Welcome, all!

My friend Aaron Firestein, who I went to elementary school with, suggested that I start a blog to document my fascination with the Berkeley Tree Sitters. I will probably also be including other things that both fascinate and annoy/infuriate me, most likely having to do with venomous snakes. I might also (if I'm in a questionable mood) share stories about working with mathematicians, but I have a feeling I'm the only person who finds most of them funny.

So.... it's difficult to decide where to begin, as they provide endless fodder for bloggers big and small (or average sized, in my case) but I think I'll start with the list of tree sitting pseudonyms that I particularly enjoy. We've all heard of Dumpster Muffin (seriously, how retarded of a hippie name is that?) but have we all gotten a kick out of Ayr? He's still up there - one of the four remaining idiots. Or Shem? Shem's a pretty good one too... I particularly enjoy Millipede and Huckleberry, though, as they most exemplify the hippie rational of choosing one's fight name by thinking of something random in nature and going with it. I enjoy driving by (especially on my way to my PAYING JOB) and honking my horn. When they look up, sometimes raising a fist in solidarity with me as they think I support their cause, I yell "HIPPIES GO HOME" at the top of my voice and laugh at their bewildered expressions. I sometimes go with "GO BEARS" as well, because nothing infuriates a hippie who hasn't showered in 21 months like a reference to the glory that is Cal football.

In weird snake news....
http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/news/world/snake-bite-leads-to-grisly-find/2008/08/27/1219516548630.html
This guy is why I wear closed toed shoes in the comfort of my own apartment.