Tips For New Years Eve

A few friendly tips for today.

1. Football is king.
2. You will root for Purdue in the Sun Bowl.
3. You will curse the moron who decided to put the Louisville-Boise State game at 3:30. By the time we switch over from watching the Sun Bowl 80 points will already be scored in that game.
4. Drink responsibly. Just drink so much you pass out on the spot. Ne need to worry about driving drunk as you drool on the floor.
5. Do remember to bring drinks, snacks, or pizza money.
6. Remember to wish for Dick Clark to get better. NYE without Dick just ain't right.
7. Celebrate the new friends and family in your life.
8. Remember the friends and family you lost.
9. On a personal note: good riddence to this crappy year of 2004.
10. Do NOT kiss your friend's wife/significant other at midnight. Kissing his mistress is okay.

Truth, Justice, and Explosions

Are we talking the comic book version, which was cool, or either one of the two movie versions, which sucked? I'll go with the cool comic book version. Not my fault some directors and script writers can't adapt a good story into a different medium.

I'm Evil & I Love It!

I was a little surprised by this one. On the plus side when it comes to Bad Mother Fu^%*#s in Black I am officially the second best BMF in Black since some dude named Vader. Mr. Anderson!

I Better Get Rid Of That Blond Wig

My Atlas crew had a nice discussion that started with me, or about me depending on your P.O.V., the other day. I didn't get to participate due to my crusin' for shiney sheetmetal. The political leaders of the world NEED to listen to us as we've solved most of the world's problems already. We already have President Bush's ear as John Ashcroft monitors our communications. I will not share all the good stuff, but you need to realize a few things:

1. We're all tight with each other. We can and will insult each other at will.
2. Political Correctness is not in our vocabulary.
3. We can analyze any problem due to our varied skill set. We have lawyers, engineers, MBA people, teachers, and even liberal arts graduates! Oh yeah one crazy ass blogger sometimes contributes as well.
4. Our political spectrum is *cough* varied. Our gambit runs from Attila the Hun to bleeding heart liberals.
5. Our thought process is convoluted due to our ability to analyze the problem from every angle.
6. No you're not invited. Atlas is our clubhouse.
7. Names have been redacted to protect the guilty, the innocent, and everyone else.

DrunkenIrishman: Y'know, I have never seen [me, your host] and Ann Coulter in the same room.... [Ed. I have no idea what prompted his original thought, but me, Ann Coulter, and a kiddie pool full of jello in the same room could be fun]
Pillar of Hoosier Centrism: I don’t know, that sort of ideological throat stuffing sounds more like [Dr. SAB] than [me]. [Moi] likes diversity, just not in the legislature.
Dr.SAB: I celebrate diversity. I love experiencing different cultures. But if you kill other people, especially MY people, over your "diversity"...I'll smoke your ass. I mean I will unrepentantly squash you like a bug. Like the worthless, sub-human slime you are. I will, however, voluntarily group large numbers of people together in those categories.
DrunkenIrishman: They have Al-Jazerra, we have Ann Coulter. Works for me.
JewBoy: Can we trade? We have a couple draft picks we can give up right? Perhaps an undisclosed amount of cash?
DrunkenIrishman: I see it as a wash. All we would be doing is swapping propagandists.
Vampire: I want to know exactly what it would take to get Ann Coulter Vs Michael Moore in the Thunderdome. 2 Self-Aggrandizing Propagandists enter -- 1 Self-Aggrandizing Propagandist leave. Al-Jazeera can televize it on PPV.
Pillar of Hoosier Centrism: You mean Michael Moore hasn’t run away to Canada yet?
Vampire: If you were Canada, would you take him? I'm sure he's like all the other celebrities who threaten to leave to Canada if Bush got elected; full of sound and fury, signifying nothing. You'll notice that a lot fewer of them made that claim this time around. Besides, if he ran away to Canada, who would he make a living attacking? Gary Bettman?
Pillar of Hoosier Centrism: I’m sure he’s headed somewhere without color TV. The world is so much easier when it is black and white. . . . The left now has their Rush Limbaugh, complete with gut. I bet Dubbya sent MM a thank you card for scaring the religious right into voting. Moore is the best thing to happen to the right since Dukakis.
DrunkenIrishman: Well, him and gay marriage. Two best sock puppets the right has ever had.
Vampire: Aah, gay marriage. Bane of Western Civilization. If only they could get Michael Moore to Gay marry somebody himself.....maybe Rush Limbaugh; there'd be an Antichrist both sides could agree on! "Tonight on Fox News, a special expose on how gay marriage is undermining the foundations of society and destroying the institution of marriage. Watch the full report tonight after an all-new 'Trading Spouses: Meet Your New Mommy' only on Fox!"

The sad thing is no one listens to us when we're right. We should just open up our own thinktank and get paid to pontificate white papers. It could double as a comedy tour as well.

Gimme My Pulse Rifle!

Going To The Auto Show

Dad and I paid our annual visit to the auto show Tuesday. At least this year we didn't have to fight a blizzard, though fighting downtown parking was almost as bad. All that shiny sparkly sheet metal. Ummmmm. For me it is usually about dreams because I can't afford the good stuff. The past few years I've been using the show as a forum to inspect potential vehicle purchases. The Mighty Green Ranger can't last forever. It is only a question of falling into a thousand pieces two weeks before graduation or can I get the MGR to last until Fall 2006 to maybe Spring 2007 (down payment money for both car and house will be a pain to scrape up while making student loan payments). Here are my thoughts and observations on the auto show.

