bush appears to be either tripping over flat ground or doing some sort of little jig.
3. Where the hell was this taken? A steep slope? Because Bush is clearly leaning over quite a bit (about to topple onto a 10-year-old, it looks) to shake hands. So, perhaps the people are sitting down? Not likely. And look at Bush's height compared to Mr. Soul-Sucking Security Suit. Either that's a really short bodyguard, Bush is up on some sort of improbable catwalk with seats flush to it behind him, or they're in some hellish auditorium that represents MC Escher's little-lauded foray into architecture.

Saddam Hussein sentenced to death

Early today Saddam Hussein was sentenced to death for the murder of 148 Iraqis in 1982.

I think Tolkien said it best towards the beginning of The Lord of the Rings, and he's a literary genius (which I am not), so I'll just let him speak via Gandalf:

Many that live deserve death. And some die that deserve life. Can you give it to them? Then be not too eager to deal out death in the name of justice, fearing for your own safety. Even the wise cannot see all ends.

Now the government doesn't want any two consenting-but-unmarried adults to have sex, even if they aren't Evil Homos.

How's this for a theory: maybe a lot of far-right-crazies would be less crazy and less uptight if they got laid once in a while?

I am shaking my fist at John Kerry

And the Democratic party.

And the Republican party.

And the mainstream media.

In case you've been living in a cave in Siberia and therefore haven't heard (in which case, I envy you), here's the situation: John Kerry was giving a speech to a bunch of college students. John Kerry said that if you don't get a good education you "get stuck in Iraq". The Republicans immediately decided that he clearly was slandering all the servicemembers who are, in fact, stuck in Iraq. Kerry responded, no, it was meant to be a joke at Bush's expense, he just forgot a key word ("us" between "get" and "stuck"), mostly because John Kerry is not a good public speaker and even worse at making funny speeches.

Now Kerry has apologized publicly but the Bushies are still up in arms about it. Meanwhile I've yet to hear anything from any servicepeople who are, in fact, as offended as the GOP would like us to think. And predictably, Democrats are now getting all pissy because the Republicans are being stupid.

And all of this is because...a senator who is not currently up for reelection tried and failed to make a joke to some college students in California.

Everyone is to blame for this stupid situation here - the GOP for getting all worked up over a non-issue, and the Dems for rising to the bait. But seriously:

John Kerry - GO AWAY. Most democrats didn't like you when you got on the ballot in 04. It's not going to happen again in 08, and you're actively hurting the chances of someone who truly is liberal, intelligent, and a good leader. We should be focusing on important issues, not your crappy speeches.

If

If I could figure out a way to simultaneously be on two places at once on Christmas (quality time with family and in London), I would be quite happy.

Alas.

Random thoughts spinning through my head

1. 49,000 words to go. The race is on, Ouroboros.

2. I was a bit late getting on the boat, but how much does FireFox 2.0 rock? I'm loving it thus far.
2a. Speaking of not giving into the Microsoft collective, I am proud to say I'm stepping out into the woods, and not reinstalling MS Office. Eat that, Mr. Gates! I've got OpenOffice, which can do everything Office can and more. Granted, I'm still clinging to my Office install disc, but so far, I'm quite happy with my choice.

3. I'm thinking about the future. Not The Future, just mine. What I'd really like to do is go back to St. John's. Graduate. Come back to London for six months. Go to New Zealand for a year. Go to Australia for four months. Return to the US, go to law school. Graduate. Get a job working for either the UN or Amnesty International. Prosper.

What I think is more practical and not entirely unpleasant: Go back to St. John's. Graduate. Join the Peace Corps, travel for a few years while not needing to repay my loans (I'm currently ignoring the fact that I'm not actually earning money). Go to law school, get more student loans that I don't need to repay yet. Get a law-related job somewhere, hopefully somewhere with a soul. Somehow come up with enough money to repay my loans.

An open letter to Mr. Kerry

Dear Mr. Kerry,

 

It was fun while it lasted. You would never have been my first pick of candidate, but there's something to be said for moderation, I suppose.

 

That was years ago.  You are now at best irrelevant.  At worst, you're very unpopular.  This means you're hurting your own party. 

 

Go away, please.  Do it quietly, do it with dignity.  Please do vacate the premises immediately.

 

Yours,

 

A concerned voter.