« March 2006 | Main | May 2006 »
April 21, 2006
"Ouch!" or "Baseball life without D. Lee"
Yes, it looks like Derrek Lee will be in a cast and out of the Cubs lineup for up to two months. I didn't see the play that caused the injury on Wednesday night. I was in the kitchen at the time, packing my lunch for the next day. But I could overhear the announcers talking excitedly and bent an ear in the direction of the television. Then I called downstairs, "Are they saying Lee is injured?", following it up with an exasperated groan.
Oh well, the show must go on...
If there's a personal up-side to this, it is that I discovered a great, funny, and smart new podcast when seeking information (and consolation) about the injury. The Cubscast is a free podcast featuring Andrew Figgins, Zach Baliva, and Matt Sheppo -- a.k.a. Lou, Sneetch, and Sheps.
Today's episode (#139) features a lot of talk about the implications of Lee's injury and reflections on the bad karma of April 19th and 20th in history. Trying to lighten the mood, the topic later switched to the great job Ryan Dempster is doing as a closer for the Cubs: he has 23 consecutive saves and has yet to give up a run in 31 and one-third innings. To which one of them quipped, "it will only be a week before Ryan Dempster is involved in some horrific lawnmower accident."
But seriously, one of the things I liked about this Cubscast is that it wasn't all doom and gloom or a bunch of whining, which is a problem I have with some of the Cubs fan blogs. What can I say? I'm an optimist at heart. Go Cubbies!
BTW, looks like a call-up from AAA Iowa Cubs, Michael Restovich, will be replacing Lee on the Cubs roster.
Posted by rigd0003 at 03:26 PM | Comments (0)
April 20, 2006
Music to write to
I've been trying to dedicate more time to writing recently. This morning, instead of going directly to my office, I spent about an hour at a coffee house near campus. I booted up my laptop and turned off its wireless device so I wouldn't be tempted by e-mail and web browsing.
The coffee house has a nice mix of background busyness. I find I'm distracted both when there's too much going on and also when things are too quiet, so the coffee house in the morning is a happy medium. But I do find myself distracted sometimes by the music they play there. Today, however, I found a good solution: pop in the headphones and have Billy Holloman playing on iTunes.
I didn't always appreciate organ-based jazz, but Ben introduced me to the finer points of the Hammond B3. As a gift last year, I gave Ben This is Organ Night, a CD collection featuring Billy Holloman on organ. The album gets its title from a regular feature at the St. Paul jazz club, the Artists' Quarter. Tuesday night at the AQ is Organ Night, as you can see from their calendar. (We'll have to get down to the AQ one of these Tuesdays...)
As I discovered today, this is great music to listen to while writing. There are no vocals to be distracted by, the fluid tones of the organ serve as good background music, and the tempo of the songs helps keep my thoughts flowing and the fingers typing. I caught myself swaying back and forth, bobbing my head to the music on a few occasions, but that didn't seem to raise any eyebrows -- I'm just glad I wasn't in the library!
I recommend you head on over to the album's CD Baby site where you can listen to decent-sized MP3 samples of the tracks. If you like what you hear, you can order right there (not available from iTunes). CD Baby is great "little online record store" that sells music directly from independent musicians.
Posted by rigd0003 at 12:19 PM | Comments (0)
April 17, 2006
Bruce Vento Regional Bike Trail
Saturday's weather was great for a bike ride. This was our first venture out on the tandem this Spring, so we decided to take it easy and do a little reconnoitering.
Since we live in Saint Paul, one of the loops we like to do is to pick up the Gateway State Trail (photo map) near the State Capitol, head North-east, and then come back via the Bruce Vento Regional Trail (trail map link) past Lake Phalen and into Swede Hollow heading back into downtown.
But the Vento Trail had been closed for quite some time right at the junction of Phalen Blvd. and Johnson Pkwy (In Google's "Hybrid" view you can see the old trail curving off to the left of the intersection). Would it be open now? The frustrating thing is that, try as we might, we couldn't find any information about why the trail was closed and what all of the construction was for. There was no "Future Home of.." or "Coming Soon..." signs and nothing that we could find on the Internet.
As I said, the weather was nice and we had some free time, so we decided to chance it. One of the nice things about the Vento Trail was how quiet it was. As a converted rail corridor, it took you away from the traffic, past some industrial sites, and then down into the nice tree-lined Swede Hollow area. (Here's what it used to look like.)
What a change we found: a four-lane boulevard had sprung up where no road used to be! The Vento Trail now follows the newly-extended Phalen Blvd. through what is dubbed the Phalen Corridor. (The street is so new, it's not on Google Maps yet or Mapquest yet.)
The trail is now adjacent to the street for several blocks until you hit Arcade St. There you can swing off the the right and down into the original trail that goes through Swede Hollow (more). The newly-constructed trail is nicely surfaced and there are the beginnings of some nice landscaping. But the trail also crosses streets now and the new curbs are not well graded yet, so there's about a 1-to-2 inch gap in some places between the curb cuts and the cross-streets.
