Of course it’s not too late to buy me a Christmas present! In fact, I’m happy to receive presents at all times of the year

I love cooking. In fact, I love cooking so much that in those weak moments where I have thought all this higher education I’m going through was not worth it, I’ve seriously considered going to either culinary of pastry school. My friends can attest to my love of cooking, too. There’s the ridiculous amount of cookies I make each year (see these posts), the fancy dinner parties with two appetizers, two entrees, four sides AND dessert, and the weekly dinner I cook for friends to eat while watching House and reruns of The Office.

Anywho, one of the best parts of cooking is getting to use knives. Another dream of mine is to run away to the circus and become a knife thrower, or a knife-throwing trapeze artist, or something fun like that. My friend Matt bought me a beautiful 7-inch Furi East/West granton-edge knife a few years back, and I think I love that knife more than anything except my teddy bear. I love chopping up garlic and onions, dicing tomatoes, slicing peppers and meats… Ah, even thinking about it relaxes me.

But alas, that is just one knife. And while I do have others, they rest in a boring wood block. I need some excitement for my knives, a way to take out frustration at the men who have caused me grief. I need this! This beautiful knife holder known as “The Ex,” allows me to stab boys through the heart whenever I go into a rage. This would make my kitchen – and me – much happier. So buy me this for Christmas friends. In fact, I think one of those lovely men who caused me past grief should buy it for me as it is a just dessert.

There I go getting all bitter again. Stupid holidays. (But I still want the knife stand.)

Tor Books chooses author to finish Wheel of Time series

If you thought I was a dork before, man were you off the mark. Here I reveal my true dorkiness: my love of fantasy. It’s not really my fault, but the combination of nature and nurture, including one parent so obsessed with Tolkien that the first real book read to me was The Hobbit, and the other parent having read almost every fantasy book ever written (along with most other books ever written really). It started with Tolkien, grew into Anne McCaffrey as a preteen, and was then followed by the likes of Melanie Rawn, Robert Jordan, Terry Goodkind, Tad Williams and many others.

Robert Jordan has been one of my favorite authors of all time since I was a teenager. His Wheel of Time series covers 12 books, hundreds of characters, an entire world, and nearly 20 years of writing. Jordan lost his battle with amyloidosis in September while writing the 12th and final book. The 11th book was released nearly two years ago, but the 12th book has been slow going, predominantly because he was sick during the entire time period and also because the book is expected to be extremely long (ranges suggest between 1000-2000 pages).

Even though I was devastated by Jordan’s death, part of me (and I’m sure all fans of the series) was nervous as to how the book was going to be finished. Shortly before he died, Jordan told his wife (who is also his editor), his cousin and potentially a few other people exactly how the story ended. And he has apparently kept copious notes over the years outlining the series, including the final book.

Last week, Tor named the successor to the series: Brandon Sanderson. My initial reaction: um, who? I’ve never heard of this author (although I guess I didn’t expect to know the person), but he has apparently written at least five books, including Elantris, which I have also never heard of. Meh. Jordan’s wife Harriet will remain as the primary editor on the book and will hopefully help guide Sanderson in achieving Jordan’s goal. Right now the tentative schedule is to release the book in fall 2009, a mere 3-3/4 years after book 11. Well, I guess that’s better than nothing (and better than Melanie Rawn writing two books of a trilogy and still not having published the third and final book 10 years later!). Not that I’m bitter or anything. Oh wait, yes I am.

Digital Footprints report now live on Pew Internet Project website

My first report (it’s not really my report, but I’m a coauthor) was published today on Pew Internet’s site.

What do we mean by digital footprints, you ask? Here’s a brief overview:

Internet users are becoming more aware of their digital footprint; 47% have searched for information about themselves online, up from just 22% five years ago. However, few monitor their online presence with great regularity. Just 3% of self-searchers report that they make a regular habit of it and 74% have checked up on their digital footprints only once or twice.

Indeed, most internet users are not concerned about the amount of information available about them online, and most do not take steps to limit that information. Fully 60% of internet users say they are not worried about how much information is available about them online. Similarly, the majority of online adults (61%) do not feel compelled to limit the amount of information that can be found about them online.

Check out the full report here.

Check out gnovis’ new issue

I can’t believe I didn’t post this earlier (sorry Brad), but everyone should check out gnovis’ fall issue here. For those not familiar with gnovis, it is the official peer-reviewed journal of Communication, Culture and Technology (CCT) at Georgetown University (and I am the peer review manager there). Thanks to our fearless leader, we released the best issue ever this past Sunday, with six articles spanning the full range of CCT research.

