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25320. iiibbb - 5/27/2009 4:31:40 AM So bizarre story... I actually know Sonia Sotomayor. She's a friend of my mother in law. I've had dinner with her twice. 25321. arkymalarky - 5/27/2009 5:55:13 AM How cool is that! Think she's a good pick? 25322. iiibbb - 5/27/2009 2:31:00 PM I've been to her apartment in NY too... I forgot about that.
I think she's good enough. Obviously pro-choice. I'm not sure where she stands on gun control. If she's much like my mother in law she's fine. All the judges I've met have been smart likable people.
From my exposure to the handful I've met (conservative and liberal), I've generally come to believe that the idea of an "activist" judge is fairly rare at that level. They certainly have their ideologies, but it's not executed the same way as it is in congress. The judges I have met are pretty careful thinkers, and most are at least open to ideas counter to their own views if it's a well-conceived argument... you might not change their minds, but they generally won't dismiss outright and more importantly they won't belittle their opponent... they find arguments interesting. It is a geek fest really. Based on the ones I have met at least.
Ironically, the Supreme court may be the last word, but they only hear a fraction of the cases the circuit appeals courts do. In a way she'll be losing some power. 25323. judithathome - 5/27/2009 2:58:34 PM I think the power she'll be gaining is more than enough compensation! 25324. vonKreedon - 5/27/2009 4:07:04 PM I trust ya'll will pardon a brief proud papa moment here; our son is competing this weekend in the Washington State 3A High School tennis championship. He's a sophomore and won his league championship, the first ever to do so from his HS, and came in third in the district championship. I'm taking Friday off so he and I can drive down to Vancouver on Thursday night. 25325. anomie - 5/27/2009 4:32:00 PM Congrats to Master vonKreedon and his proud papa. Quite a showing. (I flew through Vancouver last week and wished I had more time to see the area. It looked like a great little city) 25326. arkymalarky - 5/27/2009 4:45:32 PM How fun! Congrats and good luck! 25327. robertjayb - 5/27/2009 11:34:55 PM 
25328. judithathome - 5/28/2009 7:01:09 PM Robert, you might appreciate this with no explanation...I saw a "street person" ambling down the road when I went to the carwash this morning. He had on a tee shirt that said:
My Son Is A Student at T. D. C.
For those not Texas residents, TDC is Texas Department of Corrections. ;-) 25329. arkymalarky - 5/29/2009 12:58:40 AM Haha! Reminds me of one of my students who graduated years ago who used to say he was going to go to TCU: Tyson Chicken University. 25330. iiibbb - 5/29/2009 3:41:18 AM Still haven't sold the house yet. I am uncomfortable. This whole thing has been a saga. Our house should sell. We've had multiple, multiple walk throughs. The latest hangup... the lot next to ours had a foundation poured April-08. The house still isn't finished. The guy ran out of money. So the guy who was looking seriously at our house is still mulling it over because he's worried about the house next door. I spent the Friday before Mothers Day calling the homeonwers association, the current owner, the guy who built our house who wants to develop the next lot but is also worried about the unfinished house and wants to buy it to finish it but the guy who owns it can't be reached. This is all voodoo. The house is great. New... all hardwood floors... walking distance to campus... custom cabinets... huge rooms... tall ceilings. It's heads and shoulders above other houses in its price range. It doesn't make sense.
I'm in limbo because I've still got my residency there because the insurance company will get upset if the house is "vacant"... which will make the mortgage company upset...
The ray of sunshine was a job that was open at the local EPA lab for a research ecologist. They want a water quality person... I'm a pretty good fit by my estimation...
So I apply, but my application is rejected because according to the HR person who prefilters applications says I don't meet the minimum education standard which states that the applicant must hold a degree in biology or related science with 30 hours in applied biological sciences. These hours must include 9 hours of ecology and 12 hours of physical sciences and math.
I have 2 degrees in forestry and one in soil science... how is this possible? Well... according to the HR lady, Forestry is not an "applied biological science". In one fell swoop she has rendered all of my advanced education into a vocational degree. She won't take "silviculture" as a "ecology" course even though by most technical definitions it's "applied ecology". I sent her sylabuses from across the country... but she said that they needed to be from my school. I offered to send her letters from my professors describing the applied biolgical and ecological nature of my coursework, but she literally said she wasn't concerned with the academic definition of these terms. 25331. iiibbb - 5/29/2009 3:41:23 AM
Mind you... my wife, who holds stats degrees, is a Research Ecologist, and her HR person took all sorts of class my nimrod won't. Theoretically, it's up for appeal, but I bet it was circle filed.
The only silver lining is that the EPA lab has a history with this HR group and after seeing the list that they sent up, and having a peak at my transcripts, they decided not to fill it at all (fill it at a later date under multiple job titles)... so I will at least get another shot at it. Also they have post-docs which aren't scrutinized as much, so if I can get one of those I could get my foot in the door that way.
But this is all under the heading of absolutely nothing in my past 2 years being easy. It has been a morass.
uhg. 25332. iiibbb - 5/29/2009 3:44:21 AM I just want to cut the MS string... please... I can wait on the job thing. I've got a sailboat to fix up. I've got papers to work on pro bono.
What do I need to do to catch a break?
I'm trying not to complain... it could be worse, but holy mackerel... what am I being tested for? 25333. iiibbb - 5/29/2009 3:45:28 AM It's my 3rd anniversary today. That's a good thing... 25334. arkymalarky - 5/29/2009 4:17:04 AM Just imagine how all the people who are not leaving MS feel!
Congrats on the anniversary! Can't believe it's been 3 years! 25335. alistairconnor - 5/30/2009 12:50:09 PM iii, all the above comes under the category of "character forming". It's designed to make the rest of your life seem easy by comparison.
Congrats on the 3rd anniversary... many happy returns! 25336. iiibbb - 5/30/2009 1:21:44 PM I have character... that's what's annoying.
This comes under the heading of "Doing the right thing is no guarantee that you'll come out ahead"... or "life isn't fair".
Not that I expect life to be fair. My only expectation is that I do the right thing. I'm just tired of the whole exercise.
You are right that once things turn around, it is going to make me that much less likely to complain about other things going on.
Really, it's not so much the individual problems that bug me, it's the fact that I'm dealing in volume right now. Things will turn though an dI still have plenty to be thankful for... I was just venting. 25337. iiibbb - 5/30/2009 1:26:14 PM I'm sure that once I've finished my sailboat that I'll get a job :)
I picked up an old boat my dad had leaning against the house for the past 25 years. It's a 1973 Force 5 (similar to a laser). The fiberglass needs fixing in a few places, and the wood thwart and trunk were rotten. I've been fabricating new parts, and replacing some of the hardware. I should have it ready for the water by the end of next week. All for a few hundred bucks. 25338. iiibbb - 5/30/2009 1:28:23 PM I think I have 400 in the trailer and boat together. I'm sure the boat is worth more than that on Criagslist... 800-1000 I'd venture. 25339. arkymalarky - 5/30/2009 8:39:37 PM Took the girls horseback riding on the lake today and saw two or three sailboats. They're going swimming at Mom and Dad's pool tomorrow. Summer's here at last, tho I have to tie up a few loose ends at work still.
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