Funny ad for a recent fraternity party on campus.

Becky with our new friend Cousteau, an S.P.C.A. cat who, at 23 pounds, gives a whole new meaning to the phrase “fat cat.”

Pro-Palestinian demonstrators protest Israeli terrorism. I couldn’t agree more!

My roommates, Cameron and Brent, with my friend Suzanne, in our living room.

A cool picture of my shadow, Becky’s shadow, and Becky’s dad’s shadow. Oooh… artsy.

I watch the first round of the NCAA Tournament on my portable TV in Becky’s parents’ car in San Francisco..

A sea lion suns himself on San Francisco’s Pier 39. Here’s another photo.

Becky rides a trolley car in San Francisco.

New England’s first Krispy Kreme donut shop opened, with much fanfare, on the Berlin Turnpike in Newington today. Click here to read the Hartford Courant website’s “breaking news” article about it.

My mom drove by on her way to New York City, and said to my dad over the cell phone: “Oh, my GOD! It’s Krispy Kreme! Huge lines! Lines of cars at every intersection! My God! LOOK at this! People are WALKING to it! This is nuts!! OH THE HUMANITY!!!” (That’s my dad’s paraphrase.)

UPDATE, 1/7/03: Here’s a photo of the famous Newington Krispy Kreme:

Just got back from taking the LSAT (Law School Admission Test) and discovered that… well… it’s hard. :) I think I did quite well on most of the sections, but the Analytical Reasoning section (more commonly known as “Logic Games”) was unusually difficult on this particular test. At best, I got maybe 12 out of the 24 questions right (unless I guessed really well on the ones where I had no clue). However, talking to some other test-takers after we finished, everyone seemed to struggle mightily with that section, so hopefully the “raw scores” will be lower than usual, and the adjusted scores will therefore be comparatively high. I don’t think I’ll do quite as well as the 171 (out of a possible 180) that I scored on my practice test last week, but we shall see. I’ll be able to find out my score in three weeks.

Hurricane Lili pulled an Opal and weakened rapidly as it was approaching land, sparing Louisiana the brunt of its potentially devasting strength. The storm, which late last night had been a strong Category 4 with 145 mph winds, was barely a Category 2 when it made landfall. Here is what the National Hurricane Center had to say about Lili this morning:

A VERY INTERESTING EVENT OCCURRED WITH LILI IN THE PAST 24 HOURS. IT INTENSIFIED RAPIDLY TO A STRONG CATEGORY FOUR HURRICANE AND WEAKENED TO A CATEGORY TWO AS FAST AS IT STRENGTHENED. THERE WILL BE MANY EXPLANATIONS AFTER THE FACT…AND PERHAPS MANY PHD DISSERTATIONS. I AM GLAD THERE WILL BE SOME. THE TRUTH IS THAT NOBODY WAS ABLE TO PREDICT THESE SUDDEN CHANGES IN INTENSITY. CURRENTLY…THERE ARE ONGOING RESEARCH PROJECTS ON INTENSITY CHANGE, INCLUDING THE UNITED STATES WEATHER RESEARCH PROGRAM…USWRP. HOPEFULLY THESE EFFORTS WILL HELP US PREDICT SUCH EVENTS IN THE FUTURE.

Hurricane Lili is bearing down on south-central Louisiana with 145 mile-per-hour winds, and promises to pack a devastating punch when it makes landfall Thursday morning. Follow the storm live:

Radar: New Orleans area | Lake Charles area | Regional composite

Satellite: Infrared Gulf of Mexico | Visible Gulf of Mexico | Infrared Lili close-up | Visible Lili close-up

Baton Rouge webcams: Various cams | Louisiana State University

New Orleans webcams: Mississippi River | Bourbon Street (1) | Bourbon Street (2) | Various views |
Expressway over Lake Pontchartrain

Local news coverage: WBRZ, Baton Rouge | New Orleans Times-Picayune | Lafayette Daily Advertiser | St. Mary and Frankin Banner Tribune

Louisiana water levels: USGS

USC’s football team is #2 in the nation, according to the newly released New York Times computer ratings, which is one of the seven computer ratings used to determine who plays in the national championship game at the end of the season. (Notre Dame, at 4-0, is #1.) Unlike the subjective AP and Coaches polls, which have us ranked #18 and #20 respectively, the Times formula isn’t tainted by reputations and preseason expectations. It simply judges a team on what it’s done so far. And the Trojans have done pretty darn well, winning three games against top-notch opponents and losing a close road game to a good Kansas State team. Looks like the computer finds that more impressive than Texas’s four wins over the likes of North Texas and Tulane, and Miami’s thrashing of folks like Florida A&M (and, next week, UConn). Hurrah! Fight on… and bring on Washington State!