Our band uniforms from HS are available for purchase at a surplus store for $20 each (search for "Spring Woods" on that page). I'm strangely tempted, but I doubt the one made to my measurements when I was 15 would fit anymore...

Have gotten a call from my parents -- they and kommie are fine and apparently have phone service. They don't have power, though, and only kommie has running water.

They're not going anywhere anytime soon though; most of the freeways are flooded. A lot of the same places are flooding that flooded in 2001, but presumably the 18-wheelers full of beer had enough warning to get off the streets this time.

Just got a text from jbarr76 -- his power is out (and apparently his land line, since I can't call him on it), but he's okay otherwise.

I assume I'll hear all the gory storm details when power is restored and he can count on being able to charge his cell if it runs down.

Happy birthday, kommie :)

Just think: this time next year, somebody else will be getting inaugurated. That should be a better birthday present than the one I haven't gotten you yet...

Vienna Teng is playing the Barns at Wolf Trap next Tuesday and Wednesday.

I'd like to go one day or the other, even though the tickets are a little steep. Is anyone else interested?

My presentation proposal (with my advisor) got accepted for HFES!

Well, we're now a week into the semester. I think I'm already behind, which is traditional, though I have made some progress on the thesis front. Unless anything blows up or I've grossly misunderstood the requirements, I should be getting my Masters in May. Now there's just that pesky PhD to finish.

Oh, if you're in DC and are interested in listening to church choirs, you should come to our joint choir concert Sunday afternoon (4PM). I think we may be counter-programmed against several Superbowl parties, though. On the flip side, I have no idea how many people the Meeting House will hold once we've crammed in three choirs, so too much turnout might be problematic. Let me know if you'd like details...

I know this isn't really worthy of "first post in 2 months," but Veronica Mars Season 3 is up on iTunes.

Just sayin'.

Happy birthday infowidget :)

The former head of the HCIL has a new blog, in which he documents his experience switching from Windows to Mac. Note that he describes himself as a power user, but he's also a Windows developer who has in the past been funded by Microsoft Research and has a picture of himself with Bill Gates up on his wall (not that this point negates his experience -- I honestly don't think he spent $5500 just to have an excuse to bash Apple).

He sent this as an email to the HCIL list last week, and several people responded. I'm thinking about commenting. I'm just not sure where to start, though I do so enjoy being characterized as a "novice home user" who isn't concerned about compatibility or efficiency. I'm also not sure he's not implying with the postscript that Macs are more suited to children than real computer professionals. And I know some of y'all probably share his opinion of Apple -- I'm not trying to preach to the choir here.

I also need to look up more recent stats on how long it takes to switch between the mouse and the keyboard, because 2s seems like a long time for someone who's used to both and touch-types. We have all these statistics about average times and such, but I think that it may be instructive to see if they change as more people use computers more often.

From Slate: "The crucial health stat you've never heard of"

Capsule Summary: If you give people different statistics about an intervention's effectiveness, they perceive the risk differently. Presumably, they also behave differently, but that's not addressed in this article.

I don't know how to read the baffling array of ways of expressing uncertainty out there. And I work in a department with a specialization in expressing and evaluating uncertainties. And it's pretty clear that most people aren't great at evaluating uncertainty, or at least that the judgments they make do not correspond to the probabilities that have been expressed to them. How can physicians or scientists express uncertainty and cost/benefit analyses such that they make sense to people? Do we change the statistics, or teach the people? And are the people giving out these statistics deliberately misleading people?

I give up on figuring out how to embed video into a post. Or, really, I don't feel like getting a YouTube account, and that's what it appears to take.

Ann Richards in an Alamo Drafthouse PSA. A little NSFW for language.

Still alive.

Have nothing not banal to say. I'm motoring through my to-do list, trying not to drop any eggs.

Which reminds me that I need to go buy eggs...

Well, I'm not a master of Psychology yet, but I don't need to defend again. I need to rerun one of my experiments and turn the new draft in next fall (because I can't get participants until next fall, not because I couldn't do it sooner otherwise). I also need to rewrite my intro to include "more Psychology."

Status: not dead yet, condition improving.

Would anyone like to go to Maryland Day with me this Saturday? I haven't been yet; I have no idea if it's any fun, but I'm kind of curious.

...and I now feel like such a spammer.

(If you're confused, this and this should clear it up -- they show up in immediate succession on my friends page.)

Happy birthday, alazrael!

Guess you got the Friday this year :)

Happy birthday donutjay!

2006 just keeps getting better and better. I took my new PowerBook in to the Apple Store yesterday to be shipped out for either a seriously dead harddrive or a dead ATA chain -- not only would it not boot from the hd, but it also hung TechTool and the Genius's DriveDiagnostic software.

Unfortunately, I also shipped out my old computer on Friday, so I have no computer and all of my old data (besides my papers and such, which I just backed up Friday) is on its way to Texas.

Actually, according to Apple, both of my computers may be on their way to Houston, since one of the Apple Mobile repair places is in kommie's zip code.

I'm totally getting my thesis done at this rate, let me tell you. Though on the good side, I figured out that I can drive to campus and park just about anywhere, since it's Winter Break, so I can go work on stuff in the office and quit monopolizing jbarr76's computer. I think I may mope on the couch with a (paper) notebook today, though.

The Maryland Human-Computer Interaction Lab is looking for small, usability or interface-related service projects to take on for external organizations. The Request for Proposals provides more information, and the due date for proposals is February 16.

They're especially looking for schools, libraries, or community-service organizations to do work for.