Pre-Christmas Thoughts

Why do "they" make it sound like getting alternate student loans for college is easy and simple? It's not. In fact, it seems much more likely that the whole thing is a scheme to get people to spend time and money going to school for 3 years and then make it impossible for them to get the necessary funds to complete their degree. Then they sit back and laugh. "They" should be rounded up and fed to pteradactyls. (I think I just misspelled pteradactyls...but I'm too lazy to go look up the correct spelling)

Is anyone else disturbed by these Gap commercials with the little girls dancing around doing a cheer about how their clothes are "officially retired?" There's just something...wrong about it. And the cheer gets stuck in my head. "I love my comfy sweater - I love my comfy sweater - how cute are these boots? how cute are these boots?" Consequently the ad has taught me the "talk to the moose" thing where you stick your hands against your head like moose-antlers (this is as opposed to simply saying "talk to the hand" and extending one's hand palm outwards.). Hey, student loan people - talk to the moose! ....and my fist....

Did anyone else hear about the octopus that carries coconut shells across the seafloor and uses them as shelter? It's the first documented instance of an invertebrate, such as an octopus, using tools. Pretty cool stuff....wish I had an octopus....I bet he could get a student loan....(grumble grumble grumble)....

Did they really come out with more stupid reality singing shows recently? I see society's IQ continues to drop at an alarming rate. Maybe an evil one-world government is just what some of this world needs. Let the rest of us go colonize Mars first, though. And we're taking the octopi with us! (That's plural for octopus)

I heard we have a chance for a tiny amount of snow on Saturday. Less than an inch. You know what this means? All the grocery stores will be cleaned out of milk and bread in the next 48 hours. All generators in the tri-state area will be sold out. Salt trucks will be running non-stop beginning at noon today. Gas lines. Gas line brawls. Shoving matches in church parking lots. 3 weeks without power. College football mascots flying F-14s and doing barrel-rolls while Van Halen blasts from gigantic hidden speakers which can somehow be heard but not seen by everyone within a 100 mile radius. ........I know I can't wait!

I just realized this morning that we don't have a Christmas tree up in the house. Wow. Just...wow. I'd also like to take this moment to metaphorically get in everyone's face and say that they are CHRISTMAS TREES not "Holiday trees." Political correctness is a disease. It's way worse than swine flu. But not as profitable as global warming....(wink)

How come it's so much easier for me to write blogs on days when I really need to be studying, writing papers, or working on important Christmas break projects for professors?

Abe Lincoln or Layne Staley?

If you had the power to not only go back in time, but to ensure that certain people would not be able to die untimely (early) deaths - and you had to choose between someone like an Abe Lincoln or JFK and a Layne Staley/Kurt Cobain/John Lennon type -- who would you choose?

Between Lincoln and Staley - I'm going with Staley. Lincoln had pretty much peaked. What more was he going to do with his life? Staley, on the other hand, if he were unable to die an untimely deaht - no overdosing, no suicide, no fatal grizzly bear attacks - he would have several more decades of creating music. That's infinitely more beneficial to the world than an ex-president going around the speaking circuit and campaigning for other politicians.

Maybe it's just me. Maybe it's just the miserably dreary 40 degrees, rain, and wind (perfect Alice In Chains weather) while the rest of the country experiences winter wonderlands with peace and harmony and no work or school and hot chocolate for everyone and cats and dogs riding sleds together as Christmas songs rain down from the heavens and everyone is happy and smiling and life is one big Christmas commercial as families lob snowballs at each other and laugh amongst the pine trees with more precious snow fluttering down around them in a very picturesque and timeless scene and all is good....all is good......

Spartans! Prepare for Glory!.....and Final Exams!

I'm writing to you from the threshold of Finals Week. All the tidal-wave-esque papers, projects, presentations, and assignments have been completed, vanquished, suffered through, and annihilated. Just a few more exams and then a few weeks of decompressing....

So the Bears managed to win today. And Cutler didn't throw any interceptions! I'm not on the Cutler-Hating bandwagon - in fact, I've started my own bandwagon as a Bears fan -- the Our-Offensive-Line-and-Coaching-Staff-Are-Pretty-Darn-Crappy bandwagon. Feel free to jump aboard - we have honey roasted peanuts (from Publix - not Planters brand...is there anything Publix can't produce that doesn't turn out amazing? Oh, that's right...most of you have never heard of Publix...well, it's the greatest grocery store chain that I know of...) 5-7....that's just the kind of record that leaves a team out of the playoffs but also out of the higher picks in the draft. Oh, but wait...we traded away our draft picks for Cutler...soooooo....