• Money, money, money: Don't forget your dollar off coupons from the Indianapolis Star. Hey a buck is a buck.
• This handy carrying case: Grab a bag to carry brochures from Saturnland. Just hang a left and go to the end. The bags from Toyotaland and Mitsubishiland are much farther and I didn't want to walk that far.
• Not Fresh Enough: Our show sucks because it is among the earliest in the circuit! The manufacturers save the big debuts for either Detroit, L.A., or Chicago which are early next year. Indy gets the lame duck cars that are already in the process of being replaced or the show cars from last year. No new Hyundai Sonata, no new Gen V VW Jetta & Golf, no Dodge Charger, and we barely got the new Chevy Cobalt. It is hard to get excited about sheetmetal that isn't going to be around in a few months and I want to see new stuff.
• Is GM learning yet: I won't be able to say until I've heard the driving reports, but it appears GM has learned from the Saturn Ion fiasco when they created a new stablemate in the Chevy Cobalt for entry-level small car. The Cobalt appears much more refined than the Ion though both are off the Delta platform. Perhaps the sacrificial dissection of a Jetta to figure out suspension tweaking will carry over to the performance dynamics of the Cobalt. I would at least test drive a Cobalt and I would never have said that about a Cavalier.
• The Polite Car: The new Acura RL actually greets a driver by displaying "Welcome" on the dashboard. That was trick.
• The Need for F&B: I like to perform the Front & Back (F&B) Test when getting into sedans. I put the driver's seat where I like it (if manually operated), then I get in the rear seat to see if my knees have any room. As I'm 5'10" I figure this is a decent measure for passenger room in a vehicle. My really tall friends may have to suffer, but I can't accommodate everyone in my life. BTW: most subcompact vehicles will fail this test. Those cars are simply too small to carry adults in both sets of seats.
• Shorty Saabaru: The Saab 9-2X (nicknamed Saabaru as it is a modified Subaru Impreza) sorta failed the F&B test. I got out of the driver's seat as this nice couple wanted to take a look (hey I'll yield for pregnant ladies). Dude was 6'1" and jacked the seat back as far as it would go. After they left I hopped in the rear seat and couldn't get out! My legs were so jammed against the back of the front seat that I couldn't twist it enough to get out! For a second I thought I would have to ask someone wandering by if they could adjust the front seat a few inches. I've been LOCKED in the back of cars before because of child safety locks so though embarrassing, it isn't uncommon at these shows for me to ask for help out of odd situations. Luckily I could reach up to the ski rack on top and managed to lift myself up enough that my leg had clearance to get out! I love the car, but it is a little too small for comfort.
• Why do they keep coming out with new Mustangs every time I'm ready to graduate: Saw the new 'Stang up close. Nice. Rear seat supposedly has more room. It didn't look much more roomy than my old one. If only I were 1o years younger so I wouldn't care about the possibility of children within the lifetime of the vehicle. I deserve 300 horsepower with retro styling.
• Look But Don't Touch: You could look at the Bentleys, from behind a velvet rope. A quarter mil for a sedan, sure why not?
• 3 For Me: If asked what would be a great small car to look at the first three I would recommend now are Honda Civic, Toyota Corolla, and Mazda 3. The first two are the best selling small cars in the U.S. for good reason. Civic/Corolla are well built, fuel efficient, reliable, have high value for the price paid, but I find them to lack personality. Because Honda and Toyota sell so many of them, they get conservative on the design so as to not offend people. Honda and Toyota desire lots of sales so they design for a lowest-common denominator. Good business strategy and I can't fault them for it. I wouldn't have a problem owning either Civic/Corrola, but they just lack passion and soul. Mazda, being a smaller company, tries to be scrappy in order to get attention in the small car market dominated by Honda/Toyota (GM with Cadaver and DiamlerChrysler with Neon just aren't in the same league to be honest). The scrappy Zoom-Zoom company came out with the 3 sedan and hatchback last year and I'm still impressed with it. 3 sedan has baby-BMW 3ish styling overtones (no bad thing) and the hatch just has that "In Your Face, Kickin' Sand in Corrola/Civic Grills Attitude" that it needs to get noticed. Mazda knows how to tune a suspension for curvy roads. The optional 2.3liter makes 160 horsepower well in excess of the competition. Only downside to the 3 compared with Corrola/Civic is the latter get better mileage. 3 is rated at 32 mpg highway while Corrola/Civic get nearly 40 mpg on the highway. Still I like the hatch configuration, the muscular taut styling, and the passion in the machine. Top candidate so far for my next purchase is Mazda 3. If you're in the market, take it for a test drive.
• Would you like to buy this deathtrap: Over in Kialand a local salesperson was curious if I would be interesting in test driving the Kia Spectra when I'm not in the market. I explained it had good styling, was surprisingly room (it passed the F&B Test), had great warranty, and was an interesting small car. I didn't have to heart to ask him, "Hey isn't is the car that just failed the governments frontal crash test?"
• Pass: we didn't even bother with Suzukiland. Motorcycles sure...automobiles I'll pass on.
• Plush With A Comfortable Ride: My dad was thrilled with the new Ford 500. Big, very roomy (extremely easily passes the F&B Test), seems to have good build quality, and interesting interior design that he had no qualms about. Not my cup of tea, but he was thrilled with it. First really big car he seemed thrilled with. Buickland bored him, Caddys are too damned expensive, most of Mercury and Lincoln previous big cars are boring, and Chrysler 300 was nice but too pricey for his tastes (too be honest Dad is a cheapskate).
• Parliament Needs To Take Action: All Jaguars should be in British Racing Green. Nuff said.
• The Budweiser Sedan: My dad's summation of the upscale Hyundai XG350 sedan, "You see that black car over there? It'll fold like a beer can in a crash, but it's really got all the bells and whistles in there."

Reliable Warmth At Last?

I can understand the furnace repair people being busy, but could you at least return my phone calls? Left a message last Thursday night and this morning. Around one this afternoon I got tired and decided to call a different company. Normally I am a three strikes and you're out kind of guy and the original team was only at two strikes, but damnit I wanted a working furnace or at least a phone call!

The new guy took over 3 hours to work on my furnace and replaced the expensive and brand spankin' sequencer that was installed less than 2 weeks ago with a cheaper, but seems to be working okay so far, set of conductors (whatever those are). The sad thing is Marty and Darrel called back as the new guy was working on my furnace. I told them that things were fine and to not worry about. I just didn't want to say "Hey I waited forever, but finally called someone else to see if some action would be taken." I didn't want the possibility of a shouting match or anything as my patience was wearing thing at that point.

Dad figures I should ask for a rebate for the sequencer. It is laying on top of the furnace useless right now. I guess I can write a letter. I shouldn't pay for small expensive part that isn't being used now. I just don't feel like calling them to bitch about it. I only have so much energy now and I would rather work on things that NEED to be done and rest and recover from the fall semester.

Here is my small dream tonight: that when I wake up the temperature isn't 10-15 degrees cooler than when went to sleep.

Korean Deathtrap*

No I'm not referring to the DeMilitarized Zone, but the newest Kia Spectra. It was the first car to get a POOR rating in the front impact crash test in 4 years. In a 40 m.p.h. frontal crash you'll likely to have severe injuries to your head, chest, and legs.

That is rather odd because the new Spectra and Spectra5 are based on the Hyundai Elantra, which is one of the few vehicles to get the highest rating of GOOD (Why not have the highest rating be EXCELLENT? GOOD sounds like a B to me.) Elantra impact ratings have gone up the past few years as minor things like fuel lines got moved around and improved the rating. Since Hyundai bought out Kia a few years ago you would have thought all the engineers would talk with each other to get things right.

Though I'm not buying for another year or two I have to admit the Spectra5 was one automobile that held my interest. The hatch design is pragmatic, kind of sporty looking, and it is a light enough car that the engine has enough power to pull well. I saw it as a Mazda 3 lite automobile (though upgrading to the 3 is well worth the extra money if you can swing it).

*I'll admit the title is sensationalist, but I made you look didn't I?

Good Chocolate = Good Sex

This falls under the category of Things We Already Knew, But Nice To Have Scientific Confirmation.