From the information on Phalen Corridor web site, it looks like the Phalen Blvd. part of the trail will only become more busy as new developments and businesses go up. The up-shot may be that, hopefully, this will attract more bike commuters to the area, either living or working in the Phalen Corridor.
I miss the seclusion of the old trail, but it's nice to have the Vento Trail connected and whole again. And if you do the loop like we did, coming South-west down the trail, it's a great down-hill ride all the way.
If the city wants to encourage more bike commuting, I have one last suggestion. The trail ends at the corner of Payne Ave. and 7th St. just North-east of downtown. It would be great to have bike lanes along 7th St. into downtown, especially on the bridge across I-94 E. The road is very busy, even on a Saturday, and a little extra wiggle room would be great. Oh, and connecting the Bruce Vento Trail to the new Bruce Vento Nature Sanctuary would be nice, too.
Posted by rigd0003 at 11:04 AM | Comments (0)
April 14, 2006
Iowa City tornado
The alarm clock radio came on this morning at 7 a.m. as usual and I was only half awake when I heard NPR announcing that "...Iowa City, Iowa, was hit by a tornado last evening...". Okay, now I was wide awake. I have close friends in Iowa City -- I grew up about an hour from there -- and this was the first I'd heard about the tornado. While there was a lot of damage, it sounds like the tornado wasn't a deadly one.
You can read a first-hand account on my friend's blog and click the main picture to see all the pictures she took. As she said, you grow up in Iowa and hear about tornados all the time, but until now she'd never seen one...
Posted by rigd0003 at 02:52 PM | Comments (1)
They Might Be Giants podcasts
I've been meaning to promote They Might Be Giants podcasts for a while now. I created a link in the right-hand column a while ago (fun with Photoshop!), but haven't gotten around to posting about it.
For the uninitiated, They Might Be Giants are a quirky, fun, and very talented pop/rock group that has been around since the '80s (official site). If I had musical talent, I'd want to be something like TMBG. They are always trying new things, incorporating new technology (and embracing old technology), and love to bring their fans along for the ride.
The podcasts are just the kind of bizarre, fun, and unexpected audio tracks you'd expect from TMBG. The podcasts play like an alt-radio station program you'd find at the left of the dial. They're hosted or DJ'd by John and John's alternate personality, Cecil Portesque (which doesn't quite work for me, but no biggie). Cecil spins new songs, new takes on old favorites, a few songs by other groups, and some interviews. (Fans of the Daily Show will especially like the interview with "the Deranged Millionaire" played by John Hodgman towards the end of Podcast 3A (See UPDATE below). He also appears on the intro video of tmbg.com website.)
I know I'm biased on this issue, but I think the TMBG's podcasts are some of the best examples of what podcast can be. Check 'em out -- they are in mp3 format, so you don't need an iPod to listen to them.
--
UPDATE: I just found out from today's TMBG newsletter that they've had to take down some of the earlier podcasts due to bandwidth limitations. So everything before podcast 4A isn't available to new subscribers...
Posted by rigd0003 at 02:15 PM | Comments (0)
April 13, 2006
What I learned about student loan consolidation...
I attended a quick seminar yesterday morning on student loan consolidation. I'm a bit thick-headed when it comes to finances. There was a lot of talk about consolidation last year, but I was too confused and busy to do anything. And the letters and flyers from banks encouraging me to consolidate now! finally prompted me to go see what this was all about, and I'm glad I did. Here are some key points for others who may feel as confused as I did.
Many student loans have variable interest rates. These rates can be changed (usually they increase) every year on July 1. Students are encouraged to consolidate their loans. The reason I was confused is that I had already consolidated my loans a few years back and took consolidation to mean "combine into one." Well, now I understand that consolidation really means "lock in the interest rate." And you can consolidate just one loan, if you want. What happens is that you take out a new loan that pays off the other(s) and fixes the interest rate. When you consolidate two or more loans with different interest rates, the interest rate for the new loan is a combination of the existing loan rates, calculated as a weighted average. If you have any variable interest rate loans now, you want to consolidate by June because the new interest rate starting July 1 will probably go up from this year's 4.7% to 6.8%!
Those wishing to consolidate are strongly encouraged to do so now and not wait for the June rush. Consolidating your loans isn't too complicated once you understand what you need. First, you need to know what kind of loans you have. To find out, go to the National Student Loan Data System where you will see a history of all of your Federal Title IV Loans by clicking on "Financial Aid Review". To access your loans, you will need to use your FAFSA pin number (the same one you use to access your Federal Student Aid). UPDATE (6/27/06): Make sure your PIN is a four-digit number. The NSLDS web site only accepts 4-digit PINs. If you have a six-letter PIN (or something else), you must got to the PIN web site and change it. I found this out the hard way.
When you log on, you will see a page with a list of your entire loan history. Keep in mind that some of these loans may have been paid off. You only need to worry about those that have "Outstanding Principal" greater than $0 (second-to-last column). It is very important to check this NSLDS site first because it shows all of your loans. The Direct Loan Servicing page of the Federal Student Aid agency only shows your Direct loans. There are two main types of loans when talking about consolidation: Direct and non-Direct. Direct are the "Direct Stafford Subsidized" and "Direct Stafford Unsubsidized" loans. Other, non-Direct, loans don't have the "direct" in the title, like "Stafford Subsidized", etc.
