Thursday, April 29, 2010

A Lawn-mowing Wallaby!

Get out of freakin' town!  In the UK they are breeding freakin' wallabies that can trim your lawn!  Not that I am wholly against mowing the lawn myself, but how cool would it be to A) OWN a wallaby! and B) Have it serve an awesome purpose like trimming the yard!  (I know some people do this out in the country with goats, but lets face it, wallabies are way cooler than goats.  According to some site I just saw, goats eat EVERYTHING whereas wallabies have been trained to just eat grass....maybe I believe this?)

http://news.yahoo.com/video/world-15749633/19379986#video=19382708


K, see ya.

Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Are the NBA Refs No-Calling the Denver Nuggets Out of the Playoffs?


Jazz Spurs Basketball
Originally uploaded by zachsumsion
ESPN's John Hollinger has speculated that the Denver Nuggets are getting unfair refereeing under current replacement head coach, Adrian Dantley. While George Karl was the head coach, apparently the Nuggets had statistics far and away above other teams when it came to opportunities at the free throw line. However, Hollinger has discovered significantly decreased free throw opportunities since George Karl left, and has suggested that the Utah Jazz have had a marked increase in their opportunities at the charity stripe over the Denver-Utah series. Is it true?

I don't know. It wouldn't surprise me if the fact that Adrian Dantley, who seemingly never challenges calls, took over as head coach and has made a clear difference for the Denver Nuggets that is negatively effecting their free throw opportunity stats. Perhaps something about his coaching is decreasing the chances at the line, or any of a myriad of other variables, aside from unfair reffing. (Hollinger hasn't claimed that NO other variables could be true, but he infers that unfair reffing is the most likely cause.) As for the Jazz's apparent increase in opportunities... well, maybe they're just playing more aggressive?

The fact is, the Jazz are winning. I don't just mean that they're getting W's marked to their records, I mean that they are playing much better than the Nuggets and are earning wins.

How are we supposed to react to all of this? Hmm... well, since it isn't negatively effecting my team at the moment... I say ENJOY THE SHOW! Let's face it. The NBA isn't a bastion of ethics, justice and fairness. It's an entertainment basketball league. One that should have some good solid rules and should maintain a semblance of decorum, but it's about the entertainment when it all comes down to it. It's set up to make money, and to entertain people. We shouldn't get all worked up about how much the reffing is biased, how the league favors big-market teams, and how the the Utah Jazz are getting an unfair advantage. In fact, shut up John Hollinger, if the Utah Jazz have an advantage, leave them be! No, I don't mean that entirely. If the Jazz were on the Nuggets side of this debate that Hollinger has started, I would be totally on his side... I must admit that. But, really, it's just an entertainment league. Now, if the Olympics, NCAA tournament, or other more official organization that aren't necessarily just in it for the money (Ok, NCAA and the Olympics want money, but you understand what I mean, right?)were having such statistical imbalances that seem shady, I'd be all about investigating and making appropriate changes.

Anyway, I plan on just enjoying the show tonight when I get off of work. Can't wait for the Jazz to prove they deserve this series fair and square. GO JAZZ!

Enjoy the show!

K, see ya.

RAND-O-POLL! Sandwich good, no taste buds, bad.

Say you're eating your favorite sandwich ever. You take the first bite and realize you can't taste ANYTHING. You rush to open your soft drink of choice and you can't taste it AT ALL! What do you do?






View Results


Free poll from Free Web Polls
I thought I'd just do a random poll for the heck of it.  I know that at least 2 people in cyberspace were really torn up about me quitting on my Just Ridiculous Polls/A Bunch of Polls blog.  Lame sauce as that was.  Maybe the occasional random poll on this blog will work out better.  Whatev.  K, see ya.

Monday, April 26, 2010

I made it! (I ain't pretty, but I made it!)

