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A Perceptual Error
A while back the leasing office started advertising a “breakfast on the go” event for this week. It sounded great and the time included when I normally leave for work; unlike most events, I planned to avail myself of it (this was assisted by the placement of the ad above my mailbox). The night before…
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Number Sixteen
Perhaps more interesting than the construction on my road is my small mishap in one of the animal facilities the other day. Unbeknownst to me, the welding on one of the rat cage lids had partially separated, loosening the seal and enabling the cage to be opened from the inside. Inquisitive creatures that they are,…
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Miscellany
I got accepted at Penn State University! This means that I now have choices for where I begin the next phase of my education this fall. On a more trivial note, I live off of a road that desperately wants to be gravel when it grows up, and thinks that if it just accumulates enough…
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Hurry Up and Wait
I had my final med school interview this week and (independently) collected my twelfth rejection. Now it’s just a matter of waiting for the remaining three schools I interviewed at to get back to me. The uncertainty of waiting creates considerable emotional drag, not only because a rejection could arrive at any time, but also…
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I Don’t Believe in Imaginary Property
Despite the attempts to elevate it to something tantamount to actual items, so-called “intellectual property” occupies the Land of Make-Believe along with unicorns and elves. Yet the very suggestion that the monopoly privileges associated with IP are invalid raises hackles and provokes fervent responses from the faithful. Jack Valenti brilliantly set the course during his…
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Kiss Me, I’m Irish
Seriously, I am. The Italian is just in greater proportion. This morning when I got into my car to go to work, I discovered a surprise indubitably left behind by a mischievous fairy. The festive container was crammed with verdant confections that will most certainly be a source of tasty delight for days to come. Have…
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The Corporate Sense of Entitlement
IP apologists like to say that people such as myself who don’t like seeing ads, installing malware on our computers, or paying for copies of an infinite good have a “sense of entitlement” to content. As you might have guessed, I think this is hogwash. Corporations and content creators have gotten used to controlling the…
Matter, Energy, and Life of Michaela A. Castello.