One quick aside: if you have a Perkins Loan, you probably don't want to consolidate it along with the others because there are many forgivenesses -- like if you become a teacher or join the Peace Corp. These forgivenesses are nullified by consolidation because you take out a new loan with new terms.
If you only have Direct loans, you can consolidate any/all of them with a simple phone call. Just call 1-800-557-7392 and they can take care of consolidating your Direct loans. But the operators at the Department of Ed can only see your Direct Loans on their screen -- they can't tell you if you have other loans.
If you have a mixture of Direct and non-Direct, you can consolidate by filling out some forms on-line at the Department of Ed consolidation website. But you need to take some information from the NSLDS web site (the "Financial Aid Review" page I mentioned above). You can find the information you need about each loan by clicking on the round, yellow number button that precedes each loan on the list. It may be helpful to download the paper form to see what information you'll need for the electronic form -- the PDF is here.
The information you need about your loans is:
• Loan Lender Name, Address, and Phone number -- this is at the bottom of the loan page. For all Direct loans, the address is probably not listed (not very helpful), but that information is:
Direct Loan Servicing Center
Borrower Services Department
P.O. Box 5609
Greenville, TX 75403-5609
1-800-848-0979
• Loan Type -- Stafford Unsubsidized, Direct Stafford Subsidized, etc.
• Account Number -- for all of your loans, this is your Social Security Number
• Current Balance -- outstanding principle
Now, with this information, you are ready to complete the on-line consolidation form. Be aware that you don't have to consolidate through the Department of Education. There are many banks and loan servicing companies that are more than happy to have your business, but just keep in mind the DOE is a sound, secure thing. If you do decide to consolidate with a bank, make sure it's a trusted bank with a long, stable history. You don't want to wind up in the situation where your loan is sold and passed around from place to place, because you have to be really on top of things so you don't default. Many servicing companies will offer incentives like reducing your interest after you make a number of on-time payments. But if your loan is sold, you probably won't get that deal anymore or you'll start back at square one. And make sure, whether you consolidate with DOE or someone else,that you fully understand what constitutes an "on time" payment. Finally, if you are looking for a deal (who isn't?) just about anyplace, including the DOE, will give you a quarter point interest rate reduction on your loan repayments when you sign up for automatic electronic payment through your bank account.
Okay, kids, have at it!
Posted by rigd0003 at 11:38 AM | Comments (3)
April 07, 2006
Idea of a "Simple Return" for your taxes
Finishing our taxes is on our weekend 'To Do' list, so I was intrigued by an opinion piece in today's New York Times: Why Tell the I.R.S. What It Already Knows? While my own situation probably wouldn't be solved by Prof. Goolsbee's "Simple Return," it sounds like a great idea for many taxpayers who don't take itemized deductions.
Posted by rigd0003 at 02:05 PM | Comments (0)
April 05, 2006
Feelin' a little mentally log-jammed
I've been a bit mentally blocked this week. My modeling project has come down to a few final, but big, revisions and I feel like I'm trying to do all of them at once and not getting anywhere on any of them. You know, like trying to steer your car in three directions at the same time.
I'm also really interested in finding a creative way to display some of my data. Something cool and simple, like the things Edward Tufte talks about. (With all due respect to Dr. Tufte, for someone who champions the simple and elegant, his web site is neither. His ideas -- and his books -- are excellent, though.) But being creative and explorative takes time, and I don't feel like I have time. I've got a poster presentation to create by the end of the month and loads to do before ever hoping to finish in June.
I'm not totally freaking out, mind you. Just a bit of a freak out moment. I'll feel better tomorrow afternoon after I meet with my adviser. My adviser is just the kind of supportive, guiding, "I've got your back" sort of adviser that we all deserve but many of us do not receive. We've got a standing meeting every Thursday, and for the most part we keep it. This is how a lot of my progress has been made, I just do meeting prep work every week. Well, it hasn't been as smooth and easy as that sounds, but I'd really be in a mess without it.
So, I've just got to gather up the week's jumbled thoughts and tasks and prep for tomorrow's meeting...
UPDATE: Things are already looking up! I've been playing around with ways of visualizing my data this morning using a trial copy of OriginLab graphing software, with fairly good success.
Posted by rigd0003 at 12:53 PM | Comments (0)
Caffeine for your PC
I hate it when I'm working on something and my screen saver kicks in at an inopportune moment -- when I'm giving a presentation, installing software, staring at a blank page with nothing but "Chapter 4" written at the top and waiting for the writing muse to visit.
I'm also too lazy to go in and shut it off during those times. And I don't want to shut the screen saver off forever. But now I've got a great solution: caffeine for my computer!
Zhorn Software provides several nice freeware applications for Windows, including caffeine.exe. When I launch caffeine, it simulates a key press every minute to keep my PC awake. The icon on the task bar allows me to toggle caffeine on or off (indicated by a full or empty pot of coffee).
Posted by rigd0003 at 10:23 AM | Comments (3)