That said, it’s time for me to get back to work.

And back to crying.

New blog post on Pew Internet Project website

Here’s my latest post, which looks at some recent reports linking broadband expansion to decreased greenhouse gas emissions. Save the planet, get broadband! And since it is the Word of the Year, let me also add w00t!

Could broadband help the environment?
Environmentally friendly business practices have become commonplace over the last decade, and the technology sector is no exception. With organizations like Gartner and publications like E-Commerce Times listing Green IT among their top trends for 2008, many people may be wondering what they can do to make their technology usage more environmentally friendly. (Read more)…

New movie idea has spider eat a NASA shuttle…or not.

A recent clip from NASA TV shows the camera watching the space shuttle Atlantis chilling out on the launch pad. Then, out nowhere, a beast of a spider climbs onto the shuttle and proceeds to eat it. Or, the spider is merely crawling across the camera lens. Regardless of what actually happened (I’m staying firmly in the shuttle-eating spider camp), the video is pretty funny. This is probably the same spider who decided to bite me FIVE TIMES on my knee earlier this week. Bastard.

[Thanks Boing Boing!]

And the Merriam-Webster Word of the Year for 2007 goes to…

In 2004, it was “blog.” How exciting.

In 2005, it was “integrity.” So lame.

In 2006, it was Stephen Colbert’s creation, “truthiness,” which is defined as “truth that comes from the gut, not books.”

So what could it be in 2007, a year filled with lots of blogs, little integrity, and just a smattering of truthiness?

::drum roll please:: The Merriam-Webster 2007 Word of the Year is…

w00t. Yes, that’s one “w,” two zeros, and a “t”. Not familiar with the w00t, are you? Well then, you obviously are way too cool for me. Some of my friends have been using w00t and other random l33t speak for years, thinking (as most nerds do) that it’s only a matter of time before they take over the world and everyone has to speak a new language composed of letters and numbers. Weirdos.

Anyway, Merriam-Webster defines this little gem of a term as “expressing joy (it could be after a triumph, or for no reason at all); similar in use to the word ‘yay’.” I would like to submit the following terms for its list of synonyms: woohoo, holy shit, hot damn, in your face, and fuck yeah!

Between fits of crying over finals, I found another reason to cry

Although I realize this admission solidifies me as an uber-dork, my favorite television show for a few years in my early to mid-20s was Jeopardy. Even though I don’t watch it so much any more (especially since I tried-out and got rejected…which was probably a good thing, since I tried out for the same season that Ken Jennings dominated), news like this still upsets me.

I have two comments to make on this particular version of the story:

1) Why the hell does Yahoo! have an entertainment section called OMG? I’m sorry Yahoo!, but you’re just not that cool.

2) The picture of Trebek they’re using makes him look like he does some serious fake-and-bake-ing. What’s up with that? I mean, fake tans are acceptable up into your late-20s if you’re a normal person and mid-40s if you’re a celebrity, but Trebek is a dinosaur. I mean, he was hosting Jeopardy back in the 1880s if I remember correctly.

All kidding aside, I hope the man is ok, as I can’t imagine anyone else hosting Jeopardy. Hopefully, a heart attack isn’t much to deal with when you’ve walked away from a serious car accident.

Cookies done, check. Everything else… damnit!

So, cookie weekend was a success, at least in that we managed to make every kind of cookie for a total output of 2800 cookies (close to 30 different kinds). It was an utter failure in my getting anything else done, as I spent every waking moment of Friday – Sunday in the kitchen. I think I logged about 40 hours in the kitchen when everything was said and done.

Needless to say, I’m feeling a bit like this guy below. So I’m not sure how much I’ll be posting this week. Come next Monday though, the hardest part of the semester (finals) will be over and I’ll have a bit more free time. Of course, I still have to work, and write more of my thesis, and do holiday nonsense, but maybe I’ll actually be able to sleep some more. Hooray.

It’s cookie time!

For those who know me well, I’m heading up to Baltimore tonight to begin the (only) Vitak family tradition of a four-day marathon cookie baking. I’ll be up there until at least Sunday evening, baking from dawn into the night (or something like that), feverishly working to churn out 3000 of the most scrumptious cookies you have ever eaten.

Because my parents are stuck in the Ice Age, this means I won’t have much (if any) Internet access through the weekend. If you really need to reach me, phone is the best way. And if you don’t know my cell number, then I suppose you’re not a person I want to talk to. 🙂

Anyway, if you’re in the area, swing by and enjoy some cookie goodness. Otherwise, find me next week, as I’m sure I’ll have cookies on me at all times.