Chocolate seems to make the mood more fulfilling, said Dr. Andrea Salonia, an Italian researcher, who was to report on the link he found between satisfying sex and chocolate at
the annual meeting of the European Society for Sexual Medicine in December in
London. ...The most recent finding has an Italian researcher saying he has found an association between eating chocolate and sexual fulfillment. Women who love chocolate, he says, seem to
have better love lives.

No need to study this using Italian scientists. We could have asked any number of women I know and gotten the same results. So if you don't like chocolate....this could explain a few other things in your life.

Peyton's Conspiracy

Secretly overheard during the Colt-Chargers game during the fourth quater:

Mike Vanderjagt: Okay Peyton I'll miss the field goal attempt. You'll be forced to have a dramatic drive to get the 49th touchdown. Then you'll have a dramatic 2 point conversion to tie the game. You'll be on all the highlight reels and we can win this game in overtime!
Peyton Manning: Good idea Vandy, that way I'm the hero and you're the idiot kicker. How nice of you to give football fans such a dramatic game. They'll definately get their moneys worth today. You think Marino had his heart attack by now?

If you love offense that was the game to watch. I kept having a heart attack watching it!

Christmas Catching Up

Yeah the extended family needs to get together more often. One cousin I hadn't seen in a year was unaware I was in law school for 5 semesters now. Some extended relative brought his new GF to the party who was a helicopter pilot for the Coast Guard. I helped park cars at his wedding a few years ago. Didn't even know he was divorced now. One cousin is now a homeowner and works about 2 blocks from where I live.

We learned that if you give the Crazy Aunt more than two glasses of wine she tends to have a good time. She's fun to watch in that very scary sort of way. We should have gotten her all liquored up years ago.

Good to have the grandparents there. Normally they're in warm Florida, but this year have been in the northern hinterlands with us since the spring.

One foot of snow on the ground does make it look festive. At least the city had 2 days or so the clear the streets and make driving passable. Too many still went too fast for the conditions.

Temperature was a brisk 49 degrees inside my place when I finally got home. Did I mention my furnace stopped producing heat a few hours after it got fixed again? Over two weeks without regular heat during the coldest weather of the year. Gotta love it!

The Darkness And The Light Of The Holidays

I was originally thinking about doing a post on how the Politically Correct forces of our society are destroying the spirit of Christmas. Or perhaps I could have posted on how I learned an old friend and his wife just had a baby and the shock that news was to me (I've been out of the loop for nine months, I didn't know at all!). Or perhaps I could have come up with something poignant about the holiday season and the deeper meaning that I feel so many of us forget.

Instead I'm going to be cognitively lazy and link to an old co-worker's blog post. She just started blogging and her thoughts on the holidays echo many I've been thinking lately. This is a time of hope and I need to remember that. Despite the numerous tribulations of this year I am still standing, in spite of several people's active desire that I not. Over the past few months I've occasionally heard how strong I am. Believe me I don't feel strong; I simply survived. Yet through survival brings a hope of renewal and rebirth, that same hope that underpins the mythos of this holiday season.

I doubt I'll be on at all over the next two days so Merry Christmas to all.

Grumpy Santa

The folks at JibJab, who brought you This Land, are at it again. Don't show this one to the kiddies.

Tracking Santa On His Rounds

Those of you with children may appreciate this site. For the 50th year, the U.S. military at NORAD will track Santa Claus using radar, satellites, cameras, eye witness reports, and fighter escorts to make sure the tubby elf and 8-9 reindeer don't get into any trouble while in American and Canadian airspace.

Children can call a toll-free number to talk with military personal volunteering their Christmas Eve to track Santa and report his location to kids.

Not only is a valuable service provided for kids, but the international implications of firing on Santa are horrendous. Don't fear for Santa if that happens though, Rudolph is equipped with a jammer in that searchlight nose of his and both Donner and Blitzen are in charge of deploying chaff in case a radar guided missile locks onto the sleigh. Don't forget the biggest defensive weapon Santa does have is his naughty list and lumps of coal.

Christmas Commercials I Can Do Without

Some Christmas themed commercials I like. Others deserve napalming the actors, producers, and script writers of such atrocities. In no particular order of my hit list:

• Any diamond commercial that has the theme of "Buy her diamonds or you don't love her!"
• Lexus commercials where their products arrive with the big red ribbon. My personal favorite is the one with the Lexus SUV in the living room when the family comes downstairs. The way that commercial should end is the mother shooing the kids back upstairs screaming that her and daddy are going to test out folding rears seats and the rear suspension right now.
• Christmas carolers singing the praises of a Honda Civic. At least you don't have cute kids hawking a $16,000 automobile.
• My #1 Favorite of this season: any Old Navy commercial with those perfect politically correct Christmas carolers. What puts it over the top is the cut to the perfect, sugary sweet little girl pleading we buy fashionable polar fleece and pants all in sizes that wouldn't fit the majority of us. Santa would snap after watching that atrocity of commercialism.

Grudge Match

I found this years ago. You will find some category of interest to you (Care Bears, Webster, Star Wars, The A-Team, etc) and it is the funniest and coolest thing I've ever seen since Celebrity Deathmatch. I'm talking Mentos Levels of Coolness (TM). I'll copy this to the Links of Worthiness as well for permanent display.

This one might be my personal favorite, but so many are so good!

The Heat Is On

No I'm not referring to the Glen Frye classic off the Miami Vice soundtrack, but to my wayward furnace. The same repair crew showed up at 9 am. I quickly put on a jacket as my ratty sweatshirt is something for home use only and not meant for public viewing. It took them around 20 minutes to figure out what was wrong: some crossed wires. Yep, when they installed the two new parts last Friday they wired them wrong.

They thanked me for being so cool about everything. Hey I've been in customer service for a long time and sometimes you just mess up. I can't blame them for the supercold weather we've had recently and their backlog of work. Most importantly Mr. Kerosene Heater is a workable alternative for heat. If I didn't have that alternative I'm sure I would have been far more testy. Instead my attitude was no harm, no foul. Those two had been busy for the past few days and were going to be busy for the next several. No need to bitch them out. Consider it my Christmas gift to them.

Ho-Ho-Ho!

Courtesy of Lawren who has been a busy bugger in finding all these quizzes.

Your Christmas is Most Like: How the Grinch Stole Christmas

You can't really get into the Christmas spirit... But it usually gets to you by the end of the holiday.

What Movie Is Your Christmas Most Like?

You Are "Joy to the World"

Joy to the world, the Lord is come! Let earth receive her King; Let every heart prepare Him room, And heaven and nature sing, It's not about what you get under the tree But sharing love with family, friends, and strangers

What Christmas Carol Are You?

Would be nice if this one did come true, even for a day.

Get Your Own Christmas BlogCard Here!

So Very Evil!!!

Major Linkages

35 new links on the side. Hopefully you'll find a few of interest.

Thought Of The Day

"To endure is greater than to dare; to tire out hostile fortune; to be daunted by no difficulty; to keep heart when all have lost it -- who can say this is not greatness?"
-William Makepeace Thackeray

What's Your Soul?

