It's getting hot in here...

The latest issue of Time magazine has as its cover story an article on global warming. It is well written and informative. Another interesting read - a story proclaiming global warming to be a myth printed in the Wall Street Journal over eight years ago. Amazing how a decade of data can make a few scientists look like fools.

One more article - CNN reports that having people pray for heart bypass surgery patients had no effect on their recovery. Shocking really - as it turns out, neither does pacing, cursing or beating your head against a wall. However, I have a feeling it helps those on the other side of the operating room doors cope.

What's in a religion?

This afternoon, I took a test on tickle.com designed to find the faith that fits your beliefs. It involved about fifty questions and resulted in this assessment of my religious identity:

You are attracted to a religion that tolerates mixed beliefs about the existence of God and upholds the idea that there is something to be learned from every religion. You are open to a wide variety of religious and spiritual ideas. You are attracted to spiritual groups that are composed of typically open-minded and intellectual people who actively engage in individual exploration of many different spiritual truths.

It then went on to list the ten religions with which my beliefs most closely align and a numeric assessment of how well your beliefs match those of the particular religion. My results were, in order:

Unitarian Universalism (92%)
Native American (56%)
Baha'I (54%)
Spiritualism (51%)
Buddhism (50%)
Neo-Paganism (48%)
Judaism (46%)
Islam (39%)
Hinduism (38%)
Christianity (37%)

A few comments:

Firstly, considering I was raised in a Christian household, I love the fact that according to this survey, I am more suited to be Neo-Paganist than a Christian!

Secondly, everyone always says there is no way I came from Oklahoma - but look - I'm 56% Native American!

Finally, being that she is a Christian Palestinian who fled the Israeli occupation of her native Nazareth...I don't think I'm going to advertise to my mother that according to this, I am more Jewish than I am Christian!

Cereal

There are two types of people in the world:

Those who eat cereal the wrong way - pour the cereal, pour the milk, eat the cereal and drink or throw away the remaining milk.

...and...

Those who eat cereal the way it was intended to be eaten - pour the cereal, drown it in milk, eat the cereal, pour more cereal in, eat that cereal, continue this process until there is only enough milk to pour in one or two flakes per iteration.

The only possible exception to this rule occurs when eating cereals which turn the milk interesting colors/flavors. For example, is there a more beautiful experience than drinking the chocolate milk which remains having enjoyed a bowl of Count Chocula?

Mike Round One

Today, South Dakota's governor Mike Rounds signed into law a bill banning all abortions excepting those cases in which the life of the mother is in danger. It makes no exceptions for rape or incest - teenage girls would be forced to bear the children of their rapists and abusive fathers. Enforcement of the law will likely be postponed pending a hearing by the Supreme Court, but in the meantime, ten other states are considering similar bills (Alabama, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, Ohio, Oklahoma, Tennessee and West Virginia).

Switch gears for a moment - every year, Morgan Quitno Press evaluates twenty-one factors in an effort to rank the fifty states by intelligence. Not surprisingly, the factors are educationally based (e.g. high school graduation rate, school attendance, class size, reading/writing proficiency, etc). Also not surprising - the rankings of the ten states considering the the above mentioned bills.

(source: Morgan Quitno Press)

Knights of what?

This note was sent out to the 'Knights of Columbus' e-mail list. I found it interesting:

Howdy Knights,
Sorry guys but we haven't closed that chasm of evil and destruction that they call pp yet, and we never will. But God might, so we are each called to petition to Him tomorrow Sat. the 3rd. at 9:30am. Please, if you are able, meet us in front of planned parenthood tomorrow for our Knights Rosary. They will be tearing children out of the wombs of some very confused women tomorrow and we need to be there to pray for the mothers, the children, and especially the people that facilitate the legalized homicide.

Thanks and God bless you all,
[name censored]

Just look at the view

Those who know me well know that I am prone to obsessions - especially professional obsessions. Ask me once a week what I want to do with my life and you'll get a different answer every time. Having learned this about myself, I have slowly developed the ability to hold back the urge to pack up and go every time a new idea enters my mind. And so, I have settled into a comfortable, if not completely satisfying existence here in Houston. I have a job which, though I can't say I particularly enjoy, is satisfying enough and allows me to do my real passion - dance. In addition, it pays enough to allow me to save up for any future endeavors (or the occasional trip to central Africa!).

About a year ago, I decided that as long as I wasn't doing anything of particular consequence, why not go back to school and get a degree in something that interested me. So, I applied to and was accepted at Northwestern University to earn a master's of public policy and administration. About the same time, I started thinking about how much I would enjoy being a doctor. I allowed both ideas to orbit my mind and waited for the inevitable disappearance. The only problem is - they're still there. So, a year later, it is time to act one at least one of them. Realizing that it would be two years before I could begin medical school (one year of studying for and taking the MCAT, and another applying), I have accepted with surprisingly little trepidation the fact that I will be in Houston for another year. Couple with that the fact that starting two weeks from now, I'll finally be a GS-12 and I came to an interesting conclusion:

I can finally afford to save money AND find a great apartment near the museum district!

So, this past weekend, J (who knows the area quite well) and I went searching for my new home. It turns out that if you want:

- hardwood floors
- a place in the heart of the museum district
- a view of downtown
- a big kitchen

...there's no problem finding exactly what you want - only you will only be able to afford the rent for two months since you have only two kidneys.

So, the search continued - and stretched into the week. There were many very quick stops:

"Hello - my name is Nicholas and I'm wondering how much your cheapest studio overlooking downtown costs?"
"We'd be happy to show you around sir - we have units starting at seven fifty"
"Seven hundred fifty dollars a month?"
"No sir - seven hundred fifty thousand dollars to buy."

...and there were some shorter ones:

"Hello - how much is your cheapest studio overlooking downtown?"
"Well - we've got one at $500 a month - as long as you don't mind letting the police in every few days - that apartments still a crime scene"
"Okay then...thanks alot."

Finally, after much looking, I found the perfect place! A studio apartment with laminate floors on the sixth floor of a building a mile from everything with a great view of downtown. Best of all, I only had to put down a $50 refundable deposit down to hold it until May since it is their model apartment. Look at the pictures:







More on this as I come closer to decision time, but for now, get ready for a great house warming party in mid-May!