Watch out!

Cautionary tale for the hoilday online shopping season...

http://thomashawk.com/2005/11/priceritephoto-abusive-bait-and-switch.html

Also, my computer won't post this as a link. Get off me.

soooo...

jess and i got hit by a drunk driver saturday night.

what have you guys been up to?

Poor Penn

NPR's This I Believe : There is No God

this makes me sad for Penn. i mean, from a worldy standpoint, it's actually a pretty intelligent way of looking at it. but this is the type of reaction that scares me so much about all the Christian "press" our country has gotten in the recent years. it's so sad (and frustrating) that people think believing in God means you have to be close-minded and stubborn (and greedy? geez). i just hate the fact that this is the God so many people think they're not believing in.



also - it just occured to me that i seem to post "religious" entries fairly often (recently). i'm really not trying to incite argument, i just find them interesting and relevant to everyone. (and i seem to say "just" a lot.)

schweet

yellow... well... i'll be gone for afew days (starting tomorrow) so i figured i'd leave with a scott update... -- took a big test on monday, and i dont even want to talk about it... one of the worsts tests i've had in awhile... i wont go into that..
had a big party at the house last night... probably 40ish people there. it guess it was more like a "get together" than a party... i put together a card game on the second floor- there were 9 of us up there... everyone else was screaming bloody murder downstairs playing cranium... when asked if i wanted to play i had to say "sorry... i'm kinda burnt out on this one from highschool.."
(with the one big difference here being that several people were lobbying for me to be on their teams instead of lobbying for me NOT to be on their team (BRYAN and HG!)) but we all had a good time and i got to bed by 2ish... I'm gonna be "house manager" next year and i'm trying to find two people to come and fill the two spots that will be left at the end of the school year... i've already got one guy (one of the three validictorians) ((speaking of that... since that weired thing happened to me in the car, i've discovered that two of my other friends were also validictorians... what the crap??... )) for next year and he is really nice... looking for #2 now... i figure i could always open it up for people to apply to get im but i'd rather hand-pick my roommates!

Kirk, a pharmacist and recent grad approaced me last night and gave me this special fraternity pin and says he gives a couple away every year, one to the president, and one to another person who he thinks has gone above and beyond their duties as a member of the fraternity. so i thought that was cool... he also said something to the effect of he knew he always gave me a hard time last year but he really appreciated what i was doing and thoight i was a nice/respectable guy... so that was cool of him.- he was house manager last year. i've talked to him some and he says its really fun working as a pharmacist, he said that the school here definitly overprepared him and he feels almost bored sometimes, but then again he is a genious... so i think alot of things are easy for him... he says he is very satisfied with his pay:work ratio now that he is a pharmacist and said its a good feeling to finally get out and do what he had studied 8 years to do... and the getting paid part he said was a large plus, for lack of a better phrase... speaking of getting paid... its time for me to go to class for afew hours- if my calculations are correct... 0.00 dollars per hour for the next two hours SHOULD rake me in some pretty nice cash... thats pretty schweet... can i get that in twentys?

we're a long way from college

so does anyone else not get this friday off?

i feel like i'm taking crazy pills. the building where my office is located is closed, but my office is still coming in to work.

what's the point of destroying a perfectly good 4 day weekend??

i'm a little t.o.ed

VANDERBILT 28, TENNESSEE 24

Two months ago, I told Josh that Vanderbilt would BEAT Tennessee this season... and I was mocked...

Now I admit this IS probably pulling a Scott [Burka]

I got this in my e-mail from one of my Evidence classmates: (You need sound)

http://blawgcoop.com/commons/hearsay.wmv

OK, so I realize this is pulling a Scott and, in fact, Scott once posted a video that was apparently particularly funny to a pharm student. I watched it and didn't really get it.

I've done my best examination of this and determined as independently as possible that I sincerely believe this has independent humorous value. I think the music plus the poses are funny, the technical information about evidence is just icing on the cake for me.

I might be wrong, though, and I apologize if I am.


P.S. LOL- I just did a spellcheck on this post, and it tried to correct "pharm" to "porn." Are you a porn student Scott?

