A few randoms, IV

[Some randoms I started collecting last week, but never posted. I've added the last three, so I could publish and then start a new post about the weekend. Number seven: This is my last full week in Berkeley! Eep.]

1. The guys downstairs are blasting John Mayer. It's slightly better than the non-music they used to play last year, but I still find it strange. Is it really necessary to blast Mayer? I didn't think that was the point.

[1b. David, was it really necessary for me to italicize twice? And I just did it again.]

2. The girls had been looking for roommates, so in a Craigslist post, they wanted to express that they would prefer Christian roommates. But since they couldn't explicitly require that (Craiglists rules dictate), we deliberated for a while and then came up with this: "We are two Christian females looking for roommates in our 3 bedroom..." Apparently this didn't help to filter out this looker:

Hi Christian Ladies.What's up? My name is Eric. To tell the truth,I am not Christian first of all,but I believe in God who is God of Jesus,Moses,Muhammad,Budah etc.So if it matters,you'd better not response to this email. Secondly,I am not a female! I am a junior transfer to UC Berkeley for this coming fall semester.I am a clean,organized,disciplined guy who keeps himself out of all sort of troubles all year long.So if the gender is just a matter of "Preferration" and not "Proliferation",I would be more than happy to get to know two young,bright ladies and take them as my friends.You know,more friends is never enough. Ok.I guess I said enough.By the way,I can send my pictures too and then, you guys can see what a good-looking roommate you could have! And I am not kidding! I look forward to your reply whether with a green light or a solid red. Take Care Eric

Wow is all I can say.

3. Watched a fascinating instructional video on the Abilene paradox - the paradox in which "a group of people collectively decide on a course of action that is counter to the preferences of any of the individuals in the group. It involves a common breakdown of group communication in which each member mistakenly believes that their own preferences are counter to the group's and do not raise objections," according to Wikipedia. Glued to the screen, Maria, Sammypants, and I were surprised/impressed by how un-80s the skits were.

4. This is beautiful.

5. Best of this last weekend? Visiting Sharon in LA. Post to come on that pronto. Best thing after coming back from a weekend away? The feeling after hitting "Mark all as read" to the 40 some posts in Google Reader. [Of course I read all the important things from friends, and then I got to experience the great (albeit misleading) feelings of having accomplished something without working for it, while not feeling guilty. At least, not too guilty.]

6. Oh, and Digsy drew me another comic! Thanks!