So, I survived my 20 page senior thesis.  Yeah, I was working on it all week, but the definition of "working on it" changed dramatically from Wednesday when I: found a source here or there, contemplated life, thought about what jobs I could apply for, read a little bit from one of my sources, watched a basketball game, ate some food, outlined part of my paper (a full days work-ish) and then there was last night:  hour upon hour of writing, writing, writing, taking a 2 minute break to stretch my legs and eat some Gold Fish Crackers, writing writing writing, not sleeping until we have me here and now rambling on my blog.  I haven't slept in over 24 hours and I have only gotten 7 hours of sleep in the last 72 hours.  Yeah, hence I'm babbling like an idiot right now and I look like this:
K, see ya.

Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Random words of wisdom from... Kurt Cobain?

Kurt Cobain - "Wanting to be someone else is a waste of the person you are."

Wow... good one Kurt!

Anyway, now for a topic that has nothing to do with that quote by Mr. Cobain... I'm just here at work, getting ready for a job interview (via telephone) in a while.  I really think it's odd that I might get a good summer job for someone who's in wildlife science, but can't even come close (apparently) to getting a good summer job for a prospective law student.  I'm applying to work for the UDWR (Utah Division of Wildlife Resources) for this upcoming summer.  Wish me luck!


It at least pays well, so that's good.  Perhaps if I do go into environmental law then it will contribute to my résumé. 


Umm...k, see ya.

Monday, April 19, 2010

What's up with this Fans of Carmelo Anthony in Utah commercial?


51745903
Originally uploaded by lkasjdkjfjsdkfsdf
Ok, forget my last post that was all dreary and down about the Utah Jazz. Tonight's game against the Nuggets was awesome! They did great, especially D-Will.

Anyway, for anyone who has been watching the Jazz and Denver games, here in Utah at least, there is some commercial about support for him by "Melo's People of Utah." What the poo?! I actually think it's a pretty funny commercial, but it's darn weird, too. I want to figure out from where this thing is coming, and who made this commercial. Apparently Carmelo is one of those rare people who "can unite the people of the world." I'd post the video of it, but it will probably get taken off of youtube. Here's a link to it anyway. http://ballhype.com/video/carmelo-anthony-utah-ad/

So that's a weird commercial, but it made me laugh. (I actually wonder if it isn't just sarcastic... which it obviously is to some degree...I don't know what to think about it really.)

Anyway, I'm really excited for the Jazz, and now I think they can at least get past the Nuggets. Very exciting. We'll see how this goes down. Forget you, Melo's peeps of Utah, he's gonna lose!


Ok, g'night.

The NBA Playoffs...

See this dude in this here picture? It's pretty much been since he was around that I have paid any close attention to the NBA. In January of this year, the Utah Jazz really started to pick things up and I became a fan again. I haven't watched this many Jazz games for at least 6 years. (I'm guessing more though.)
The Jazz were really hot in the middle of the winter. They beat just about every good team in the league at least once. They proved that they could really go deep in the playoffs. Then things kinda started looking shaky, and I sensed yet another end-of-the-season let-down from the Jazz. They ended up in that huge four-way battle for seeding in the playoff tournament. Everything was all set up for us to beat Phoenix at home and get paired with the Trailblazers who we swept in the regular season. Lo and behold... Phoenix beat us and took the #3 seed. Who do we get paired with? Denver. Ugh. And we lost home-court advantage. Ugh again. It's seriously already looking like this will be a familiar disappointment.

It all just makes me so upset that the Jazz had to have their very best years when the dude in said photo above had to be around! WHY?! Ugh.

Oh well. That's sports for you.

I'll probably be watching this series against Denver anyway.

K, bye.

Thursday, April 15, 2010

Earthquake in Logan, UT... It's the first one I've ever felt!


Logan, Utah In Fall
Originally uploaded by Bachspics
There was an earthquake here about a half hour ago. I was in Old Main up on campus and was waiting for a study session to start. A couple girls in my class and I were talking when I felt like I was a bit dizzy for a second, but it lasted for about 10 seconds and we all realized that it was an earthquake. It's so weird when you have moments like that that remind you how small you are! It was really small and some other people that showed up later hadn't felt it while they were driving or walking to campus.

