A few random things

Addictive Shopping
www.woot.com
The schtick is thus: the site normally only sells one item per day - "one day, one deal" is their motto. It is normally a refurbished electronics item of some sort, but you never know what will pop up. Some great deals can be had off this site. I bought a collection of memory cards for my camera on the site once for about 25% of what they would have cost in the store. Now, of course, I have memory cards but no camera. Ah, the irony of the universe.

But, if you check Woot today, you are in luck. It's a WOOT - OFF! The Woot Off is non stop Woot action for about 24-48 hours. One product stays on-line until it is sold out. When it sells out, the next product goes on the market. What most Wooters wait for is the ever elusive "BOC", or Bag O' Crap. I believe the BOC sells for $1, then you pay $3.95 for shipping. Mike managed to grab a few BOCs a few months ago. We got a delightful assortment of items. A few small electronics items, a fan on a string in the shape of a Budweiser bottle, and some RCA stuffed animals. You may question paying $15 for something you have no idea about, but really, you are paying $15 to receive a big box in the mail, full of gifts from a long lost friend with a great sense of humor. There are Woot stories about people receiving very high end items in their BOC - so, you never know what will show up on your doorstep. Warning though: the BOC sells out FAST. You pretty much have to catch it as it is posted on the site. That is why I am clicking between this window and another, constantly hitting refresh - I don't want to miss my first chance at a BOC!!!

Stephen Hawking
http://www.cnn.com/2007/TECH/space/04/26/hawking.flight.ap/index.html

This story made me teary. This must have been an amazing experience for Dr Hawking. My family has a close connection with a family who lost a loved one with Lou Gehrig's, and to hear someone with the disease having experiences like this and sharing his message of exploration and looking towards the future is absolutely wonderful.

BEERFEST

Can I just say, yet again, how excited I am about Beerfest tomorrow? Ed and Amy will be getting her eabout 5 or 6 o'clock this evening. We are then off to Carburritos for dinner(also awesome), then a going away party for a friend leaving for an extended trip to Germany. (We'll miss ya, Luc!) We will hopefully be up and animated early enough to hit the farmer's market to get fresh stuff for our after beerfest cook-out, and i would like us to leave for Raleigh no later than 11am. Get in line, then BEER!!!!

LDOC

Wednesday's Last Day of Classes concerts on the Duke quad were absolutely fantastic. Common was beyond fantastic, and Jason Mraz actually rocked out, too. One of the funnier parts was my advisor, Dr. Kathy Rudy, getting a shout out from Jason Mraz during the concert, as he tagged along with her class on a trip to the Duke Lemur Center. I e-mailed Kathy about it the next day, and she said "Who is Jason Mraz?". ha! Gotta love it. Common's show was just unbelivable. The performance was high energy and nonstop. He addressed all the Duke issues (i.e. lacrosse) with tact and diplomacy, and I think everyone had a blast. Plus, it was great to be outside and having a few drinks with all of our buddies (Meredith, Stefan, Jeremy, Lauren, Cookie, Luc, Victoria, Dan, Mike and myself).

GIRL POWER

It has been too long since I have had quality girl time. That's gonna change next week though. I have a ladies lunch planned for Wednesday afternoon, and a Ladies Night Out planned on Saturday - including salsa dancing. WOO HOO! I am so looking forward to both of these events. One thing I have learned in the past couple of years is how very important it is for women to have women friends. It sounds obvious, but in reality, it is difficult. I am lucky enough to have many strong, beautiful, funny and outrageous women in my life. We all have our own issues and neuroses, but who better to help you deal with your own crap than other neurotic women??? It is the best support in life any woman can have.