Tonight is the college football BCS Bowl selection. Where will my Canes end up? There's a chance they could be in the Music City Bowl playing against UK. More likely they'll be playing somewhere in central Florida. Speaking of Florida....it was so utterly satisfying to see the Gators lose last night. But I discovered that I do not hate Tim Tebow....just the hype he gets. In fact, I felt a little bad for Tebow...he seemed genuinely upset at the end. As for Urban Meyer...he can go play in traffic.

Have I vented about how this season of The Office has been very disappointing? What's that? "Every single day" you say? Really? I didn't think I brought it up THAT much. Well, not to ram a point into the rock-hard and wind-swept ground, but it HAS been quite disappointing. I want more hilarity and random goofiness! I want Dwight setting the office on fire! I want Michael kidnapping pizza delivery guys! I want grizzly bears with anti-aircraft guns! I want furniture being kicked around! I want Cheez-its!

hmmm...I just remembered a time when I was going to try to make this blog more serious and thoughtful. Or at least in between the random nonsense and musings, make some deep comments on life that my readers could perhaps find inspiring, poignant, or otherwise appreciate. But no...instead, I just go on about football and complain about The Office. (which, by the way, is the funniest show on tv...and Dwight Schrute is now my favorite tv character of all-time)

Thanksgiving went by in a blur. Quite literally. I was working on my kidney project the whole time. On Thanksgiving day I greeted family as they arrived by asking them if they happened to know the flow rate of solutes out of the proximal tubule. I took a 4 hour break to socialize and eat dinner...and then was back at it. I miss the years when we had tons of extended family in for the holiday. Extra tables had to be brought in and pushed together. 2 or 3 turkeys had to be cooked. I had to be picked up from the airport, as in most of my memories of such times - I was in college (the first time). Board games were played. Movies were watched. Guitars appeared and songs were played and sung. Life seemed like an endless ocean spread out before me, filled with countless opportunities and chances to make memories - to live out all the dreams I had. That sense of urgency had not yet taken hold...that full, soul-shaking realization that an end not only existed - but was just within sight on the horizon. It was much easier to be tripped up by, as well as take for granted, the little things. Now all hands are on deck....life spins past ever faster and faster (an engineer might say it moves exponentially). Soon Christmas will be upon us...and then a new year....I still remember a friend and I always saying that whenever 2010 rolled around it would mean that we were officially old. That and whenever Sean Connery passes away. (May the one true Bond live a thousand more years!)

So folks, as we progress through this holiday season - if you catch yourself in a lull or moment of doubt...remember that life moves too fast to try and catch or keep restrained, you just have to appreciate the little moments that you have the opportunity to savor. Put a little evil grin on that face and create a memory - something you CAN hold onto. Take it all in - let it roll around your soul - and then do whatever you can to make that moment stand out and be special for those around you. Smiles. It's always better to have a memory full of smiles and laughter than one of boredom, tragedy, and regret. If we're all going to end up going over the waterfall no matter what - then we might as well enjoy the ride while we can.

Just Nodding My Head to Prove I'm Alive

Yes, I've been neglecting this blog for a while now. The reasons? First -- school. There just hasn't been time for much else outside of engineering related stuff. Second -- I think I fell into that natural tendency of mine to over-think what I was writing about and got to a point where I was hearing the criticisms of others before even writing anything. So, here's a nice, easy step back into entertaining all 3 of you who read these things....

Thanksgiving is fast approaching...my favorite holiday. Some folks prefer ham over turkey, which to me is simply outrageous. Even outside of a holiday meal - a full-sized turkey vs a full baked ham -- the turkey always wins in my book. And there's no such thing as too much turkey. It's meant to be consumed for a week after the actual holiday in sandwiches, reheated plates of leftovers, and even turkey-a-la-king. In fact, in this spirit of complete government control of all aspects of our lives and mandating every minute detail -- why don't they just make it a rule that sufficient turkey must be prepared such that all immediate family members and hangers-on can indulge in turkey eating until at least the end of the weekend? Turkey Czars? Why not! We have czars for everything else....

College football is nearing the end of its regular season and the NFL only has a couple more months. Meanwhile the dreadful NBA is already back in action. Just like John Mayer (though, admittedly not as awful and detrimental to society) the NBA should be abolished....or at least forced to only last for the few paltry months that the football season is limited to. This 9 months out of the year stuff is a crime against humanity!