3 out of 3?

so i'm going to this church thing tonight with three of my classmates here in pharmacy school... and we are talking about stuff and i tell them a story about last christmas and gift giving and stuff and i mentioned something about mandy had gotten my present kinda early (i dont remember exactly when) but maybe it was like late january or the first of december... and i made a comment to the effect of "well she was validictorian and i think those people tend to be really organized and get things done earlier than the slackers such as myself" (or something to that effect, i meant it in a good way)- and one of them said... well (chuckle) i dont think ALL validictorians are like that, and then one of the other of the three of them said something else to that effect, and the third one also chuckled to themselves and said they agreed... and i was like... "wait a second.....was one of you also validictorian of their respective highschool?".... and they all laughed and nodded and then looked at eachother and realized that in fact all three of them from their respective highschools had been #1 in their class..... and i was like "what the crap?" and we had a funny moment... i said something to the effect of "i dont think i can TALK to you guys any more... sheesh"... you should have been there...

Did anyone else miss this or just me?

On 9-22-05 Pappert wrote:

"Oh, on a minor side note: I GOT A CELL PHONE. Convenience finally won out over necessity. If you would like to call me on it, my number is (970) 310-8722. It is now my only number, so don't bother with the old one"

He called me last night and insisted he did in fact post his new CELL PHONE NUMBER. I find it odd that nobody commented on it.

Did anyone else notice?

Moot Court Update

So, my partner Aaron and I did advance to the second round of Moot Court. That means that we were one of the top 16 teams out of 79. Our second round of arguments was last night. I was a little nervous, but was fine once I began talking. Our chief justice for the round was the Moot Court Board's chief justice. She is the student in charge of the administration of the competition. She was very tough, asked questions relentlessly, and, unlike the first round, her feedback had a much more constructively critical tone than a praising one. Our adversary team was pretty good. The first guy was extremely smooth, very well spoken, like a seasoned politician. His partner was also very good, just not as smooth.

We found out this morning that NEITHER of our teams advanced to the quarter finals. That surprised me. I thought that they DEFINATELY would and we MIGHT. The 8 teams (16 people) who advanced to the quarter finals automatically get onto next year's moot court board. Then 14 individuals are selected among those not making it to the quarter finals based on the best scores in the first round. I was selected as one of these "at large" Moot Court Board members and the smooth talkin guy from last night was too. Neither of our partners made it.

I have mixed feelings. It is nice to get some genuine recognition. During hiring season, almost all the employers list "Law Review or Moot Court Board preferred" in their hiring criteria. It's considered one of those things that sets a law student apart in skill. It isn't as prestigious as writing for the journal (Law Review), but still quite distinguishing.

Of course, I already have a job, so it won't help me a huge amount unless I decide to interview again next year. It could also be helpful if I decide to leave my firm a few years after law school. Headhunters look for that sort of thing no matter how long a person has been out of law school.

The other crappy thing is now I have to do a bunch of extra work next year. I get a pass/fail credit for it, but it is a significant time committment. I guess I shouldn't complain, though, since I do get a little recognition.

dudley must take after his mom in his love of sun worship. look at those spread-eagle legs! 

Unicorns, sunshine, and rainbows

Sorry about the title. I was going for soothing and positive, but ended up more on the gay side. Just thought I'd check in during this latest flurry of activity with a brief update. I received my MCAT scores last month and was...disappointed to say the least. Honestly, it depressed the crap out of me. As my GPA was acceptable, but not outstanding, I was counting on my MCAT scores to make me feel more confident about my possible admission to CU Denver. This turned out to not be the case. So, unless they are captivated by my essay, or impressed by the fact that I work for the CDC, I may very well find myself sitting on my ass for another year trying to figure out what to do with my life. I'll likely try the MCAT again in April in hopes of starting the following year, but who knows how this will all work out in the end. I really loathe the thought of not progressing at all for another year.
One thing that does make me happy is the impending release of the Xbox 360. I pre-ordered mine in mid-May, so I will receive it on the launch day. I think I am one of the few of us who still play many games with regularity, so many of you will likely be unaware/unconcerned with this event.
Bryan: I hope all goes well with your discounted 360 plan. Would you mind if I resurrected FR-DOT-BRYAN on Perfect Dark Zero for old time's sake?
What were everyone else's names on that game? I think mine was She-beast, a horrible she-male chimera of sorts.
If anyone has a Playstation 2, you should check out Shadow of the Colossus and Resident Evil 4. Both are superb games, and well worth your time. Crap, time to leave. Hope everyone is well. Later.

dci?

