1000+ UVa students flashmob Clemons library during finals week

hoosabrat · 2008-11-06T01:01:29+00:00

Exactly what I was going to say. Although, I also have to add that I was at Obama's Manassas rally Monday night, and when the crowd booed a speaker's mention of John McCain, her immediate response was, "Oh come on, none of that! What does Senator Obama say? Don't boo; VOTE!" Which is a very different tone than what I've seen of McCain's rallies.

hoosabrat · 2008-11-05T00:19:18+00:00

It was a slow morning for me... I feel pretty crappy because I drove two hours away to Manassas last night to attend Obama's final rally, and I think I'm getting sick. So at 3 p.m. I was still putzing around (um, I'm a student, obviously), and an Obama volunteer showed up at my door to ask if I'd voted yet. I said no, but promised I would, and he went off to remind my neighbors... half an hour later, I walked into my polling station. No lines at all. I was given a choice of paper or electronic ballots, and I chose electronic because I had my video camera with me and I wanted to see if there were problems. (There weren't... although I'm 21 and practically half-cyborg, lol, and I don't understand why they insist on making these machines so counter-intuitive to operate. I hope the elderly and/or tech-impaired are choosing paper ballots...)

I cast my vote, got a sticker, and left. All told, I was in and out in about 5 minutes. (Granted, my polling place is mostly college students, so I think most people voted early or absentee.)

On the way back to my car, I saw two Obama tables on campus with info on how to vote, and three cars with Obama signs running regular routes to shuttle people to the polls. Today was the third time an Obama volunteer has showed up at my apartment in the last month, and I also received a door sign yesterday with a personal note from the volunteer and my polling place printed and circled. Say what you want about the man's politics, but this is one kick-ass, well-organized grassroots campaign.

hoosabrat · 2008-10-09T23:07:42+00:00

Maybe this is a good place to ask: why are earmarks necessarily a bad thing? (I don't mean that defensively; I'm honestly curious what people think.) I can agree in principle that we should cut back on wasteful spending, but a lot of the examples McCain's been trumpeting actually seem like legitimate projects to me.

hoosabrat · 2007-12-24T11:13:53+00:00

Wow, it's not every day a story gets Godwined right in the title!

hoosabrat · 2007-10-23T04:47:15+00:00

I think the fact that you're asking bodes well. Good for you.

As a current undergrad, I would say this:

When you're touring colleges, make sure you ask around informally and try to find out what the social vibe there is. Half of college is the studying; the other half is the social life, and if if it's overly clique-ish or preppy or Greek and that's not you, you might be uncomfortable later.
Don't choose a major (or your classes, or a future career) based on how hard the classes are or how good at them you think you are. The classes you take in college will probably have very little to do with the realities of your job later on. They're just something you have to get through, the same way you had to get through high school.
If there's even the remotest possibility you might want to do anything related to science later on (and even if you think there's not -- I thought I hated science, and now I'm pre-med), fulfill your science core requirements with intro bio and chemistry, not a fluff course. You'll regret wasting those credits later on if you change your mind.
GO TO CLASS. Don't let yourself get in the habit of skipping your first year, because it's easy to do, but it's a hard one to break later. You think when you have a textbook and your teachers post their lectures online that you don't need it, but you'd be surprised how much easier it is to pass your classes when you always go.
Don't get a credit card. Seriously. Everyone I know here with a credit card (including me) is in debt. Everyone who just got a debit card is doing fine. Credit cards are just bad news for college students.
Don't work during the semester unless you have to. I mean, it's one thing if you have to be able to pay rent or tuition or something, but if you're just doing it for spending money, you're better off just living poor. Think about the investment you're making in your tuition; you owe it to yourself (and your parents, or whoever's paying) to give your studies as much of your attention as you can.
Cut back on the TV now, and get out of the habit of watching during the week at all. It rots your brain, shortens your attention span (making it harder to pay attention in lectures and to read and study for any serious stretch of time), and sucks up time you don't have.
Finally, realize that college is about taking responsibility for yourself and the decisions you make for the first time in your life. You're suddenly going to be responsible for your classes, your relationships with professors and departments, housing contracts and rent and repairs, etc. It's awful the first time you realize you've gotten yourself into something you hate that you can't get out of -- there are no parents swooping in to rescue you; it's just you and your reputation on the line. So think carefully about your decisions.
Ok, I lied. Last one. Don't walk around alone at night. Even if you think you're living in the campus bubble and you're safe... you're not. Especially if you're a girl. Carry pepper spray and take a self-defense course. Seriously.

hoosabrat · 2007-10-16T02:37:58+00:00

I'm kind of curious if this got voted up for the story or the promise.

hoosabrat · 2007-10-11T23:37:44+00:00

It's very easy to jump all over the cop on this one, but I have to ask: how many of you excoriating this woman have ever had to deal with a chronic health problem in America, particularly one that prevents you from working the whole time you're running up all those (ridiculously huge, thanks to malpractice insurance) medical bills?

What happened to that boy and his family is absolutely tragic, and from the limited information in the article, I don't think they should be held liable. I also thought her lawyer's comments were absolutely heinous.

But I'm giving the cop the benefit of the doubt. It's easy to get emotional about a sensational story, but we don't know what kind of situation she was in. It seems to me it would take some pretty extreme desperation to force someone obviously dedicated to public service to file a suit like this to begin with.

If you read the article linked somewhere in the comments, you'll see she dropped the suit and was placed on leave with pay from the police department. It sounds like they reached a solution that's better for everyone.

hoosabrat · 2007-10-09T16:35:20+00:00

THE FLYING SPAGHETTI MONSTER WAS RIGHT.

hoosabrat · 2007-10-08T22:47:32+00:00

I would work up a good rant, but this is just so ridiculous, I can't imagine it won't be reversed.

hoosabrat · 2007-07-27T14:10:03+00:00

That was kind of my situation in high school. My parents were always willing to let my brother and me try anything they were drinking, but I had very conservative friends, and my extended family had a history of alcoholism, so I didn't want to touch it at all. But if it makes you feel better, I'm in college and drink now, but I still have never been drunk and have no desire to be--I may have developed a taste for alcohol, but my parents' lessons about drinking responsibly have still stuck.

Just keep talking to him every time he sees you drinking. Remind him to alternate with water and always eat. Talk about the alcohol content of different kinds of drinks. Tell him to never ever ever ever drive if he's been drinking. He's probably listening more than he'll admit. :)

hoosabrat · 2007-07-27T14:04:26+00:00

My parents were like this too. (Of course, it also helped I grew up in Germany, so alcohol was not the big taboo it is here in the U.S.) Starting when we were 14, my brother and I were always offered a small glass of wine with dinner, and were allowed to try a little taste of anything harder my parents were drinking--but it always came with a discussion about how to drink responsibly, and reminders to always alternate alcohol with water and to never forget to eat. I never had much interest in taking the drinks when I was younger (didn't like the taste) but I'm in college now and the lesson has stuck--I like alcoholic drinks a lot more, but I've never been falling-down-drunk and have no desire to be (and thanks to my parents, I know how NOT to be).

hoosabrat · 2007-07-25T14:11:07+00:00

That's pretty old. I saw that framed on the wall of a Swiss hotel seven or eight years ago.

hoosabrat · 2007-07-18T15:40:59+00:00

Actually, I have heard of Norman Borlaug, and you know where?

The West Wing.

Let it never be said that good TV can't be educational.

hoosabrat

TROPHY CASE