Swine flue, swine flu, swine flu....did you get your shot? Not me. I got a regular flu shot as I've had them in recent years with no side effects. But I do not trust the hysteria or the rushed production of the swine flu vaccination. Rule of thumb -- never trust anything that has been politicized or overly hyped by the media. It's also a rule of thumb in chemical engineering to have the velocity of water through a pipe somewhere between 4 and 10 feet/second. (or is it 4 and 7......crap....)

I haven't been to the movies since August, so I have no reviews. in fact, other than a trip to Garden of the Gods with the family a few weeks ago and the school-trip to Nashville for our national conference, I haven't left the house at all on the weekends!

The Office....in the last few months it has become my official favorite show on tv. The wedding episode was fantastic, but all of the new episodes since (with the exception of this past week's) have been quite disappointing. And other Office fans that i know seem to feel the same way. Hopefully this most recent episode is a sign that they are getting their groove back. Dwight being Dwight, Jim playing pranks, Michael doing awkward and ridiculously stupid things...that's the magical formula that made the show so great. Michael at the shareholder's meeting was superb! "45 day plan....45 points....45 points in 45 days..."

Okay, I'm hitting the wall and there's much engineering stuff to be done today. If I don't write again before Thanksgiving - have a good one and send me your leftovers.

Awards, Hype, Corporations, and Interstellar Zoos

Because it was suggested, I'm going to try to squeeze out a short blog this morning.

So our supreme leader has been given the Nobel Peace Prize? This is another farce in this train-wreck of a presidency -- but considering some of the past winners (and the state of society in general), I probably shouldn't be surprised at all. From my understanding the nominations were due by February 1st....show he managed to perform such wondrous works of peace-making prior to that date.

I really don't think there are many people in this world today deserving of a Peace award. Certainly not any political leaders. In fact, I think politicians should be excluded from the award completely. Maybe if there are still some Mother Theresas out there -- give it to them.

I'm ready for the aliens to come and "wipe this place clean" (to quote Trent Reznor's Nine Inch Nails song "The Warning"), just as long as they accept my volunteering to be in the human exhibit of the Interstellar Zoo. And I humbly request either Kate Beckinsale or Adriana Lima to share my cage with.

Hey - did anybody else catch that stuff about school-kids being made to sing pro-obama songs recently? Obviously, you wouldn't have heard about it on in the mainstream media. It was pretty sickening stuff.

Lots of new music came out last month: Muse's "The Resistance" (amazing album -- and lyrically works as a soundtrack for those of us opposed to socialism and the movement to a one-world government), Pearl Jam's "Backspacer" (in case you missed it I was quite upset that they made an exclusive deal with Target and thus it was not available in a physical form here in our area where there are no Targets....in fact, let's get off track a little...Pearl Jam, being the liberals that they are, have always been very anti-corporation and about wanting the fans to hear their music without having to pay a lot of money. They always have done a good job of keeping concert ticket prices reasonable. But in this case, they completely and epically failed. Apparently all corporations are evil....except Target. But in so limiting the distribution of their album, people like me did not have access to it. True, it was available on ITunes, but some of us prefer having a tangible CD in our hands -- plus the CD has a higher sound quality. So, the band ended up limiting access to the music. Plus we all had to pay MORE than normal to get it. Best Buy is typically the cheapest place to get new CDs. Target is always more expensive. And if you do not have a Target within driving distance, you would have to either order from one online (thus incurring shipping costs) or from Pearl Jam's own website (at a higher price and again with shipping costs...it would cost about $20 actually). I would hope that after all this they would realize that not all corporations are evil and that most actually provide a service to people. By being gigantic distributors of products, these corporations make goods available to the masses at affordable prices. Does the corporate world itself suck? Yes, of course. Do I long to see mission statements, stuffy boardroom meetings, policies, procedures, HR departments, resumes, phoney handshakes, and the other rigid formalities of that world fall not just by the wayside but completely off the map and into the abyss? DEFINITELY YES PLEASE LORD MAKE IT SO!!!! But despite the detestability of the corporate world, I'm glad to have Wal-Marts and Best Buys around so I can buy the things I want/need and not have to spend more than I think I should have to.

Well, that was fun. Back to engineering stuff for me....

Musing Upon 19

Stephen King was right. It's all about 19. A decade ago I was 19 and while life was still a vast, seemingly limitless expanse before my third eye, I could already sense its precipitous and fleeting nature. An early hint of that feeling which sunk in somewhere in the mid-twenties - when life suddenly felt very short and swooping past at an alarming rate. As if one had just been shoved off a cliff and realized the surroundings were moving faster and faster and the ground loomed larger and closer.