HOWS THIS FOR A LINK, JOSH?!

this is a video of the "blue devils" from concord, CA doing a brass warmup before quarterfinals in parking lot outside the Patriots' new stadium in foxboro, MA- you DONT have to watch this... this is only for those who have 2.5 minutes and are interrested... my only request- if you watch it- feel free to skip the first 50 seconds if you must, but the last minute and a half are what i'm trying to show you- and also- you've gotta have it turned up to appreciate it (despite the horrible recording)

this is DCI... and for those of you out of the know... i played one of the really big instruments there in the middle (it was heavy...)... this is not my group, but a group that placed 4th by 0.8 points (on a 100 point scale) to my group who placed 5th... so same idea--- watch the conductor in the middle when he points around the arc and how the sound changes--- i guess for those of you who have never played a wind instrument, this might seem odd to you, or might not mean anything- but please believe me that this is very impressive to those of us who have played at one time-- getting 68 brass players to play precisely in tune with the same accents, slurs, articulations, and rythms, with that immense kind of power that they generate- sounds like a synthesizer on first listen...

Nooooooooooooo!

Bad news for 'Arrested'

this world was never good enough for you.



follow-up: go here to help save Arrested Development!

(i'm #646)

My Free* XBOX 360

So I got a free* xbox 360!

I went to a link like this one and did everything I am required to do to get a free* xbox 360.

Here is/are the catch[s]:

You have to do all these promotional offers. Yes, you have to spend money. No, it is not nearly as much as paying out of pocket for a free* xbox 360. Here's what I did:

-Free Trial of AOL dialup- FREE (no asterisk) as long as you cancel within 30 days
-Free Trial of AOL broadband- FREE (no asterisk) as long as you cancel within 30 days
-One month of Earthlink dialup- $9.95 as long as you cancel within the first month
-One month of PeoplePC- $7.95 as long as I cancel before rebilling
-PetMeds Online- $40. I need[ed] this anyway [before my dog got pulverized by a Goodyear]
-SouthBeach Diet online- $7. I think $65 prebilled, but as long as you cancel within the first week, they refund you the balance
-Orexis [penis enahancement supplement]- $45, don't need it, but still cheaper than my free* xbox 360 at retail price. I'll try to resell it on e-bay
-Longevity [old age prevention supplement]- $45 I'm aa least 30 years from need this, but again, still well under the full retail price of my free* xbox 360
-Work from home starter kit- $45. I have already gotten credit for this and it hasn't arrived yet, which means I can refuse shipment and not pay (plus it has a 90 day refund guarantee less shipping)


By my tally, I put about $160 dollars into the offer BEFORE counting any return I get on selling Orexis or Longevity on e-bay. I am getting the FULL free* xbox 360 system (the $399 one with the wireless controller and the hard drive).

Here's the second catch. Due to high demand, they won't guarantee I'll get it in any timely manner. They offered me a $399 check isntead. The down side is I have to go to wal-mart at midnight on the 22nd to get one AND I have to pay the tax ($45 or so). But still, that puts me at about $200 for a $400 system (really a $445 system after tax).