My existential post for the day. These quizzes seem to have a pattern with me or do I have a pattern with these quizzes?

You Are a Seeker Soul

You are on a quest for knowledge and life challenges. You love to be curious and ask a ton of questions. Since you know so much, you make for an interesting conversationalist. Mentally alert, you can outwit almost anyone (and have fun doing it!). Very introspective, you can be silently critical of others. And your quiet nature makes it difficult for people to get to know you. You see yourself as a philosopher, and you take everything philosophically. Your main talent is expressing and communicating ideas. Souls you are most compatible with: Hunter Soul and Visionary Soul

What Kind of Soul Are You?

Wrong Name in the Wrong Language

I'm IMing with an online buddy in the Netherlands the other day. We're discussing foreign languages (Spanish was foreign to both of us) and she tells me some good stories about how language gaffs happen in Europe all the time. One was the best story by far.

This poor Dutch guy's name is just not meant to be said in the English language: Cock Sukka.

Free At Last!!!!

Got the National Security take home turned in today with an entire day to go no less! Managed to intern an entire population of American citizens, told Congress it was performing an improper usurpation of Constitutional executory power, and got Dan Rather interned at Gitmo as a legal enemy combatant. I'll say this, the prof always manages to come up with some interesting fact patterns.

Now I'm going to chat with friends and see how much celebratory alcohol I can plow through. After this semester I fully deserve to get trashed. Good riddance!

EDIT: You know you've had far too little sleep when the desire to be drunk is overrode by the desire of sleep. Didn't even finish the first beer and just wanted the furnace fixed. Thank God for electric blankets.

The Wisdom Of Denny Crane

or how to avoid your National Security take home final for one hour.

We want a safe home.
Keep the money we make.
And shoot bad guys!

Actually this would tie into my final. I wonder how I can use it?
William Shatner can act. Whoda thunk it? I can now forgive him for T.J. Hooker.

Brrrrrrrrr! Part II

Furnace fixed yesterday. YEAHHH! Wake up this morning and have cold air. BOOOOO! Okay I don't have time to deal with this now as studying and writing my take home final was difficult with the two guys wandering around and asking me questions. When I have my take-home turned in, then I'll be able to deal with it. Burning yet more petroleum based products is a decent back up plan.

Brrrrrrrrr!

My furnace has been out for a few days. Right in the middle of finals is not a good time to deal with such problems. I am so thankful for having a kerosene heater. Kept the place in the mid-60's pretty easily, if at an expense of $2/gallon. Since the last final is a take home I finally called up a repair shop. I was shocked to get someone out here in less than an hour. I don't know what a sequencer is, but it is a very expensive piece of equipment. I do miss earning money to pay for such expensive pieces of equipment. Oh well. With luck I'll earn a paycheck again in 8 months.

BTW: they were very nice guys and Purdue fans.

Quizzes, Not Finals!

Your Dominant Intelligence is Linguistic Intelligence

You are excellent with words and language. You explain yourself well. An elegant speaker, you can converse well with anyone on the fly. You are also good at remembering information and convicing someone of your point of view. A master of creative phrasing and unique words, you enjoy expanding your vocabulary. You would make a fantastic poet, journalist, writer, teacher, lawyer, politician, or translator.

What Kind of Intelligence Do You Have?

Courtesy of Sapere aude.

You Are Tequilla

When you drink, you're serious about getting drunk! You'll take any shot that's offered up to you... Even if it tastes like sock sweat! And you're never afraid of eating the worm.

What alcoholic drink are you?

I don't know about this one. Tequila and I have an on-again off-again relationship.

When you drink, you're serious about getting drunk! You'll take any shot that's offered up to you... Even if it tastes like sock sweat! And you're never afraid of eating the worm.
Courtesy of Lawren.

Your Element Is Fire

Your passion and emotion are as obvious as the brightest flame. You make sparks fly, and your passion always has the potential to burst out. You are exciting and creative - and completely unpredictable. You sometimes exercise control, and sometimes you let yourself go. Friends describe you as sensitive, spirited, and compulsive. Bright and blazing with intensity, you seem mysterious and moody to many.

What's Your Element?

I knew it!

Finals Are War

Finals are like war.

1. It's a battle of information. 50 page outline on Trusts & Estates in this case.
2. Last minute intelligence is key and spotty. Could be a 3 hour exam, could be a 4 hour exam. Can have anywhere from 50 to 100 multiple choice questions. Might have 1 or 2 essay questions. Who needs certainty?
3. You have your weapons. One laptop computer loaded with Securexam, multiple pencils, 3-ring binder with outline, textbooks.
4. Mistakes occur frequently requiring improvosation. Manual duplexing of outline to conserve paper has page 49 and 2 on the same piece of paper. Just reprint without duplex option.
5. Timing is critical. Have 3,maybe 4 hours to win the battle.
6. Feel like exhausted crap after the battle.

I'm goin' in!

EDIT: Approximately 9:05 a.m this moring after reading the first few questions on the T&E exam

"INCOMING!"

Quotes Of The Day*

*Might actually be the quotes of the month.

I'm going to have to defer to other experts (which would be 55% of the population by my guess) as to any possible deeper meaning to these quotes, if any.

Quote #1:
I have NO idea what the backstory was to this overheard quote but as I was going through the lounge I couldn't help but overhear this LOUD exclaimation. From one woman to her male friend (and NO they were not scourgey 1Ls).

"WHAT! Her best friend is a gay man. Don't you know that's nothing but trouble? Haven't you watched Will & Grace?"

Quote #2
At dinner with a friend as I related such an usual comment to her as part of our conversation.

"Well you know to us women gay men are like comfort food, always available and totally non-threatening."

Brian's First Will

As part of my Trusts & Estates class I have to turn in a will that could be legally effective by the end of day tomorrow (final exam day). I'm not going to make an legally effective will by signing it and finding two witnesses! I borrowed a will, applied some stuff we learned in class, and will double check with some references in the library later today. To make my life simple I pretended it would be my will. I have no children (known or unknown), no wives (current or otherwise), and no siblings. If I died now my entire estate would go to my parents due to the intestacy statutes (state laws that cover property distribution of a person who died without a will).

For the most part I'm okay with that, but this assignment got me thinking about a few things. The most valuable things in my life from a money point of view are not covered by wills. My roller IRA that I created from various 401Ks will go to whatever beneficiary I designated when I created it (payable on death contract). I have some stocks, but I believe I designated a beneficiary for that Ameritrade account when I created it (another payable on death contract). (Not that my stocks are worth anything since the stock market fell four years ago. I think my pocket change is of higher value than my stock portfolio.) This will became an exercise of thinking what specific gifts (devises) would I want to go to other people. Would I want something to go to the Purdue Band? Would my friend and college roommate want the B5 related materials to remind him of the times we watched that show? LLM instant messaged me as I was writing the will. She liked the idea of getting my band jacket as a reminder of our friendship. I didn't have the heart to tell her that if she killed me that she wouldn't be able to take from my will. How would I distribute the armory and the history it represents?

