No, ma'am - they judged me a dinosaur (I think the exact term was an aged Stegosaurus) and denied me membership.

http://www.myspace.com/1059902

that's me!

-ming

Hi Tisha,

I think I am also too old for MySpace. I'm not sure they would let me in either, I just found out about my space a few weeks ago. I didn't know it existed until then. I looked around a little bit and made some observations.

First, I would be very leery about letting my teenager participate. It looks like a good place for a young person to get in trouble.

With that out of the way. It looks like a good place for adults to meet people and keep up with friends. My only advice to anyone who participates in MySpace is to be careful. There are lots of predators out there.

I also have read in the last two weeks that people who are hiring and people in academics are searching MySpace to find their applicants. If the applicant's participation is too outrageous, they are being denied jobs and not being excepted to schools.

Tisha and Ming, I'm reading this and starting to feel like I'm a mother hen. I'm not making any judgments here about the two of you. I have read enough of your entries to know that you are both responsible adults and are using this service wisely. I hope you have a lot of fun with it. If I were around 20 to 25 and/or maybe single I would consider using it.

Please keep us posted. I'm really interested on how people think about MySpace.

Larry

I agree with you, Larry. If I had a teenager, I'd be pretty leery about letting them on. I'd at least want to surpervise their page or something.

But I'm having a ball with it. I've found quite a few people that I haven't seen or talked to in ages. It's awesome for that kind of thing.

Ming, I'll be checking out your page here in a minute! :-)

Well, those things are so nifty! I've heard a lot about MySpace, but had never actually looked at any of the pages.

Tisha, love your pink squares :)

And Ming - I will beat you at crossword any day of the week. Scientists doing crossword puzzles... pfft.

PS - Where ARE those Tucson photos?

And what's the U. like? Is it gorgeous and wonderful? Are there cacti everywhere?

heh heh. i ALSO have a degree in English, with an emphasis on modernism.

so the university is actually pretty nice...not that i get out much because of the SEARING HEAT. they have a neat herbarium with an online guide to trees and succulents on campus, including a historical cactus garden. i try only to leave the lab to get coffee, and to check if the calotropis (giant milkweed) by the science library has set seed yet. if you visit, we will race!

write me some email and i'll remember to send you some pics of local trails, which have no trees, and a trip up to the chuska mtns. up north. i guess it's getting to be monsoon season because it's muggy now and overcast (yay!). IMO, that's MUCH more beautiful than the monotonous, cloudless blue sky.

-ming

Ahhhh.... English. Okay, in that case, I take back my crossword challenge.

If I visit, where/how/why will we race? If it's to get coffee or to see saguaros, I'm all over it. Otherwise... meyh.

Is the heat really searing? There's a webcam at U of Arizona (I am NOT obsessive!), with the temp displayed, and it's always 35C plus. But isn't it a "dry" heat? :)

And now that I've said that, I just pulled up the link to paste it here, and lo, the temp is a tepid 31C.

Here is a link that might be useful: University of Arizona webcam

In all the photos and webcam shots I've seen of Tucson, there are ~rarely~ people walking around. Is it because it's a driving culture there? Or are people staying inside because of the searing heat? Do people come out once it cools down? The public spaces just seem so ~empty~.

shelly,

when i used to think of sunshine and warmth, i thought of it in the temperate northwest. even the sun on the equator in malaysia (where it's also hot) isn't like the sun in the blasted desert. there's not a lot of humidity in the air so when the sunbeams hit you, it feels like a lazer (at least to me). hope you like using lotion/chapstick/vasoline/sunblock/umbrellas/hats/long-sleeved shirt! you should read my post under the "chapped lips from sun." on the other hand, i've met a lot of people here who are total sun dogs and they LOVE the searing heat.
me, i try not to leave the building unless it's to and from my car. i've stopped running and am now a gym rat (mostly because i can't and won't wake up at 5am in the morning just to exercise). of course, i'm a sun-wimp so keep in mind my assessment is a little biased because of my heat-wimpiness. it's also summer at the moment and the quad is MUCH more packed during the school year. the winters are fabulous, though, and i actually don't mind being outside then. oh yeah, and the sunlight gave me lupus. :P

-ming

Oh, I am the hat queen - I like a little sun on my skin, but only in moderation, and never for any length of time (like over ten minutes or so) on my face. Fancy brimmed hats are going to make a huge fashion comeback. Just you watch.

Good to hear that the campus picks up once the regular school year kicks in. But Ming, it's not just the campus that's deserted - it's the whole darn town! If you look at any photos from 'touristy' websites, or personal travel websites, or any websites really, you'll see lots of really pretty public places that are completely empty. Where are all the people?

Hi Shelly

Ah yes, the Western way of life. Everyone drives. It's affectionately known out here as the "One man one horse" mentality. We even have trouble getting carpooling to work. I say "here" because I have lived in Lincoln, lived around Tucson and now live in the Denver metro area. Mass transit has always been a hard sell. Although, it is getting better. As people from back East migrate to the West they bring the mass transit idea with them. We are starting to get light rail out here. It is amazing how people have fought it with such vigor. When a light rail line comes in it has been met with overwhelming positive response. So it's not as if people are too stubborn to see a good thing when they have it. And that is a very good sign to me.

Larry

I wish we had some kind of good public transportation here. I work 20 miles from where I live and I can't even take a bus from the area I live in, to work...buses don't run where I live. It sucks. I'd have to drive half-way to work, park, leave my car in a totally unsecure place, then take a bus the last half of the way. I would totally ride the bus to work at least part of the week, if it was available.