Party Addendum

There is a final decision. I am going to arrange for proper invitations to be printed. Those of you for whom I have real snail-mail addresses will get a formal written invitation. In addition, everyone will get an e-mail invitation. I think everyone will be pleased with the plans. Expect to hear from me by mid-January!

-- Eric

Birthday Number 40

Although it's nearly a year away, my plans are almost solidified and details will soon be going out. All my friends and family members should have already received an email poll with the choices for locales. I've received a decent amount of replies and have narrowed it down to two of the original four places.

Although I am not prepared to reveal the winner (and indeed votes are still trickling in) for another few days or so, I will say the party will be held about a month early so more people can attend. It will be sometime between 7-23-05 and 8-8-05.

I'm just waiting on Karen, the travel agent, to finish checking the details.

I'm excited and hope to see many of you there.

Best,
Eric

Medical Crap

Yeah, whatever. I had a horrible medical experience earlier this month. I wrote very testy snail-mail letters to my soon-to-be ex-doctor and CVS Pharmacy. I will spare you the bloody (literally) details of what started this all and fail to mention it continues. I am in search of an excellent dermatologist who actually gives a shit about his patients.

Be that as it may, I was actually shocked to hear from both the doctor in question (who did not apologize or even make an excuse) but he did want to see me again. I am undecided. I also received three e-mails from CVS's corporate office indicating they are investigating. Although it's too late for me (not in a fatal way) maybe no other patient will be put through the hell I experienced.

-- E

Cal Rocks

Ah, yes, the University of California at Berkeley. Often maligned, terminally underfunded, but home of some of the most loyal alumni there are. The most amazing thing at Cal is our passionate feelings towards our wicked red-headed step-sister Stanford University and Junior High School. It was there long before I attended and will be there long after I am gone from this world. This powerful rivalry spawned "The Big Game" and of course "The Play" -- still ranked as one of the most amazing sports moments ever by Sports Illustrated.

Well, there are a few articles you should read. The first, published in Stanford's own student newspaper is the stunning admission that Cal really is better. We already know it, of course, but it's nice to be validated.
http://daily.stanford.edu/tempo?page=content&id=15400&repository=0001_article#

This comes on the heels of an important announcement. The London Times is ancient bastion of news and one of the more respected newspapers anywhere. They have published an objective ranking of the top universities. And we're not talking the best universities in the US, or the UK, or anything like that. These are the rankings of the finest universities on planet Earth. Rarified names such as Oxford, Yale, Cambridge, and such all appear below Cal. It's satisfying to know that according to the London Times, Cal is the second best university in the entire world. As a former Cal student, and card carrying member of the UC Berkeley Alumni association, I already knew that. And now, so does the rest of the world. The link is here: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2-1343642,00.html

That is today's fine news.

I will have other news down the road.

Yay.
-- Eric