The first post on this, the current condition of the human mind machine, is going to be interesting to all I hope. I'd just like to outline what this is going to be about I guess and start in on some of the subjects I'd like to come back to. I guess the first thing some people might ask is who the hell is this guy? I mean, why would you be interested in listening to the babblings of some ivory towered grad student in the middle of Texas? Well, for one thing, the tower may be ivory, but it's not surrounded by a shining city. On the contrary, it's a barren wasteland of obedient serfs out there. It's hard for a forward thinking guy to find any kind of support around here. There are some places, the Psychology Department is one of them. (I'm a grad student in Psychology if ya haven't put that together already.) The radio station, KEOS, and a couple of bars are progressive friendly, but the rest of this burg is very conservative. I guess having the George Bush Sr. Presidential Library in town doesn't help.

Not many good acts pass through College Station, so I have to head down to Austin to catch good shows. There's a good local band here called Floodgate, but beyond that, it's mostly cover bands and Dave Matthews Sound-a-likes. Good for the undergrad population I guess. I guess it's good that I'm here, because if I were in Austin, I'd never get any work done. I love my live music though, there's no doubt about that. My list of shows I have is outdated, but here it is anyway....

So what else is there...music, politics, oh yeah school. I'm in the Cognitive Psychology area here in the department. It's probably the best one to be in, but then again, I'm biased. I was talking with a few fellow CogHeads and we came to the conclusion that we are probably the most laid back people in the department. The Behavioral Neuroscience kids are cool, but the things they do to rats...well I'd never be able to do to another living being knowingly, the Industrial Psych. people are always too busy to stop and smell the roses, the Social Psych. people are just plain wierd, the Clinical people are aloof. It's a wonder that people get treatment at all with the way these people act. All snobbish and all...well I guess I shouldn't generalize. There are a couple of them that would do well over with us. The Cognitive folks are in this for a career mostly I think. We all see ourselves as teachers and researchers, not as some corporate lapdogs or practicioners. Some people might say, "They're doctors all right, but not ones that help people." It's a acerbic comment, but it gets to the point. I mean, I know my intentions are purely selfish. I study lingusitics because I want to know more about why I didn't start talking till I was 3, and I study creative thought because I want to know more about why I can come up with a witty remark and why I enjoy creative activities more than just sitting and watching sports.

So yeah, I guess this Weblog thing is a selfish thing as well. I guess I have to be a little selfish to balance the giving in my life. I tip heavily, give money to bums, tutor anyone who asks for help. I like to give away shows as well. People see me with a handful of bubble-wrap packages and know that I'm heading to the post office to get some more music out to my peeps on . I've always believed that people who achieve a balance are the happiest. That's why I think bums are content being bums and not getting off the street like everyone thinks they should. They found balance on the streets. Others find their balance by fucking over other people...I guess it's because everyone's so nice to them. Who knows?

I'm sure I've left something out, but that's about all I can think of for right now...