Gefeliciteerd! and other items

Lang zal ze leven
Lang zal ze leven
Lang zal ze leven in de gloria
In de gloria
In de gloria
*Hiep er de piep, HOERA!*
*Hiep er de piep, HOERA!*
*Hiep er de piep, HOERA!*

That's the Dutch happy birthday song. I don't suppose this, like so many other Dutch customs, has survived in the pseudo-Nieuwe-Nederland of Western Michigan? In any case, gelukkig verjaardag, Emma/Emily!

TASP moments of the week:
1. I saw an Internet banner ad that said something like "Rock-bottom mortgage rates! Click here to Reify Now!" Sadly, when I looked again, it said Refinance Now.
2. Twice, I tried to sign into my school computer network using my UMichID and password.
Alas, gone are those golden days of yore . . .

The other day, I was doing web research for my big physics research project and came across an excellent website with large chunks of useful material about oil platforms in the Gulf of Mexico. The strange part: when I got around to writing out a bibliography entry for this thing, I discovered it was a blog post, written by "Roaring Tiger" for the "Big Cat Chronicles" organization, entitled "Oh man . . . Thunder Horse oil platform is listing . . ." Not what you would normally see as a citation in a scientific paper. At least my bibliography will provide spicier reading than most. On a separate note, people could RIGHT THIS VERY INSTANT be doing Internet research on our blog! Ridley, maybe this is your big chance to be cited. Just imagine finding this in the bibliography of the new, groundbreaking sociological study that has rocked the academic world:
dancingbagel. "tattoos, piercings, and other academic things."
Blogger: UMich TASP 2005 Blog. 14/7/05.
Wow. Sends shivers up my spine.

I am reading an awesome book: Iron and Silk by Mark Salzman. Salzman, who is a martial arts enthusiast, taught English in China during the 1980s, and the book describes his stay there. Brilliantly written, utterly engaging stuff. More bulletins when I finish it.

Sam