But now I can say I've felt one!

I just checked with USGS and it was at 5:59 PM MST, it was a 4.9 magnitude at the epicenter! That's bigger than I thought. The epicenter was quite a ways from Logan though.  45 km away from Logan, but the USGS had the most responses from Logan, so I think it was strongest here.  (EDIT:  It was strongest near Randolph, but I think as far as bigger cities, I think it was felt most here.  I had many friends that were busy and didn't feel it though.)

Cool, see ya later!

Wednesday, April 14, 2010

Law School Rankings, I Shouldn't Care... or Should I? USNWR Releases 2011 Rankings

Ok, actually the title lied.  US News and World Report DIDN'T release their 2011 rankings, they were leaked.  (Now available on Top Law Schools and other ranking sites.)

I had almost memorized where all the schools I paid any attention to were on the 2010 rankings because I frequented some of the sites that show the USNWR rankings.  I could tell you off the top of my head that George Mason and BYU were ranked 41, Utah 45, Cincinnati 52, Arizona State 55, and Loyola Law School 71.  I'm not rankings crazy, but I've given kind of a lot of credit to them.  Now I wish I hadn't.  Clearly many schools make drastic changes just to better their standing in the various stats that are used by USNWR to rank the schools.  So in other words, they don't necessarily become much better schools, but rather they change to better fit the rankings model.  Arizona State and Loyola must have done this in dramatic fashion.  Both of them saw huge jumps in the 2011 rankings that just came out.  And as luck would have it, these two schools are the last two holdouts for schools that I'm trying to finally rule out so that I feel comfortable with my George Mason choice.  They didn't really help with the rankings jumps.

Check out the latest rankings changes for the section that has all the schools I'm really considering:
38. Arizona State (55, +17, moved up to Tier 1)
38. Alabama (30, -8)
38. Colorado (45, +8)

38. Wake Forest (40, +2)
42. Brigham Young (41, -1)
42. George Mason (41, -1)
42. Arizona (43, +1)
42. UC-Hastings (39, -3)
42. Utah (45, +3)
47. Florida (51, +4)
48. American (45, -3)
48. SMU (49, +1)
48. Tulane (45, -3)
48. Maryland (43, -5)
——————–
52. Pepperdine (55, +3)
52. Yeshiva – Cardozo (49, -3, moved down from Tier 1)
54. Florida State (52, -2)
54. Connecticut (52, -2)
56. Case Western Reserve (55, -1)
56. Loyola – Los Angeles/Marymount (71, +15)
56. Cincinnati (52, -4)



Yes... Arizona State is now the highest ranked school I'm considering.  WHAT THE POO!?  How am I supposed to deal with that.  Ugh.  Utah, Mason, and BYU are all tied now.  And Loyola is actually tied with Cincinnati and made a big jump.  So a school that is now ranked in the region that I originally wanted to aim for (at least 40s-50s) has offered me $84,000.  I wish I didn't care about these rankings, but I do.  To be completely realistic, law firms aren't going to care if I went to law school # 40 or law school #56.  To them, it won't make that big a deal.  It might matter if I went to law school #14, or law school #80, but the first pairing isn't going to matter much.  Loyola seems to offer more of the programs I want, would be much cheaper tuition-wise, and now is ranked in a similar region as George Mason.  However, I don't think I want to live in Los Angeles.  I also don't think I want to live in Tempe, AZ.  I feel like DC is the place I by FAR want to live the most.  George Mason's ranking is slowly dropping, but hasn't dramatically changed in the last 5 years.  Loyola and ASU could very easily drop in the rankings next year.  Do you see how confused I STILL am about this decision.  Stupid rankings just threw a wrench in my thoughts.  Ugh.  Again, I really wish I didn't care about them at all, but I still do.  
Someone talk some sense into me.  OK, pros and cons let me lay this out:
George Mason---PROS:

  • I'm in a city I LOVE
  • There are apparently great singles' wards (helps with dating, obviously)
  • I am in a city that is very conducive to getting jobs in this career field.  (Well, there are a lot of them anyway.)
  • GMU is really good at placing people in jobs
  • I will have family out there.  (My bro-in-law and sister.)
  • In my mind, this is the most prestigious of the three schools.
CONS:
  • Biggest price tag.
  • More financially geared law school, and that's not really the direction I'm heading.
  • Quite expensive to live out there. (Although apparently Loyola's cost of living is more.)
  • Ranking dropping.
  • A lot more competition.
Loyola Law School---PROS:
  • Has more classes that I'm interested in.
  • $84,000 scholarship makes this the cheaper option by about $50,000 total compared to Mason.
  • I could possibly be more competitive among my class.
  • Frank Gehry-designed campus!  (This is a joke.  Architecture won't make this decision for me.)
CONS:
  • Really expensive cost of living, but of course, much of that is alleviated by scholarship.
  • Terrible economy in LA and CA in general right now.
  • Worse job prospects.
  • It's in a shady area, and in a city I really don't much care for.  (Love the roller coasters, that's about it.  Well... the weather is really nice, too.)
  • Suspicious jump in rankings: makes me think they're just numbers oriented, not necessarily worried about quality.
ASU--- PROS:
  • Now the highest ranked school to which I was accepted.
  • Again, singles' wards, great community.
  • More classes in areas I'm interested in.
  • Cheaper than Mason, but more expensive than Loyola.
CONS:
  • Blasted HOT!
  • Don't really know how much I want to live there, but I've heard some people say they really like Tempe.  I'm skeptical.  
  • Also skeptical of their lack of reporting of employment at graduation.  This is a statistic almost all law schools will report and/or flaunt.  ASU hasn't reported it for the last few years, and it was getting worse in the last few years that they DID report it.
  • Not getting a great employment vibe from ASU/Arizona in general.
  • Very suspicious of the jump in rankings what with the lack of any great reports of employment.

Ok, sorry to subject you all to that.  But I think I needed a good reminder that these rankings don't really change my opinions.  I paid my seat deposit at George Mason, so I had pretty much made my decision, but then these lame rankings came out tonight.  I still feel that George Mason is the best choice at the moment, and I think that's where I'm headed barring any surprise financial offers, or acceptances offered from my schools that have waitlisted me.  (BYU?)

K, well, yeah, really need to go to bed.  Umm... bye.

Monday, April 12, 2010

Don't Mind Me, I'm Just Napping With Clever Mice About.


Broken empty trap
Originally uploaded by terence_arjo
Thought: Empty mouse-traps are kinda disconcerting. Especially when you discover them right next to the couch you're taking a nap on. Apparently the basement of USU's Old Main has a few clever rodents on the lam.

Thought: Trans fat doesn't horrify me like it probably definitely should. What does it do to me again? "Hmm, one gram of disgustingness with delicious food item surrounding it VS. no delicious food item. Who would ever pick the latter?!"

Thought: ?! -->The symbol formerly known as an interbang will now be known as a puzzled-shock mark! At least in my book. Books? Perhaps I'll write multiple books.

Thought: I'm kind of surprised that I have never heard anyone cleverly combine witty and literature into witterature. A brief googleage has revealed, however, that I'm not the first to think of this word.

Thought: Being in a building that blocks my cell phone coverage disturbs me a little, and yet I also feel very safe. "Well, if I can't be reached by cell phone coverage nowadays, nothing could reach me!"

Thought: Sometimes I think I've had a brilliant idea, and I rush to write it down. Often, upon rereading, it was mental vomit. Shucks.