this is killing me

So my leg is killing me… very slowly… I am convinced of it… to those of you who can walk or run without pain- please please please get out and do something, because one day you might end up like me. I know I used to be a “downer” about my image or girls… and saying depressing things might have even been something that some of you associated with my general comments back in high school (about girls) and undergrad (still- mostly about girls)… but I really think the last several years since my 2003 drum corps experience I have been more of a happy and satisfied person in general… but I’ve got to tell you guys the truth- this thing is just killing me. Who would have thought that something like a hip/thigh/knee injury could permeate so many aspects of life- I would have told you a year ago that if I had this injury, it wouldn't affect that much in my life, but I cant emphasize how wrong I was… I’ve gained about 25 pounds since the injury, many of my clothes don’t fit, or fit too tightly to be comfortable, I cant play sports with my friends or do any form of exercise that involves “moving”, my sleep has a chunk of about an hour to an hour and a half taken away every single night (every-single-night) and has been like that for over 5 months (APPRECIATE YOUR FULL NIGHT’S SLEEP), the pain prevents me from paying full attention in class= my grades are suffering… I feel horrible about my body so I don’t even think about talking to girls… its just killing me… I hate to be “that guy”… but its just killing me… and I just don’t think that anyone believes me anymore… I figured I’d do some research on “chronic bursitis” and check out some discussion groups and stuff, and it actually probably made it worse… runners were extremely depressed, gained weight, said that it was “ruining their lives”… one person who said he had had it since 1995 said he had contemplated suicide several times… now… of course I would never think of that… but this whole thing has gone too far- this is just ridiculous… what is wrong with my body?! Everyone asks me every day in class how I am doing as I walk in wincing in pain, and I say “well…I’m doing the best I can!” and I try so hard to smile and pretend to be not in pain, and I do a good job of hiding it because they don’t need to be burdened with it, there isn’t anything they can do… but its hard to keep it all inside every day and secretly think that this is hopeless and that its only going to get worse… if this ever gets corrected I will forever value the ABILITY to sleep for more than 4 hours at a time, and the ability to GET OUT and use my legs for the things like running, or Frisbee that I always participated in as a regular 20-something guy in this world… dang it… this is really killing me. (or I could talk about pharmacy school like I did last year?)

You Catholics. Always Pushing the Envelope.

Evolution in the bible, says Vatican

My Good Reviews

"You handle questions as well as any appellate lawyer I've ever seen"
- Nashville attorney acting as Moot Court Justice

"Your ability to make concessions without weakening your argument gives you great credibility"
- [Different] Nashville attorney acting as Moot Court Justice

"You really look like a lawyer up there. You know what you're doing, you like what you're doing, and I think you'd be willing to do it all night if we asked."
- Vanderbilt Vice-Chancellor David Williams acting as Moot Court Justice

What's all this about, you say? Well, I just finished the first round of the Vanderbilt Intramural Appellate Advocacy Competition (aka Moot Court). This is an activity for 2nd year law students to participate in a pretend appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. Not to be confused with Mock Trial, Moot Court involves writing a brief and delivering two rounds of oral advocacy (one "on-brief" and one "off-brief) to a panel of three "justices". It is a one credit pass/fail activity.

I just finished it, and those are some of the comments I got. I'm not a great writer, but I feel like I did an awesome job with the speaking part. I'm not really one for tooting my own horn, but this is a big accomplishment. It is hard to get accolades at Vanderbilt because of the level of competition.

It is possible that I will advance to the next round of the tournament. If it were only my oral advocacy, I definitely would. Unfortunately, half my grade is my brief, which wasn't exactly good considering I used 2 out of the 30 allotted days to write it. If I make it through the next two rounds, I'd be on the Moot Court Board which administers the competition. It is an honor second only to writing for the Law Review. We'll see.

Shout out to Scott!

http://www.cnn.com/2005/HEALTH/11/07/pharmacist.shortage.ap/index.html

My Payphone

I got hold of a payphone for free. They go for quite alot on Ebay, so I'm glad to get this one for free. The only problem is that it is locked up and no keys came with it. I was wondering if anyone could suggest a workaround. From doing some online searches, payphones locks can be tough to pick. My first step would be to try the local phone company. However I don't think TDS Telecom keeps payphones maintained. So they might not be of much help.

All I really want to do is to disable the coin deposit requirement and find where you would plug in the phone cable (currently I can't find the plug on it). I want to mount it in my kitchen for the coolness factor.