I might have to write a real will during break just so a few specific gifts can go to a few specific people. That way if something actually happened to me the people and groups that I care about have something of me. Odd thoughts to ponder before a final eh?

Study Strategy Change

Got tired off all the jazz and classical I've listened to these past few days. I needed more power! New play rotation in my stereo:

• SpiderMan2 Soundtrack.
• Two Eminem CDs: The Marshall Mathers LP & The Eminem Show.
• Papa Roach: Getting Away With Murder
• Queensryche: Operation Mindcrime

Mini-Marathon All Sold Out!

From my InBox:

“As a community organization, one of our goals is to invite and encourage citizens of Indianapolisand their friends and guests to participate in our events,” said Kirk Hendrix, President and CEO, 500 Festival. “We are flattered to have 30,000 people participating in the OneAmerica 500 Festival Mini-Marathon.”

This marks the earliest sell out for the event. Registrations for the 2005 Mini-Marathon, scheduled for Saturday, May 7, have been rolling in at record pace since online registration opened on Saturday, May 8. The 2004 event sold out with 30,000 entries on Jan. 3. The 2003 Mini-Marathon reached its capacity of 25,000 on Feb. 12, 2003and the 2002 race sold out 25,000 entries by March 25, 2002. The Mini-Marathon has grown from 800 participants in its first year in 1977 to its current registration of 30,000.

In addition to the US, 11 other countries are represented in registrations including Ecuador, Belgium, Bermuda, Great Britain, Japan, Spain, Austria, Norway, Canada, Puerto Ricoand Switzerland. In all, Mini registrations are from 48 US states. ... Of the 30,000 registrants, 51 percent are female while 49 percent are male.

Once finals are completed I'm going back on my training regime. I was up to 3 mile runs and will have 5 months to gain an extra 10.1 miles of endurance.

We The White Folk?

It's the part of the conversation on race that doesn't usually get talked
about — what it means to be white. But whiteness as a racial category is a
crucial part of the discussion, said the curator of a new exhibition that
focuses on the topic.

The International Center of Photography in New York is having an exhibit looking at the issue of racism via the lens of contemporary art. The exhibit of short films, photo essays, and sculptures is meant to "inspire thought and discussion during its run at ICP."

"I want people to have an intimate experience ... and to come away from the
show thinking about themselves," [Maurice Burger the curator] said. "Think about your attitudes, think about the assumptions you've been making, think about your
behavior."

Okay, I know we have come a long way concerning race relations in this country, but that more work needs to be done. I'm just hoping that this exhibit doesn't have the tone of blame it all on the white folk that other social change projects I've seen exude. To improve relations between the races we can't blame the other for everything wrong. Where racism exists it should be noted and stopped. What I've seen too often is that racism is used as a tool to explain most situations. If the only tool you have is a hammer, then every problem looks like nail. I've seen that from all sides, white, black, latino, asian, and middle eastern.

If we don't start talking about it in a different way ... we're going to
give the same kind of limited conversations that we've been having for the last
200 years.

Okay Fry Him Now Please

I will not understand how trials become so celebrity-like. I attribute this to a 24 hour news cycle that requires new, fresh material to fill the airwaves. New and fresh becomes just put something tantalizing on the airwaves even though it lacks substance most the time. So finally this will be the one and only thing I'll ever say about the Scott Peterson case: he's been found guilty and the jury recommends the death penalty. Sometimes the criminal justice system does work the way it should by getting rid of really evil people like him. A shame it'll take 15 years to get through the appeals process.

I Hope Santa Gets A Good Cardio

Okay who has time to figure all this stuff out? Seriously???

If Santa eats one cookie and drinks one glass of milk at every house he visits he'll consume 18 BILLION calories Christmas Eve.* Between going up and down the chimney, wrestling with flying reindeer, carrying around the toy bag I'm assuming he gets a good cardio workout to balance that out.

*Courtesy of Mrs. Clause on the Fox morning show today.

The Truth Despite What George Says!

If you have a fan that you still need to Christmas shop for.

Real Man's Question List

They come from other blogs, friends email them to you, but somehow question lists fall into my lap and I want to answer them. The problem is that usually question lists like this are from a female point of view. As a guy it is difficult to answer some of those lists as they just don't really apply. Luckily someone in the Atlas Group decided to come up with a version just for us guys! Copy and paste, send to others, answer for yourself, and suggest more questions. Men it is about time we got one of these from our point of view!

Cars:
What is your dream car? Chrysler Crossfire Convertible. If the SRT-6 came with a stick I would choose it, but man must drive stick or at least know how!

How much horsepower does it have? 215 horsepower 18 valve V-6

How much horsepower does your current car have? 98 hp back in 1994, now who knows?

Which do you prefer, BMW or Mercedes? BMW

IRL or CART? IRL

Alcohol:
What is your favorite beer? Tie - Spaten Optimator or Guinness depending on the mood.

What is your favorite booze? Good question, don't know. Not Jack as he is NOT my friend! At least not the morning after.

When was the last time you got drunk? Halloween Party

Did you puke? Ended up with dry heaves. Dry heaves of pepto bismol no less. Very odd.

Do you know what goes into a tequila sunset? Besides tequila?

Do you know what goes into a three wise men? No clue.

Glass half empty or half full? Need more either way.

Sports:
What is your favorite___.

College other than Purdue? Whoever plays Indiana and whoever plays Notre Dame.

NFL team? Colts

NBA team? Pacers

NHL team? Que es hockey?

MLB team? No favorites, but really hate the Yankees.

Sport to play? Football

Sport to watch on TV? Football (preferably college, but pro is fine)

Sport to watch in person? Football

Are any of the following actually sports:
Bowling? No. If I can drink beer and do the activity it isn't a sport. Of course the more we drink as we play the more fun it becomes.

Golf? No, see the above comment.

Tennis? No

Bocce? No

Which is better, traditional bowl tie ins or the BCS? Tradition, Tradition, Tradition. Can someone explain to me why Cal isn't in the Rose Bowl with Meeeechigan? Do we really need a unified National Champion? It isn't like we get one now with the BCS!

Run 'n' shoot or single wing? Run 'n' shoot.

Army or Navy? One day those Middies will defeat Notre Dame, even if they have to call in a carrier strike!

Miscellaneous:
Boxers or Briefs? I cheat with Boxer-Briefs, the best of both worlds.

How many guns do you own? Insufficient.

Have you ever been hunting? no

Have you ever had sex with someone who's last name you didn't know? Not yet, but if you have any candidates let me know.

How many times have you been to Vegas? zero

What is the largest number of White Castles you have ever eaten at one sitting? 10 or so? Umm..little square meat patties with holes. Brilliant!

