Cyrus Farivar

Darpa Offers No Food for Thought: Soldiers’ moms will no doubt be horrified. But the Pentagon is looking into ways for GIs to fight for up to five days — without eating a single meal. During a mission, soldiers in the field typically don’t have the time, or the inclination, to chow down. That lack of food can affect their battlefield performance. So Darpa, the U.S. military’s far-out research arm, wants scientists to figure out if soldiers can operate at…

I’ve been listening to Mozart’s 9th Piano Concerto, and I skipped over the second movement (Andante) because I think that it’s boring, so I have a question to pose to all you music-fans of all stripes: Why is it so difficult to write slow music that is powerful and good without being cheezy and/or boring? The main classical pieces that I can think of that are slow and also good are: “Colonial Song” – Percy Grainger “Amazing Grace” – Traditional…

Wow, two pentaquerys at once, from mifune and from odd_dog, respectively: [If you want your own pentaquery, let me know in comments.]

I’m about to head out for LAX, after having about an hour-long discussion with my parents about my future and present. Basically, what I gather is that they don’t know what I do, and will never be satisfied and so I’ll just continue doing what I’m doing and when I win a Pulitzer, then I’ll laugh at them. Until then, I’ll just keep my own successes to myself. Argh, I know they mean well, but they annoy me to no…

This weekend as a whole has been somewhat quiet and subdued. I woke up around noon and eventually Rachel and I headed out for The Apple Pan for lunch which is always a local favorite. I decided that one thing that would improve their burgers is better buns — like a sesame bun or a whole wheat bun — their buns have about all the flavor of my elementary school cafeteria. Following that we decided to head out to Silver…

Rachel and I made it to LA without a hitch. It’s been sorta cold and quiet so far, though. We walked down Montana Ave. today and popped in a few stores that I only go into when I’m showing people around — one had a large Senegalese woven basket for sale at $79 — you could buy the exact same one in Senegal for about $8. Also, Sunaree pointed out that there are bills forward to resurrect the draft. If…

So i was walking by the statue of Pappy Waldorf today while listening to my iPod, so I had some fun. Check it.

As I first saw on Aaron’s journal, and then (posted 38 minutes before), on Drezner: Basically there are reports that Kerry had an affair with an intern — and that Gen. Clark knows about it, and that he’s going to endorse Kerry. See the Drezner link for more details.

Between September and November 2003, the United States spent $23,148.15 every second in Iraq. Wow. More than what I pay for a year at Berkeley.

Alameda Times-Star Online (yesterday): SHOUDA, woulda, coulda. Welcome to the regret-laden world of Craigs-list’s “Missed Connections,” a virtual haven for tracking down the one who got away. The online bulletin board offers Bay Area lonely hearts a second chance to find true love — or, more often, just plain old true lust. Is craigslist news to anyone in the Bay Area?