19 is like noon. It becomes the reference point of our lives. In the morning we always look towards noon. In the afternoon we look back at it. It's the turning point. And 19 (or somewhere thereabouts) is when things start to shift. Those deviously intangible things that only make clear sense in our minds. Where if we attempted to describe it to another human being we would stumble awkwardly over the words and then give up and go watch football. At 19 you can look up at those lovely eastern clouds at sunset (the ones that soar like mountains, but are painted in glorious blues and purples with white peaks illuminated by the sun as it fondly waves goodbye for the night) and imagine seeing whatever dream those clouds inspire actually come true. But in later years, that confidence fades, the swirling pull of time floods those dreams with doubts and all we can do is imagine another reality where such dreams are possible.

19 is a time when everything is incredibly slow, though we do not realize at the time. The 19 reality is vivid and sharp, as if Life itself wants to impress upon you the importance of that era. Like how a ball thrown into the air pauses for a moment at its highest point. Timelessness.

On a September evening in my 29th year I went running beneath a magnificent sky which held a modest assortment of those soaring, mountainous clouds I so love. On my Iphone (a device my 19 year old self would have marveled at) I listened to a song I first heard almost exactly a decade before. It had the same feeling as back then, though perhaps with some added layers from the years. As often happens I felt as if I could literally still be 19 - as if I could run right through a hole in reality and find myself 10 years in the past and it would seem perfectly fitting. And it hit me that a decade from now I'll likely still feel the same way. As if I've only been on this planet a matter of hours and that there is no possible way I have experienced all those years. And that nauseous falling feeling will begin to claw at me. That this cannot be reality, life cannot be this short, I'm only 19! There's still an ocean of time and possibilities and opportunities and experiences and lives to live spread out before me!

But only the 19 year old sees that ocean. The later versions instead see the edge of the abyss, like those old paintings when people believed the earth was flat and that ships would just sail off into nothingness. Or instead maybe there's a massive wall of water that with each passing day or year looms closer and closer. The inevitable in all its glory.

And so the 29 year old renews his vows that he must fill his remaining years with meaning, with accomplishments, with moments that he wishes would drag out a little slower - like a ball at its highest point.

September Pause

Has it really been nearly 3 weeks since I last wrote something on here? Things have been busy. Free time - such as time to spend typing random gibberish on a blog that resides on a dusty, seldom-traveled side road of the internet - has become a scarce commodity.

But it's Friday evening....I just got over being sick for the last two weeks...I've been going nonstop with schoolwork and I'm just a little rundown and out of gas. I took a break last night for the Canes victory over Georgia Tech...but I still feel the need for more idle time. How about those Canes? Are we finally back? Man, I hope so....it's been a long, miserable few years of watching my beloved Canes' dynasty crumble and then be rebuilt. We Canes fans have suffered greatly - had our hearts broken (by other teams, our own team, and a certain coach who shall not be named) - had to endure the freakin' Florida Gators rise to dominance. And now...maybe...just maybe...we're back.

How about those Bears??? meh....not so much. Urlacher breaks his wrist and is done for the year. Cutler and the offense have a meltdown against the Packers. Ugh.......

I passed up drafting Adrian Peterson in my fantasy league's draft. (So did a couple of other people) I went with the Bears' Matt Forte instead - because he gets lot of receptions and receiving yards. Peterson typically does not. In fantasy football -- that matters! But after week 1 I am filled with regret. Especially when I see those cool Nike commercials where Adrian Peterson is running all over a dark, snowy field, tossing opponents out of the way as ominous music plays and finally at the end he sits down at his locker and appears to be some sort of alien or creature or secret army project. Awesome commercial....but nevertheless it shrouds my soul in the mists of Fantasy Draft Regret. It is a common and unfortunate affliction.

The latest Muse album (The Resistance) came out this week. It is quite frankly, unreal. Lyrically it's like protest music for those who see the insidious socialistic workings going on in our world today. A pre-emptive call to rise against the movements to a one-world-government, a fascist/socialist America, etc. If you're angry at the socialists - or just don't like any of the people in power (worldwide) and if you don't like the way our modern society tries to program us -- then you will find solace and a kindred spirit in this album. Musically they continue to evolve. One can hear a connection to their last album (Blackholes and Revelations), as well as David Bowie and Queen influences. A wide swathe of genres are represented -- from synthesizer-heavy foot-stompers to rhythmic hip-hop/pop vibes and the considerable orchestral arrangements. It feels like a concept album...like something from a by-gone era when bands made music because it was art and it came from inside them -- not just to put out hit singles and cash-in. I can't stop listening to it and I fear i will burn myself out on it soon.....like a moth to a flame....or a man to a beautiful girl....or Chaz to a beer.