When was the last time you went to a strip club? About 2.5 years ago for a bachelor party. Why not hook up a vacuum cleaner hose to my wallet? It's just as fast at taking money.

What kind of grill do you own? Aussie Walkabout.

If you don't own a grill, are you really a man? no

Is a magma TV worth pursuing? definitely, because Plasma is for pussies.

Indy Cultural Tidbit: Holiday Happenings

If you get done with finals early or want to take a break from studying several festive events are occuring throughout the town during the holiday season. Maybe they'll just put you in a better mood.

From the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra we have the Yuletide Celebration. Multiple performances on various days. I'm told it is a fantastic event. For tonight only they are also having a performance at the Scottish Rite Cathedral.

Dance Kaleidoscope have Home for the Holidays from Thursday Dec. 16 to Saturday Dec. 18 at the Pike Performing Arts Center. I've never been to Pike, but I hear it is a fabulous facility. I'm sorry they tore down the Civic Theater as it was closer for me to get to. HftH is doing "Let There Be Light" a celebration of the Jewish festival of lights, Hanukkah, and a multicultural perspective on the holiday season. Sounds pretty interesting.

The traditional Dickens classic, A Christmas Carol and other treats, are at the Indianapolis Repertory Theater up to Jan. 2nd.

Did you know that you can get to the observation deck of the Soldiers and Sailors Monument during the holidays? I haven't confirmed it this year, but last year it was open Friday through Sunday for a dollar or two. It is very tight up there (don't bring a stroller), but the view was breathtaking in the light snow when I went.

Along the same theme of good, if unconfirmed idea, the Observation Deck at the City-County Building has some holiday hours as well. I don't know what those are, but if you happen to be around go in and ask. 28 stories up is a very interesting view of the city.

Ice skating at the Pan Am plaza or the Pepsi Collusium at the State Fairgrounds. Last time I was on the ice was 4 or 5 years ago, but it is fun. Even when I do a flat spin as I fall down it is fun. Even when CAG laughed her ass off as I kept falling down it was fun. If you go and I happen to be there you may be a Three Stooges like performance out of me that is worth the rental fee alone. Whoop, whoop, whoop, thud!

After falling down you'll want to be in plush comfy seats. How about Santa vs. The Snowman at the IMAX theater? As you leave the State Musuem have a good brisk walk along the canal.

Go looking here and you're likely to find something interesting.

What Cheesy Honor Is This?

Alright, raise your hands if you think this new honor code signing box at the end of the final exams is cheesy? Some 2L was telling me about it yesterday and was all freaked out. " OMG am I going to have to report every sneeze? Is every shrug I see between two classmates going a potential signal?" Normally it is the 1Ls that are the scourge of the earth, but sometimes they don't outgrow that phase. Dude CHILL!

It wasn't the fact that the school was reminding us to not cheat and to report an incidents of suspected cheating that we see. (well duh we should always report any cheating, why is that even a question?) What I loved was at the end where it said that we would receive counseling upon the reporting of any cheating. I just loved that touchy-feely language! Oh I feel so bad for witnessing someone cut and paste class notes into an exam because we didn't use Securexam! Oh I feel so bad for seeing someone reference a commercial outline! Oh the humanity for I am scarred for life! Someone should have vetted that statement for extreme cheesiness.

Intellectual Property Down

One final down, one take home and one monstrous T&E to go *shudder*. IP was my fun class for the semester. The "oh this sounds interesting" class for me. IP was also the one class that I kept up in for the most part. It was actually enjoyable to be in, a rarity these days sadly. The final wasn't easy, but it wasn't difficult either. It was rather tricky though. No large essays with huge fact patterns, but rather many small essays and short answers that were not worth a lot of points by themselves, but combined were the bulk of the exam.

An exam full of true/false, multiple choice, and short essays that are supposed to be 3 or 4 lines long is in some ways are more difficult exam. It forces you to be very specific. Sometimes you had a nice "In general" part of the question, but sometimes it seemed like such phrasing should be implied. If you're not in the legal profession and you're reading this blog trust me when I say this: the law very rarely can be boiled down to a true/false answer. Exceptions are rampant everywhere and the phrase "it depends" is one of the first things a lawyer will say.

I managed to show off an interesting test taking trick. The question was something like "Assuming Country Y follows the Rule, how does that change your answer to Part B of this question?" On Part B I said the most likely answer was G for the following reasons (showing your work is always important), but it could be H if the following fact is true. So for Part C of the problem I said that if Country Y follows the Rule it doesn't change my answer because of ... and even if the correct answer to Part B is answer H it still doesn't change my answer because of ... I showed my work and demonstrated why my answer is the same regardless of an unknown fact. Profs usually love to see the reasoning behind an answer more than the actual answer itself. Usually.

The final seemed okay and I never felt rushed. I simply worked the exam one question at a time in a very calm manner. Now if only I'll feel that way after Trusts & Estates.

Good Luck On Finals

Thanks for the Powerpoint slides. They've helped a bit with T&E. With luck we'll both do well on our respective exams. A shame your exam was a week before mine as it would have been good to study together, but oh well.

For Sex or Money

The German edition of Playboy ran a poll asking men what they would like for next year, more money, more sex, or more free time. 62% selected more money, 6% desired more sex. Anyone want to guess what the result would be if ran here in the good ol' U.S.A.?

I can imagine what one friend of mine would say upon hearing this tidbit, "No wonder those krauts kept trying to conqueor the world! They weren't getting enough!"

Men Get The Laptop Off Your Lap!

Despite the misnomer of being a 'laptop' I never actually place the computer on my lap. Looks like I was ahead of the curve! Who would have thought that using a laptop could affect your fertility (likely to start new PC jargon. Perhaps "Nuke Your Nads"). I found the bit about 'laptop burn' of some guy's manhood most disturbing considering he was wearing clothes. If you're naked yeah ya take your chances but I would hate to have been the doctor treating that condition.

Spot The Issues

Let's see.

1. Had Con Law.
2. Had Admin Law.
3. Spent 1 semester in a government agency to better understand state governments and the administrative agencies that are part of them.
4. Knowledgable about automotive technology.

The Alliance of Automotive Manufacturers should draft me to be a part of their team to sue California over their desire to cut greenhouse gas emissions from tailpipes! I'm convinced the California Air Resources Board has long overstepped its bounds by forcing manufactuers to build special vehicles in order to comply with their regulations. This is the same group that in 1994 mandated 10% of all automobilies sold in California had to be electric by 2004. Ummmm..that worked out okay for them, didn't it? Come on federalism, lay the smackdown on those nut & berry folks over there finally!

Good Sports News

Danica Patrick has joined defending Indy 500 champion Buddy Rice for Rahal Letterman (yes David Letterman) Racing for the 2005 Indy 500. Danica has proven herself very capable in Toyota Atlantic Championship series, Pro Dodge, Formula Ford, and other series. I know she'll have to qualify for the race, but Danica is with a top-notch team and teamed with good racers. Be on the lookout for her over the next few years at the race.

