Seen!

At a bookstore one Sunday. China is part of Europe? I didn't know Americans were that bad at geography!



As everyone cashes in on the sudoku craze by posting this puzzle everywhere, quality control is certainly slipping. Two fours in one row? Fail! Luckily, the puzzle-solver (not me!) noticed it before wasting too much time. Might I recommend doing a kenken instead?

Earth Hour

My parents guilted me into observing Earth Hour through their gushing e-mail telling me how they had their lights off for an entire hour.

So, here I am, at work (as usual, ugh!), with the lights turned off. It's all symbolic though; my computer is still running as I need to finish up some reports. I am half tempted to turn the lights back on as I'm trying to look at my notes and finish updating my lab notebook through this white glow from my computer screen.

This futile annual one-hour practice reminds me of an article I read a while ago. Earth-concious people were hotly debating whether one-use disposable diapers were more eco-friendly after all than cloth diapers that constantly needed to be washed and scalded in hot water and detergent. Disposable diapers consume plastics and papers whilst reusable cloth diapers go through many washing machine runs (typically, unless one is willing to boil water on a gas stove and do them by hand). The writer astutely observed, however, that either choice outweighs the much smaller carbon-footprint left by the decision of not having a baby at all in the first place.

We Can Do It!

It was almost midnight when I left work. I was heading out to the parking lot when I saw two cars facing each other, hoods open with three men boys huddled over them. I could already tell they weren't sure what they were doing when I saw all four ends of two jumper cables connected to the both battery terminals - with neither car started.

"Um, do you know how to jumpstart a car?" asked the three boys.
"Sure." said I.

1. Disconnect all cables! You do not want to discharge the good battery into the bad battery. The jumper car needs to be started to keep the battery going.

2. Connect the positive cable to the positive terminal of the jumper car battery. Then, connect the other end of the positive cable to the positive terminal of the jumpee car battery.

3. Connect the negative cable to the negative terminal of the jumper car battery. The other end of the negative cable then needs to be grounded on an unpainted metal surface of the jumpee car.

4. Let the battery charge for a little bit, and voila! The car should start and keep running (unless the battery has serious problems or the alternator is dead). If the car battery failed for no reason (lights were not left on, etc.), it should get checked out!

5. The cables should be removed in the reverse order they were put on.

I actually left once they got the jumper cables connected right, without making sure everything was all right. Based on my previous post, I freaked out thinking this could be a cunning scam to get me locked in between three men and two cars, bash me in the head, steal my things and leave me for the dead! If that wasn't their intent, I sincerely hope they are all right. Hopefully, the problem was just a dead battery due to leaving a light on and not any other car malfunctions.

This moment is made especially poignant, as I was reading Betty Friedan's The Feminine Mystique at the bookstore this weekend.

I love newspieces like this!

Here is a news piece featured today on my campus newspaper:

Strong-arm robbery reported in Governors lot

A female student was robbed in the Governors Service Parking Lot at approximately 8:20 p.m. on Friday, according to university police.

A male suspect approached the student from behind, pushed her to the ground, and attempted to run away with her purse, the news release said.

The female student was able to trip the suspect and recover her purse, Chief of University Police Gerald Schoenle stated in an e-mail. The male suspect then ran toward the Academic Spine.

The suspect is described as a white male, approximately 6-feet tall and between 165 and 185 pounds, with a muscular frame. He was described wearing a baggy black hoodie and black sweatpants.

"We of course would like to remind students that it is always best to travel with others especially after dark, use the university transportation systems and the Anti-Rape Task Force escort services whenever possible," Schoenle said.

A University Police Department lieutenant declined any further comment.

I really want to meet this girl! Or maybe, I want to be this girl! To have the strength to clobber a muscular six footer male must be amazing. The guy must be such a pussy though. He can't even follow through a robbery. Pfffft.

That said, I'm going to be more alert walking to my car now. Karate chop!

Haircut

My attempt to channel Jessica Alba's bang(s)ing hairstyle ended up with me looking like a photo that was taken during my first day of school. Or worse, like Bai Ling! (No offense?)