Thought: The CIA thinks I'm important. This is a certain conclusion that anyone would reach based upon the fact that the same dude has been around at least two times I've awoken from a nap in the Old Main basement. It is CERTAIN!

Thought: It's about time that downside-up got as much playing time as upside-down.

Thought: I hate when I wave my hand at a bathroom sink or towel dispenser in vain.

Thought: A very funny joke would be to destroy all the outlets around campus that people use to charge their crud. And by funny I mean riot-inducing. Hmmm... upon rereading... mental vomit.

K, see ya.

Thursday, April 8, 2010

Top 10 Most Interesting Search Terms That Led To RAND-O-MANIA!!

I occasionally like perusing the random search keywords that bring people to my blog.  More than 40% of my 7,132 unique new visitors (since I started using Google Analytics on my blog in May 2009) are searching for "funny songs list" or some variation of that phrase.  However, there are a WIDE array of search terms that bring just one random visitor.  I'm going to sample a few of those to give you a taste of how confused search engines can get with the weird crap we put into them, and a taste of how weirded out I am that some search terms bring people to my blog.  Without further ado, the list, probably not really in any certain order, just the order I found them in:

#10:  "17-year-old hand bomb joshua tree"
Ok, I am sure that I have mentioned U2's album Joshua Tree about 3 dozen times on this blog, so that might make sense at least.  But isn't it odd that someone no doubt desperately searching for a 17-year-old who could blow up a joshua tree with a hand bomb for them could NOT find their way to said 17-year-old?!  These poor souls were directed to RAND-O-MANIA!! amiss.

#9:  "abraham lincoln calm down"
Wow.  Who was trying to give a dead president advice with their Google search?  This one struck me as funny when I read it, but after searching for this phrase I saw why they were directed to me, and I figure that they were trying to get to some "Whitest Kids U Know" video.

#8:  "arctic weirdness"
I definitely LOLed at this one.  As the first thing that popped up on my Google search of this term was something entitled "Hillary Clinton's awkward Canadian vacation," I have no clue what they were hunting for.  Hope RAND-O-MANIA!! helped in some way.

#7:  "bull dance tune gilmore"
Not nearly as weird as it first struck me.  I still don't get why they ended up at my blog, but this seems to refer to the "bull dance" that Happy Gilmore does when he's "Doin' the Bull Dance. Feelin' the flow. Workin' it."

#6:  "crappy haikus"
I'm HIGHLY offended that Google brought them to RAND-O-MANIA!! with that search phrase!  I'll have you all know that not one of the haikus on this blog are "crappy!"  Grrrr...

#5:  "funny songs on anger"
I told you there were variations of "funny songs list," but this has to be one of the funniest.  I hope that they're just trying to deal with said anger.  Calm down Abraham Lincoln!

#4:  "gum o mania"
Sounds so fun, chewy, and delicious!

#3:  "whofigured out lift is created by diffrences in air pressure"
Ya know, I don't know!  Does my blog have answers to questions like that?!  Perhaps there's much more wisdom in my writings than I thought!

#2:  "quietest midnight snack"
BRILLIANT!!!  When you figure out what it is, let me know.  Really though... how has no one used that as a marketing ploy for their food-stuffs.  ...k, see ya.

#1:  "www.thecastrofam.blogspot.com"
I hear Fidel Castro is totally a regular of the mommy-blog community.



K, see ya later for real.

Wednesday, April 7, 2010

Lost

I know that I (quite possibly too) frequently sing the praises of ABC's Lost.  It's just that I've never enjoyed a television show nearly as thoroughly as I enjoy this one.  I'm not saying it's perfect, or that it's the best show for everyone in the world to watch, but I will say that for my entertainment preferences, it's definitely the highest scorer I think I'll ever see.  The latest episode was outstanding, and really made me think.  I like when television actually makes my brain move at all.  Lost= A television show like no other, that I highly recommend.

Enough of that.