Photo linked to danicaracing.com I claim Fair Use under copyright law.

Happy Hanakkah

To all my Jewish friends and exes I wish a Happy Hanakkah*. It starts 8 nights** of festivites (it's a lunar thing from what I've been told). If you want to know more about the holiday go here. Enjoy lighting some candles (one tonight, two tomorrow, etc) on the menorah.

* I'm using this spelling because it is the first one I found. I've found 3 diffferent spellings! All 3 spellings mean "praise."
** I've just learned my one of my Jewish buddies that the holiday started last night! He told me not to trust the calendars. Whoops! Sorry!

Your Call Is Important To Us, But...

If you're feeling suicidal in Beijing, China you may want to leave in order to get counseling. The suicide hotline is so poorly funded that 9 out of 10 users get a busy tone. Michael Phillips, executive director of the center [that doesn't sound like a Chinese person, how did he get to run it? Ed.] stated "It's very dangerous because they may be at high risk of committing suicide."

Thank you Mr. Obvious! Four people kill themselves every minute in China, YIKES!

Maybe an MBA isn't all it is cracked up to be?

I know in the eternal cat vs. dog debate on the intelligence of both critters there is room for debate. I'm pretty sure the smartest cat on the planet still can't be eligible for an MBA degree. Although as an online university you don't have to attend classes and if baby sitting and retail experience qualify for an MBA with a 3.5 GPA, I wonder what attending classes would do? Enough to get a J.D. perhaps?

Happy 10,000th

Thanks to the desire of online users to find *ahem* potentially interesting photos of fallen Walt Disney characters this is the shortest span of time to add an additional 1,000 hits. I suspect things will slow down tremendously during finals and Winter Break.

Gen V Jetta

For 8 months I've been waiting for any decent photos, but either VW had the soon to be released 2005 Jetta (Generation V) under excellent wraps or the spy photographers were really bad at their job on this one. The technical specs looked good on paper, but I was curious what the damn thing would look like. Safe to say VW ditched the slab-sided, not a curve on it anywhere styling of the Gen IV Jetta and decided to add a few curves to the car.

Not that anything was wrong with Gen IV's function-over-form styling, but it always reminded me of the straight forward functionality of a German frigate. Ever since I test drove a Jetta in '97 or '98 (nice green Gen III model) I've kept my eyes on these little buggers. The 5 speed stick was smooth and slick, the interior lived up to the praise of VW/Audi being the acknowledged industry leaders of interior design and execution, the retrotech, underpowered 115 hp base engine was lively and rev-happy, if a tad obnoxious, and it handled curves very nicely. The Gen IV kept all the good stuff (and sadly the retrotech 115 hp base engine as well. Come on VW, give us DUAL overhead cams at least so base buyers would get 130-140 hp!) but had a few quality control problems at first (whoops all those windows falling INTO the door was a big fiasco), and I hated the tightness of the rear seats (anyone over 5'7" would up front would kill my knees in the rear). Luckily most of my friends that own the current Jetta are short so I get some knee room. Regardless the Jetta is important for the U.S. market as it is VW's biggest seller here.

From the sound of things VW read my mind and fixed all my complaints. Gen V has a wheelbase about an inch longer giving more rear legroom. The new base engine is a 2.5 liter 5-cylinder (did someone hire a Volvo engineer?) rated at 150 horsepower, a slick 6-speed manual tranny, standard 4-wheel antilock disc brakes (DON'T try to modulate the brakes yourself in a panice stop or else the ABS never kicks in! Amazing how many people still don't realize that after 20 years.), and some kind of electronic stablity control, and the typical world class interior. Saftey features also include side airbags and something new called side thorax airbags. (Are foam cocoons from Demolition Man going to appear soon!) Optional engines include VW's fabulous diesel (uber-mileage), and potentially a 200 hp turbocharged 4 cylinder lifted from the soon to be released Golf GTI.

VW needs the U.S. Jetta (Bora in Europe) to be a big hit as the already been out for a year new Golf isn't selling too well in Europe. Jetta and Golf share around 80% of the same platform and economies of scale are everything in the automotive world now. Saying that I have no idea why the hell the U.S. has had to make do with the old Golf for the past year and will soldier on with the old Golf for another year. To increase economies of scale the new VW Passat will be based on a stretched Jetta platfrom as Passat moves away from sharing the Audi A4/Skoda Octiva platform. (humm..good for Jetta platform, but less production of mid-sized sedan platform. I don't understand that either.)

All VW small sedans (Jetta/Bora) are manufactured in Puebla, Mexico and that factory just come online after a 4 week retooling. Fourteen times more laser welds with Gen V than with Gen IV Jetta ensuring tight tolerances.

I'm not certain about the taillight treatment. Looks like it was stolen from a Toyota Corolla. Next vehicle purchase is planned for 2006 and it ought to be a good year. New VW Jetta, an excellent Mazda 3 sportwagon, redesigned Honda Civic, Neon replacment sportwagon from DiamlerChrysler, and a surprisingly well praised Chevy Cobalt (actually influenced by the current Jetta as GM disected one to figure out what made it tick). The small sedan/sportwagon market is full of serious contenders. Looks like I'll have lots of good test drives in two summers.

Don't Mess With The System

I suddenly realize I have reading for a class today (a topic I am NOT going to go into as this class period didn't even exist as far as the professor was concerned last week). I have less than 2 hours and realize I am missing my BLUE highlighter!

I have a color code system and BLUE stands for rules/rule-like things, and precedent. Grrr...it is the last day of classes and you don't mess with the system!

NOTE: as an aside it is finals time and I am far, far behind this semester. Because of 8 weeks of fuzzy mind I have rather large gaps in my class notes that I have to overcome before finals. Blogging will be light and fluffy the next few weeks. If you don't see me posting please don't worry (this especially goes to my online buddies that have proven so helpful lately). Who wants to get together and study for Trust & Estates and National Security?

Ohhhhhh!!! I Am A Football Jinx :-(

So much good football on TV to watch this weekend. I even got to play football. I caught more passes than I dropped. I wasn't ever really burned, but I was legitimately beaten two times (no way to defend against a 2 yard pass into the end zone, and all the defenders got clogged in the middle at one point or another). I HAD that two point conversion, but to get around everyone I had to step out of the end zone. *sigh*

This was the real test: we played two games because the first one ended so quickly. The teams ended up being exactly the same except I got swapped with Al. My team lost both times. Ohhhh...I am a football jinx!!!! Once upon a time I played on the winning teams but that might have been in the spring. I've already lost 15 pounds; how much more do I need to lose to be the speedy wideout?

"You Were A Great Scumbag!"

