Laser beams...

Today I go in for LASIK surgery. That is right, I will be having a large "cold" lazer cut a flap in my cornia (covering of the eye), reshape my eyeball, and then lay the flap back down. The end result should be (and if it is not I will be rich from malpractice money) 20/20 or better vision. My vision isn't horrible now, but it is bad enough I have to wear glass all the time and if I don't I have trouble functioning. I need to thank my wife since she is the one who decided this would be a great graduation present (reminding everyone again that I am not graduated yet), it will be nice to wake up tomorrow and not have to search for my glasses. I will post a couple videos documenting the goings-on.

Bill

Better never than late...

Videos from my trip to Denver to find housing, meet with my new employers, and get the T.V. I apologize that they are not as comprehensive as I would have liked. I kept forgetting the camera when I got out of the car. They are sequentially ordered, so the video at the top is the beginning of the trip.

 Full of piss and vinegar!


Seemed like such a good idea the night before:


Somewhere near the smiley face water tower:


Middle of Nebraska and Adult Fiction:


 Lunch, the most unimportant meal of a road trip and Colorado:


Conquering the interstate system:


 Axis at the 9 miles:
 

 At least the blood stains on the carpet matched the drapes...


 The worst part is the morning after:


Rocky Mountain High Five:


How big is that new TV you got?

Tipping point...

So I think I have finally plugged away at my dissertation enough to the where my analysis finally worked. I had been running into one stupid little problem after another (which I hear is how research with large national datasets tends to work). But as of yesterday I got my large model to run. I am pretty sure I did it right, but I am meeting with the stats professor on my committee to make sure I in fact figured it out. If I did run it correctly then I uncovered a relationship where parent-child relationship was mediating the relationships between depression and aggressive behaviors. More plainly put, maternal depression does not in and of itself lead to poor behavior outcomes in children, rather it negatively influences how children and parents interact which then influences aggressive behaviors in children. I realize that may seem like a *duh* statement, however, the type of data and analysis I utilized has not really been conducted on that relationship. (pause for the nerds in the room to applaud my brilliant feat) Well that is it, I am going to back to the lab (computer lab, but it still sounds cool) to run more analysis. If you are in McKay for some reason stop by and bother me.

Trapped like a rat...or puggle...

As a graduation present my parents got Elaine and I new windows for our house. Which is good because we have those really old windows that the former owners painted over 17 times. They are impossible open, etc. So, last night Elaine and I had to move stuff away from our windows and take down the dressing (apparently, that is the word for blinds). Now, I am sitting in our upstairs bedroom with my 3 dogs just kind of hanging out. To the window guys credits they are absolutely flying through the replacement. We had 15 windows and they have 10 of them done and it is noon. However, every time they talk, pound, or breath Murphy feels the need to whine really loud and bark. The other dogs are doing fine, but Murphy the spaz is making up for that.


I am trying to work on my dissertation but it is a little distracting. In addition, I am having a hell of a time getting my model to run in AMOS. As a result, I am thinking about switching to Mplus. Mack Shelley (the stats guy on my committee and resident genius) described the Mplus vs AMOS relationship as, "AMOS is ok, Mplus is bigger, meaner, nastier, and generally cooler." Unfortunately, nasty, mean, and cool are not free, so I am weighing the pluses and minus of purchasing Mplus at a tidy $195. I am sure I will use it more, but man that is a lot of money.

That is pretty much my life right now. I will attempt to work on my dissertation again.

Bill 

One Quick Trip...

I am back from Denver. I will post videos soon, but I am too lazy to do it right now. However, the trip went well. I made it to see 3 apartments, the place I will work, and got my enormous television (it is bigger than Karl). Two of the three apartments were great and I would be really happy to live in them, the other one was possibly where germs are born. Unfortunately, I had to be back for work and did not get to go on my yearly trip to Nebraska with my friends. It spoiled my perfect attendance and I was none to happy. However, I have been feeling the pressure lately of finishing my dissertation, so I think it was a good decision all in all. Also, I cut my hair into a mohawk...it is awesome.