mercredi 16 avril 2008
Le Mur
Last night I went rock climbing at Le Mur de Lyon, a climbing gym, with Therese, Esther, Kimberly, and Therese's friend, Cecile. I had never gone climbing before. It was totally fun. Its hard to do, a real workout for your wrists and forearms, although some of the faux 'rocks' are harder to hold on to than others. Its also a bit scary a the top of the wall, even though once I started doing it I realized the impossibility of hurting yourself, because the rope system is extremely secure. I want to go again soon! How you do it in real life, without lots of fake rocks sticking out of the wall when you need them, I do not know.
mardi 15 avril 2008
Average starting salaries, by major
A friend sent this to me.
Doh! As a psychology major with an art history minor, this sure made me feel great.
Actually, one question is the degree to which the salary differentials remain in place 5 or 10 years out of school. I imagine all those philosophers and historians will undoubtedly go on to law school, where their salaries that five years later will blow the engineers and computer geeks out of the water.
Pharmacists, I was recently told, when they graduate, they will earn considerably more money compared to their peers. However, after that, their salaries rise much more slowly with increasing years of experience, in comparison to other jobs. So those English and art majors start lower but catch up more as time goes on. One could argue that in terms of amassing wealth, it is better to have more in your 20's and invest it-- that is what we are always told, right?-- rather than putting it away later in life. But, if you end up in a job with a substantial salary, does it make much difference?
Of course, there are the other benefits to majoring in philosophy, as found in this New York Times article:
Doh! As a psychology major with an art history minor, this sure made me feel great.Actually, one question is the degree to which the salary differentials remain in place 5 or 10 years out of school. I imagine all those philosophers and historians will undoubtedly go on to law school, where their salaries that five years later will blow the engineers and computer geeks out of the water.
Pharmacists, I was recently told, when they graduate, they will earn considerably more money compared to their peers. However, after that, their salaries rise much more slowly with increasing years of experience, in comparison to other jobs. So those English and art majors start lower but catch up more as time goes on. One could argue that in terms of amassing wealth, it is better to have more in your 20's and invest it-- that is what we are always told, right?-- rather than putting it away later in life. But, if you end up in a job with a substantial salary, does it make much difference?
Of course, there are the other benefits to majoring in philosophy, as found in this New York Times article:
Jenna Schaal-O’Connor, a 20-year-old sophomore who is majoring in cognitive science and linguistics, said philosophy had other perks. She said she found many male philosophy majors interesting and sensitive.
“That whole deep existential torment,” she said. “It’s good for getting girlfriends.”
lundi 14 avril 2008
Last snowboarding of the season
I went this weekend to Bardonecchia. This was the last weekend of the season that any lifts were running, and the weather was so warm in the valley that only the lifts at the highest altitude were open. Which was slightly limiting. Next time I'll know to go to Val d'Isere or another ski town at a very high altitude. But, we did eat lots of good Italian food and we did get some boarding in.
After some confusion with the hotel reservation at the Larici, we found a room at the Hotel Tabor, which was 3-stars. I think a 3-star hotel in Italy must be equal to a 2-star hotel in France, which is equal to about 1-star in the US. It was slightly nicer than a Motel 6. But, it was right next door to a excellent pizza place, and the beds were perfectly comfortable, so we didn't care so much.
On Saturday we went for a drive along the Susa valley, heading towards Torino. Here is B wrestling with the rental Renault Twingo.
Here is the little road we were on, the SS335.
It was a pretty drive.
We stopped to admire the fort in the town of Exilles.
Manuvering the streets of Exilles, while Italians sat outside, sunning themselves and drinking espresso.
There was still beaucoup de neige at higher elevations. In this picture, the town of Bardonecchia is visible in the valley below.
In his ski clothes, B resembled the preppy villain in some 80's John Cusack teen movie.
Here I am as we were heading out. I bonked my head boarding. Ouch. I promise to get a helmet before I go next time.
Driving home through the Alps. It was very pretty.
After some confusion with the hotel reservation at the Larici, we found a room at the Hotel Tabor, which was 3-stars. I think a 3-star hotel in Italy must be equal to a 2-star hotel in France, which is equal to about 1-star in the US. It was slightly nicer than a Motel 6. But, it was right next door to a excellent pizza place, and the beds were perfectly comfortable, so we didn't care so much.
On Saturday we went for a drive along the Susa valley, heading towards Torino. Here is B wrestling with the rental Renault Twingo.
Here is the little road we were on, the SS335.
It was a pretty drive.
We stopped to admire the fort in the town of Exilles.
Manuvering the streets of Exilles, while Italians sat outside, sunning themselves and drinking espresso.
There was still beaucoup de neige at higher elevations. In this picture, the town of Bardonecchia is visible in the valley below.
In his ski clothes, B resembled the preppy villain in some 80's John Cusack teen movie.
Here I am as we were heading out. I bonked my head boarding. Ouch. I promise to get a helmet before I go next time.
Driving home through the Alps. It was very pretty.
jeudi 10 avril 2008
Olympic flame
The story of the Olympic flame runner being attacked in Paris was all over the news earlier this week.
Yo go people! The recent events in Tibet appear to be galvanizing human rights activists from other regions of China for a common cause. More power to them. Yesterday the runners got harassed in San Francisco. What's next-- will they skip all the other cities and zip it right to China?
You would think that these flame runners, ex-Olympic athletes themselves, would be able to outrun the overweight protesters. Or, take them in a fight.
It seems to me that the games should not be boycotted, because that just punishes the athletes. But a boycott of the opening ceremony is appropriate.
Yo go people! The recent events in Tibet appear to be galvanizing human rights activists from other regions of China for a common cause. More power to them. Yesterday the runners got harassed in San Francisco. What's next-- will they skip all the other cities and zip it right to China?
You would think that these flame runners, ex-Olympic athletes themselves, would be able to outrun the overweight protesters. Or, take them in a fight.
It seems to me that the games should not be boycotted, because that just punishes the athletes. But a boycott of the opening ceremony is appropriate.
mercredi 9 avril 2008
So much for spring
It snowed in the north of France this week, while it rained here. I think this calls for one last snowboarding trip of the season!
dimanche 6 avril 2008
Lyon sushi
Friday night I went out for sushi to a place called Toya, in the 3rd arrondissement. On my way there I ran into Vivian, who told me that she thinks that the sushi restaurants in Lyon are sub-par because all the fish is flown in from the other side of the planet: the salmon from Norway, the tuna from the US, etc. I have no idea if this is true or not, but I have to say that my dinner at Toya was nothing special. The tuna, in particular, did not taste fresh. I had one bite and wouldn't eat the rest-- it had that strong fishy smell. In addition to that problem, I suspect they watered down their soy sauce. But, the gyoza was good. So, I have no idea where to go for sushi in Lyon, although some coworkers swear by one of the conveyor belt sushi places in the presque ile.
In contrast, I have had other good Asian meals in Lyon of late. In particular, I had some great lemongrass soup at a Thai place called Bangkok Royal. Also, despite the lack of spice, I am getting attached to the Indian dishes at a place that is just down the block from me. They are clearly French-inspired in that the sauces are think and rich. The sag paneer is delish.
In contrast, I have had other good Asian meals in Lyon of late. In particular, I had some great lemongrass soup at a Thai place called Bangkok Royal. Also, despite the lack of spice, I am getting attached to the Indian dishes at a place that is just down the block from me. They are clearly French-inspired in that the sauces are think and rich. The sag paneer is delish.
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