I played the role of Lauren Jones in our Trial Practice class Saturday. I took the class last spring and was asked to role play the part of the scumbag who robbed a store in which an elderly lady was killed. Lauren Jones made a deal to drop the murder charge and turn in the great criminal mastermind of the entire robbery Mr. John Burns! Here are some observations or quotes from the experience:

• "How did a scumbag like you get a nice suit like that? Did you steal it?" I was asked to show up in my nice lawyer suit to be more presentable.
• Going against type the evil criminal mastermind was played by the meekest, most mild-mannered person in a red sweater I have ever seen. Dude looked like Bill Gates! Wait a second...Bill Gates is an evil criminal mastermind!
• It really burned the defense attorneys when I knew my role better than they did. In their defense they have to keep track of the entire case and I only needed to know one role. "I believe in my first statement I said I was in a green Oldsmobile." They brought out the transcript and I read it back to them. "Oh, you're right!"
• It also burned the defense attorneys when they kept making this big deal about the awkwardness of a left-handed maneuver and I am actually left-handed and noted that I do awkward things all the time.
• Whoops, the one thing I wasn't sure of and I stumbled into something that was covered in a motion in limine. D'oh! Damn I had a long criminal record and just couldn't remember all of it.
• Burnsey this...Burnsey that... Oh I really knew Burnsey.
• I kept wanting to object from the audience! Objection leading question!
• As the woman playing the wife of the defendant approached the stand the peanut gallery comment concerning their marriage, "It's a shame! It's a mockery! It's a shamockery!" To my defense I didn't make that comment, but after hearing it immediately thought of the GE commercial with the mild-mannered scientist falling in love with the supermodel.
• Could the judge have mumbled any more? The man was the reincarnation of Johnny Cash.
• "You were a great scumbag!" Comment given to me after the jury retired to deliberate.
• The prosecution still lost even with the additional facts added into the case. Damn beyond a reasonable doubt burden of proof!

I so love role plays! With luck Cookie Monster will take the class soon and I'll play a role for her. To keep it even I'll be Mrs. Burns as she was my Mr. Carletti! I don't think I'm getting in a dress though. Women may look good in men's suits, but no way am I looking good in a skirt! Forget it I'm playing a male role for you CM!

EDIT: Yes the closing argument for the prosecution did an excellent job of noting that everything important the scumbag said could be backed up by other people. The open argument also noted that I wasn't a perfect person, but I was there so I have to tell the sad story of the murder. Stupid defense, how dare they believe that I'm not trustworthy! I only have 4 or 5 convictions ;-)

New Life Rule

When you reach a high point of the day immediately go to sleep so nothing bad can happen to you.

Good night folks.

Wisdom Of Atlas

Sometimes instead of coming up with stories I should just quote the numerous oneliners of my discussion group. I could put this in a context but why bother?

"Control the strings to the nookie purse, you control the man."

"I understand the anchor chair is open. Think he'll take Rather's, or Blowchow's? I think he's more the Rather type. I have the memos to prove it."

"AND there is always Tet and Festivus to fall back on as well."

"The Overlords are not pleased with your insolence. Would Underling [name redacted to protect the guilty] please explain the consequences?"

Well, wasn't that redundant statement redundant?

"Yes, its like being "King of the Dweebs", but the pay is better and there's an executive wash room."

The Genius Of Homer (Simpson)

I'm not some kind of supergenius. Or are I?

Conflicts of Philosophical Advice

Is there a way to construe these two philosophies so they don't conflict?

1. Perception is reality.
2. There is your side and there is my side. Reality is somewhere in between.

Cell Phone Jog

I can get a good jog in whenever my cell phone goes off (on vibrate mode no less). It always seems to go off in the library so I haul ass to someplace semi-private to answer the phone and not bother others. Unlike 80% of the other people in this library when their cell phones go off (usually with full volume of ring tones). FYI: if you see me jogging just get out of my way as I'll take you down due to sheer momentum. Second FYI: empty study rooms (not likely at finals time) and the copying room count as semi-private areas, not next to me at a table.

Hodge Podge

Busy day yesterday!

Felt okay when waking up despite the copious amounts of Optimator consumed Tuesday night at the IBA Party. Ummm...free beer.

Had a preliminary job interview with BigGov agency at the school. I seems the preliminary interviews are always meet and greets in legal circles, because my initial tech interviews were always far more substantial in nature. I think I did well. We stressed my previous experience, the various activities I've been in at school, and demonstrated how high school speech team and moot court are very similar. The resume is impressive overall I feel as long as you don't look at the GPA. Grades are not the measure of a person and I've stressed that for years. I hope to get a call back after finals. I think I could fit in pretty well there and have a legitimate interest in much of the work there.

Wrote on Sapere aude for the first time in a month. Nothing fancy, but I need to let everyone know I'm still alive there. So much wisdom and experience must be passed on to the younger generation before I leave. I try to mentor them the best I can.

One class is over, or close enough. Monday will either be review session or nothing. I found it amusing the prof didn't realize the calendar still had one more class session.

One prof for another class gave a nice roadmap for the final. I like it when we get hints concerning the final exam. I also asked for a letter of recommendation concerning the bar application and was even offered a second letter of recommendation if one is needed for BigGov agency job. This prof may demand much from the students but we're treated well if we are willing to put in the effort.

I love the fact that I don't need to respond to the Dept. of Education email concerning the FAFSA! No more need of financial aid after this spring. I don't need no stinkin' PIN for the FAFSA! I will be in the Class of 2005. A sweet reminder that this is truly the ending of one chapter of my life.

Had sweet Amanda and the Fabulous Kelly P. look over my photographic proofs for the class composite. Thank you for your opinions ladies.

Had a free dinner with the parental units. Managed to watch a 'fresh' episode of Smallville live. We're so cool we can't say 'new' or 'not a stinkin' rerun' but we're FRESH! Whatever. Clark, just tell Chloe your secret. I'm just sayin'! The West Wing kicked ass too. Maybe having all these new people on board is reviving the creativeness of the show? Good to see Leo again and Josh as a big decision to make now. Things will get very interesting now.

Got a notice from the post office there is a certified letter waiting for me. Great! I wonder who would send me a letter requiring my signature? I'm either getting sued or won a prize. I'm hoping for the latter, but will find out today.

Confessions had over 280 hits yesterday, where a normal day is 50. Over 250 of them were people searching for the nude Snow White. I'm sorry they likely didn't find what they were looking for, but I do have fifteen classmates that might look fabu in costume and I do have my camera. Hummmmm.

Though very tiring yesterday was a good day.

Step Away From The Bar Please

At the final school social function before finals last night I saw a wonderful display of cluelessness. 1Ls, who are the scourge of the earth, got their free beer from the bar. Then they gaggled there and didn't move out of the way. Okay once you've gotten your booze from the bar, please get out of my way. When you want to talk with your friends go back to the other room where the party is. The mission is more important than the man, and free beer is a good mission!

Was good to see J.C. and Lawren again. I miss the ol' bloggin' gang.