Quick Trip

So I went out to San Jose for an interview - a really quick trip, and I really liked the San Jose area. But the travel to and from was rough. I'm pretty exhausted. Despite said exhaustion, here's a quick map of my travels over the past 2 days.


The biggest surprise of the trip? The size of El Paso. I had no idea it was so huge. A million people! I always thought it was this small little dusty town where nobody speaks English. Little did I know it's a huge dusty town where nobody speaks English!

We're jacked

So here's a couple of quick links leading me to the conclusion that we are definitely hosed as a country.

From 2004.
From last February.
From this week.

Plus this one... about oil futures.

Anyone who thinks this is going to get better anytime soon isn't looking at the money trail. The fact is, the Chinese already have been buying most of the bonds the U.S. sells to cover these debts. I'm not exactly sure how it all works, but I do know that U.S. citizens are not the ones buying the bonds. We're in the hole, big time.

If you think McCain is going to lead us out of this, you're wrong. He wants to cut taxes even further. Exactly how does that make sense? We owe TONS of money. Unfathomable amounts of money, and we're going to tax, i.e. 'make', less money. That's a brilliant idea.

If you think Obama and his 'change' platform will fix this, you're wrong. While Clinton had the right idea and lead to some very good fiscal policies, Obama's platform is currently to increase social programs in the U.S. You know, because we're not already paying for enough junk.

By the way, this bailout that Bernanke and the others are promoting. Twice the cost of the Iraq War, once the pork is added in. But at least a lot of Americans have affordable housing - now my tax dollars can subsidize those loans.

Go America.

Ladyluck Speedway

So on Friday I went to the Ladyluck Speedway here in Lubbock. It was Awesome. Many years ago I was on the BYU electric racecar team, which was super fun. So I had had some experience with racing - but never dirt racing. This was sweet. They had stock cars and they had sprints. Saw some sweet crashes and pushing and thankfully everyone came out healthy.

One thing that's super fun about any racetrack are the people. Lots of interesting characters. I've told a few people, but one thing I learned is that the family that smokes together stays together, as evidenced by a mother passing her smoke on to her son, who then took a drag. That's the Mom above - she had another son (maybe 19?) that she passed her smoke to. Another thing I learned was that it's OK to induce permanent hearing loss in infants, as evidenced by this babyseat at the race.
But overall, I really liked the race. Unfortunately it was the last race of the season - next year I'll be sure to catch a few more.

Red Lobster

In my opinion, the best Mexican food in Provo is Diego's Taco Shack. It's delicious. I almost always get a double, or triple order of carnitas. Pulled pork on a small tortilla, with some chopped onions, lime, and salsa.... mmm...

But alas, I'm not in Provo anymore, and I think its time to find some new restaurants that I can say are my favorites... Today I'm trying out Tom and Bingo’s Hickory Pit Bar-b-que. Sounds like my kinda place.

Not on my list - Red Lobster. First of all, let me start by saying that until this past summer I had never been to Red Lobster. If it were up to me, I'd probably never go again. I'm not a big seafood guy, but Red Lobster is overpriced and a little on the gross side. OK, a lot on the gross side. I simply fail to see the allure of this restaurant. I've been there 3-4 times now, and walk away disappointed every time. I don't foresee me going back unless pressured to do so.

Sunday Nights

Sunday nights are the worst. I mess up my sleep habits every Friday and Saturday, and can't fall asleep before 11:30 or midnight on Sunday. Almost ever. I purposefully try to wake up early on Sunday, but not having church until 2:30 makes it tough to be so motivated. I keep telling myself to wake up early and go for a walk... but its usually easier to sleep. And so, today I'm a sleep deprived wreck. Ya! At least I got ~ 4 hours!

Lance Armstrong

Following Michael Jordan, Brett Farve, and many others, another athlete has decided they shouldn't have retired - Lance Armstrong. Now, I loved watching the Tour when Lance was in it. And the truth is, I'll be rooting him on again. Frankly, it's stunk the past year or two - especially once Landis was found to be doping (which I still kinda doubt, but whatever).

However, what does bug me a little is that he's claiming that its to raise Cancer awareness.

Wait wait, Now I get it!
- Winning 7 times after cancer didn't do enough for cancer awareness.
- Selling a ga-gillion yellow bracelets didn't do enough for cancer awareness.
- Running the New York marathon in 3 hours didn't do enough for cancer awareness.
- Being on TV almost everyday doesn't do enough for cancer awareness.
- Dating Sheryl Crow, then dumping her for one of the Olson twins didn't do enough for cancer awareness.

But winning a race you already won 7 times in a row will do it. Yup.

Weekend Update

After going to NYC last weekend, and not doing any homework during that weekend, plus having some HUGE tasks due the following Wed. and Thurs., this week turned out to be a real pain. Some late nights and a lot of stress later, and I was burnt out.

In contrast to a rough week, I spent the weekend watching BYU and Texas Tech win their respective football games, catching up on other things that needed doing, and just relaxing. It was super nice, especially in contrast to the crazy week, to just sit back and relax. While I'm sure this week will have its own challenges, I feel refreshed and ready to go again.

NYC

So I flew up to New York City for the Labor Day weekend. It went by quickly and was a lot of fun.

I'd never really spent any meaningful time in New York City before, so this was kinda different. What I discovered is that
A) Lubbock and New York are about as polar as it comes within the United States
B) That New York actually reminds me a lot of Argentina, the way the traffic works and just the feel of the city
C) If you ever want to see something strange, NYC is the place to go.

The two funniest things I saw there: A dude walking around with a live cat sitting on his head, and this post-it-note on the suggestion board at Governor's Island.

A lot of people say that New York is a place that's fun to visit, but they'd never want to live there. I don't think that's me. I think it'd be fun, but very different. The idea of living without a car is disconcerting. Lots of walking.

Anyway, now back to school. I'm retaking the patent bar on the 10th of October, so time is now pressing.