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I have been soooo busy lately: dissertation, work, and friends. There is too much to tell from the past ten days or so (and frankly very little of it is particularly interesting), so i will just say that i spent yesterday (Spring Bank Holiday/Whitsun Bank Holiday/Memorial Day) in Kelvingrove Park. This time i took a photo of my resulting farmer tan before it fades:
Debbie said, 'God, Judith, you really need to get some sleeveless tops.'
I am very thankful that i have not had to be in the US for this entire presidential campaign season (yes, all two years of it).
Here's an article that neatly follows on from an earlier Rebecca Traister piece published on Salon (which you can read here).
Marie Cocco - Misogyny I Won't Miss - washingtonpost.com
(Via The Morning News)
One more reason to decry the misogyny that is Grand Theft Auto? Or just another opportunity to say, 'Meh, it's just a game.'?
McSweeney's Internet Tendency: Good Advice From a Grand Theft Auto Dating FAQ.
(Via The Morning News.)
So, like a lot of people i have been idly wondering (i say idly, because i'm not industrious enough to actually go and learn much about it) how this credit crisis thing happened. Why on earth would banks make such risky loans, and why should i care if some people with poor credit are suddenly having problems paying their mortgages (I mean, what did they expect, right?)?
Well, i just finished listening to the latest This American Life podcast, which actually spends a whole hour talking to people at a number of different levels of the issue: homeowners, mortgage brokers, Wall Street bankers, and a bunch of people in between. Now i understand. I understand why the banks made the risky loans, and i understand that fraudulent mortgage applications were made, and i understand that adjustable rate mortgages have priced people out of their own homes. This last point is made quickly and simply when the reporters are speaking to a homeowner who is having trouble making payments. His monthly mortgage payment increased $2000 over its starting rate. Imagine trying to come up with an extra $2000 a month.
Listen:
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Wow, i have had a really busy week; although looking back on it, it doesn't seem like i did much at all.
Monday: May Bank Holiday. I spent the day avoiding work and wandering in city center.
Tuesday: I met with my Latin professor to continue translating the Life of Ariald.
Wednesday: I went to Blair Castle (located in tiny Blair Atholl in Perthshire) with Scott and Helena. According to the woman who guards the front door of the castle (a stickler, if i have ever seen one) Blair is not a family name (hmmmm). It is rather an old Gaelic word meaning a flat area or plain. The family that owns the castle is named Murray, but i found it suspicious that they wore a tartan that strongly resembles the Blair tartan:
Anyway, it was a beautiful day, and we spent a lot of time roaming the grounds once we had done the tour through the castle itself. There is no photography allowed in the castle, which is a total bummer. It was full of weaponry and deer antlers, and the tour honestly seemed never-ending. There are a bunch of photos of the grounds on Flickr as usual.
Thursday: I spent most of the day with Debbie getting sunburnt in the Botanic Gardens. Yes, sunburnt in Glasgow! I tried to take a picture of my farmer tan, but it didn't come out well enough.
Friday: I worked at an actual job for 3.5 hours in the morning. That was tiring. I had to make a mail merge and stuff envelopes. Phew.
I have Debbie to thank for the job; her father's partner Linda works in Recruitment & Admissions at the university, and she desperately needed someone who could stick labels straightly and stuff envelopes correctly. You might be surprised at how difficult it is to find someone who meets those qualifications. It's a casual job; she'll call me when she needs me, but money's money.
After doing that, i met with my Latin professor again. Then i went home and went to sleep.
I just finished blocking this scarf that i knitted for my friend Debbie. It is based upon a pattern i saw on the purl bee called April Showers. The pattern in the center of the scarf was of my own devising, but i don't think it's particularly original. If you want it, the whole scarf pattern is available after the jump.
The blocking i did is a little weird, but it's my first time blocking anything, really. I like to think the pointy ends give it character :)
Today's lesson is: If you don't get the answer you want, go back the next day and ask a different person. As i write this, it strikes me as a profoundly French attitude, yet it worked beautifully today here in Scotland.
Yesterday my friend Lance had a problem with his laptop. After i tried a few things to diagnose and fix it that were unsuccessful he took it to the Apple Store's Genius Bar (that's the service department, for those of you unfamiliar with Apple nomenclature). 
The person he spoke to there took the laptop into a back room and a few minutes later came out declaring the hard drive was corroded from water damage. This pronouncement puzzled and annoyed Lance, since he has no knowledge of any water infiltrating the machine. A further annoyance was that this particular employee didn't show him the corrosion on the hard drive itself but merely pointed to small photographs he had taken on his iPhone. A laptop hard drive is only 2.5" thick and really isn't difficult to carry; it does not seem unreasonable to expect to be shown the faulty part in the flesh, as it were. The upshot of this encounter was that the Apple 'Genius' told Lance that because the problem was due to water damage, a new hard drive would not be covered under the warranty. Lance opted not to buy a new hard drive at that time, and, taking his broken MacBook home with him, he tried not to cry.
He and i discussed this development, and i sought input from my own Apple Genius, Andy. We all concurred that this water damage story sounded fishy. A decision was made to make a new appointment at the Genius Bar and hope for a better outcome. This morning i accompanied Lance to the Apple Store, essentially as muscle to back him up should things get ugly. The experience today with Liam the Genius was exactly as we had hoped. There was no humming and hawing about possible water damage, no photographs on an iPhone, and no questioning of warranty coverage. We spent about twenty minutes with Liam while he ran some diagnostics and typed up the service order. He said the MacBook and its new hard drive might even be ready for pick up today, since they have the part in stock. Lance and i left the Apple Store relieved and satisfied.
So there you have it. The French were right.
On a side note, i was on the bus going home from the Apple Store when someone's phone started ringing. An unassuming middle aged man reached into his pocket and pulled out a phone, which was well into the introductory strains of Sweet Home Alabama by Lynrd Skynrd.
Depressing, isn't it? That number includes you.
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