thoughtcrumbs

Dog sitting

I'm spending a couple of weeks in Montara, California, at my aunt and uncle's beach house. My mom flew down as well, and together we're watching Daisy, a lovable Saint Bernard with occasionally overwhelming fears that cause her to run and drag whatever unlucky human is still holding her leash. So far she's been delightful, and I learned that subtle leash-leading is a lot like partner dancing: you relax the lead (leash) when she's doing what you want, and give a little tension when you want to change direction. Later this week I intend to teach Daisy to Lindy Hop.

Being a sophisticated Bay Area dog, she of course has her own blog: Daisy Day-By-Day. She also eats the same things I do: brown rice, spinach, flax seeds, and eggs.

Yesterday I found a place to live in Palo Alto, where I'll be spending twelve weeks at Facebook doing what is basically my dissertation research on their data. Last month I flew over for an interview and was really impressed with the smart and cool people I met; the sunny, urban office space; and the excellent setup for social psychology research. Note to self: jokes about monitoring your friends' facebook logs aren't funny. For those of you who know I'm actually an ethical researcher and won't be looking at your data, and those of you who are going who will be in the Bay Area this summer, I'll be living a few blocks a Caltrain station and would love to have you over for dinner.

Tom and Sally's house—where I'm staying this week—is pretty much an ideal setup. Gourmet condiments in the fridge (tamarind paste, flax seed, good peanut butter), natural bath products in the shower, good wifi all over the house, and gorgeous views of the hills. The cell reception's not great, but I get bars in surprising places (like the bathroom). Last night mom and I watched the Oregon primary returns and drank a $3 bottle of cab. Today I'll be working on a large pile of CSCW reviews.