Health Care

I think I would rather have no health care bill pass than have the one that is currently out pass. The Stupak-Pitt amendment is ridiculous, and the argument that people who don't support abortion shouldn't have their tax dollars pay for it is specious. There are many things I don't support, such as the dual wars this country is involved in. I still pay taxes, however. If you don't want an abortion, don't get one. It's as simple as that. Additionally, the bill doesn't require insurers to provide birth control. The best way to reduce and prevent abortions, however, is to support the use of birth control. Lastly, and not related to women's health at all, is the requirement that chain restaurants post the calorie count for their food items. This is just too much. If the government wants to reduce obesity in this country, it needs to stop subsidizing corn, which gets turned into high fructose corn syrup and is then put in almost every box of junk food, and start making healthy food more affordable. It's difficult to eat properly when you can't afford fruits and vegetables, but you can buy a hamburger for $0.99. This bill is ridiculous.

Code

One of the big problems in physics is that we all code. That's not really the problem. The problem is that we all use different languages, and we don't anticipate anyone ever looking at what we write. Because of this, when it turns out someone has to actually use your code, they're screwed. We don't comment, and we give variables names like "x" instead of something more descriptive. It leads to a lot of pain and suffering among graduate students. I can't say that I don't do this either, but I like to think that my minimally descriptive comments are better than most people's nonexistent comments. When I took CS at Pomona, they would grade us on our comments, so it became ingrained. When I stopped having to do so, I stopped doing it at much, but I think I still comment way more than anyone I know.

I'm reading Dear Prudence, which is kind of an awesome advice column on Slate. One of the letters this week is from a woman who is getting married, and is allergic to chocolate, so will be having a white cake for her wedding. Her future-MIL and SILs are throwing a hissy, because they want chocolate. They have even threatened to boycott the wedding if the cake is not chocolate. They are obviously fucktards, but that is not the point of the post. In reading the comments, some people are like "Who was a chocolate cake at a wedding?" What's wrong with these people? Are they that married to tradition? Chocolate is far superior, and barring any incidents like an allergic fiance, I will be having chocolate at my wedding. If my guests have a problem with it, they can suck it.

Politics as Usual

Ah, Barack Obama, bringer of change. Except not so much. And I am not surprised, as it has been clear from the start that he is no different from any other politician. Today he has decided to pander to the right on gay marriage by supporting the Defense of Marriage Act (Article Here). This shouldn't come as a surprise, though, since it's not like he supports gay marriage. Which he has publicly stated. Because he is Christian. Did you know he's Christian? Not Muslim, Christian. Which shouldn't matter, but apparently separation of Church and State is no longer applicable. If you're not a Christian, you don't matter in this country. Everything that politicians do is to keep Christians happy. Guess what. Not everyone is Christian. Also, going back to marriage for a second, apparently there are quite a few people who think that the point of marriage is procreation. Newsflash--women can get pregnant without being married. There is no magical force that keeps you from getting pregnant before that ring is on your finger. Also, what about couples that can't have or don't want kids? That union is still a marriage. I'm not sure how people can logically argue that one, but I also don't think they get asked about it all that much. There are also those that think homosexuality is a lifestyle choice. Yes, I'm sure people like to choose lifestyles that provokes such intense hatred. I know I love it when people spew vitriol at me and discriminate against me. Who wouldn't choose such a lifestyle? For more on Obama's exploits, see Bill Maher's rant.

Also, it really bothers me that Obama took a private jet (and maybe 3, I'm not sure on that) for his "date night" in New York. Aren't we supposed to be saving the environment? And he went to the Blue Hill Restaurant, which prides itself on local, sustainable food. They have their own farm. Don't tell me that you support cutting back on emissions and then take a private jet. Washington DC is an amazing place. It is my second favorite American city, after Los Angeles. There is so much to do there. Stay there for your date! Next time I go out with Carl, I'm going to document every second and put it up everywhere on the internet. Do you care? No. So why would I care about what Obama does on his dates. I don't. Fix the country. Then have a nice date.

Oh, and PS. Gun control is kind of important. Stop pandering and do something about it. Guns do kill people.

Crosswalk

I've been noticing lately that people always push the crosswalk button to make the light change faster (me included). I think everyone knows that it won't. I guess it makes you feel like you're doing something to move the process along.

Twitter

I do not understand twitter. Why is it so popular all of a sudden? Why do I care what you're doing every second of the day? This is kind of hypocritical, since I update my facebook status with semi-regularity.

Qualifying Exam

The results for the qualifying exam come out today. I don't want to get my hopes up, because I know that if I don't pass it will be more disappointing than last time. I feel like I should pass, and that if I don't it will be a serious mistake. I just don't know if I demonstrated that appropriately on the exams. I don't feel like E&M went well, and many of the first-years that I have talked to thought it was so easy. I just want to pass and continue doing what I've wanted to do since I was 8.

Octuplets

What is going on here? How did this happen? The mother of these octuplets has been surviving off public assistance to feed her six children. Now she has eight more, conceived through IVF, which is an expensive procedure. If she can afford that, then I do not want to support her through my taxes.

EDIT: Apparently, she spent some of her disability money from an injury on the job for her IVF.

New Year's Resolutions

1. To Eat Healthier and not eat as much meat. I will only cook fish in my condo. Things I will not be giving up--bacon, my mom's meat sauce, and eating meat at my grandparents, since they're old and I don't want to make life hard on them. But I will only cook fish in my house.

2. Exercise more. I think I will sign up for Yoga.

3. Study hard and pass the qual. Fairly self-explanatory, since if I don't pass I don't get a PhD.

I love reading the comments that people leave on blogs and such. Especially the New York Times Well Blog. Most of them are idiots.