I've got a cold again.  Not sure how excited I am about being sick for the third time this semester and what feels like the two-hundredth time in the past 12 months or so.  I may or may not  most certainly definitely absolutely could be eating unhealthy.  That might be contributing.  And I don't have other generally healthy habits either.  For instance, I all too frequently go without very much sleep to get homework or other things done, and then tank hardcore the next day.  It's not the best system.  It's not surprising that I have been sick so much with my eating and sleeping habits the way they are, but it is still frustrating.  I guess I am just getting my due comeuppance.

Um... I promise a much more interesting entry... soon.

K, see ya.


(Sometimes I like to pretend that lots and lots of people read every post on my blog, instead of just a handful that do that and a bunch that search for "funny songs list" and discover one post on my blog and leave.)

Tuesday, April 6, 2010

The Happenings...

FRIDAY:
--Hit in the eyeball by a racquetball, just before a date.
--Went on a date. (Sadly this is too rare an event in my life.)
-Ate some serious shrimp and steak and rolls combo-age at Texas Roadhouse. (Love that place.)
SATURDAY:
--Drove home during the Saturday morning session of conference. (It was a great way to keep me awake.)
--Went to Shelley's for the annual Easter egg hunt. The kids hunt for candy-filled eggs, the adults hunt for $-filled plasti-eggs. I sucked, I got less than everyone else.
--More conference.
--Went to the priesthood session with Jake.
--Ate sushi for the first time in my life. I don't see what all the fuss is about. It just seems too expensive. It was good, but I don't see why I should pay that much for food.
--That same night I saw Clash of the Titans with A.F. buds. Eh. I had no expectations, and they weren't exceeded. It was a lame plot, but I didn't think too much, so I at least was entertained. Don't really recommend it at all though.
SUNDAY:
--Conference, wonderful conference.
--Ate lunch with Jake, Emily, and my mum.
--Watched conference together, then played Apples to Apples. (Did not win.)
--Drove back to Logan.
--Colored eggs with neighbors. Mine were not the best.
--Heard that there was an earthquake right by where my Dad is in Mexico, but was relieved when I later found out it wasn't as bad as it first sounded. Still haven't heard from him though. (7.2 on the richter scale!)
MONDAY:
--At about 4 am I woke up and had some fairly sharp pains in my stomach, which now I've self diagnosed as possibly being an ulcer. (I've still felt pain from it all day.)
--Slept through class, again.
--Español.
--Nap.
--Got pummeled by my professor about my rough draft. It was apparently REALLY rough.
--Drove to West Valley in not great weather, but not too bad. Had to wait for over an hour to get to the parking lot.
--Arrived at the E-Center and enjoyed an expensive, but extremely good concert put on by MUSE! Rocked. In fact, I may have injured my neck while rocking.
--Wished Jules a Happy Birthday and ventured out into the snow.
--Waited an hour to finally get to the freeway.
--Drove 40 mph through thick slushy snow most the way.
--Crawled through Sardine Canyon.
--Barely made it up my driveway without smashing into the Beach House.
--Blogged.
--K, see ya.

Thursday, April 1, 2010

I got April Foolsed by a tree!


31-snow-filled_tree
Originally uploaded by CoolSpring
On my way to work this morning I was looking around at the 3 or 4 inches of snow that got dumped on us here in Logan last night, and remarked that I couldn't believe that it looked like mid-January on April 1st. This is really wet and sticky snow, too. So this morning the trees were all full of really heavy snow, and many of them were dropping their contents. I was talking with one of my neighbors, and he had gotten just ahead of me. Suddenly a huge plop of snow landed right on top of me from the tall trees above me. My neighbor had stepped just out of its way, but I got the brunt of the snow. It was like a snow-shovel full of snow was dropped on my head from 10 feet above. Not pleasant. Pretty funny though.

This afternoon when I left work, it was sunny so the snow was melting fast and was still just as wet and heavy, so it was like bombs dropping all over the place. You can bet your last dollar that I was watching above my head every last step on my way home.