Follow Up

So a couple months ago I posted a link to an op-ed the founder of Whole Foods and placed in the Wall Street Journal. It had his ideas on how to fix the U.S. health care system.

Well, I found a video (through crossfit.com) that has him talking about his political philosophies & business goals, and I found myself agreeing a whole lot. There's a 5 minute abridged version, but the unabridged is awesome if you have an hour. I like his idea of conscious capitalism.

Turtleman

So my friend Laura showed this to me the other day. It's amazing

Still Alive

Hi. I'm still alive - just caught in the middle of cramming for finals & having nothing inspiring me to write about. But 2 things that have been on my mind lately:

• Someone died in Nutty Putty Caves, and not only are they sealing the cave shut, they're leaving his body.
• Global Warming/Climate Change is hack science. But I've decided that I'm probably taking the wrong approach to this: instead of denouncing it, I should just roll with it and figure out how to make lots of money off public fear & ignorance.
  

Busy Week

So this week has been kinda crazy. Yesterday I actually woke up at 5:30 without an alarm - it was stress. In law school I've been stressed to the point where I couldn't fall asleep, or where I wake up a bunch during the night, but this was the first time I've woken up & stayed up because of it. Despite a lack of sleep, I do have some good news:

I submitted my first patent this week, for my first client. It was pretty exciting to do it, and I'm pumped to have started doing this stuff.

Observing People

So lately I've become even more intent on observing people - unfortunately it's partially due to necessity. You see, while crappy drivers exist in every locale, here in Lubbock they specialize in 2 very special driving maneuvers:
(1) The "I'm from the farm and don't drive faster than 35 mph, ever." Really not that bad, so long as you can get around them.
(2) The more dangerous "Turn off the road from the middle lane". It's become so commonplace I pretty much expect it now. Last week I personally witnessed this at least 5 times. It's scary because if they do it when you're too close you have a T-bone.

Anyway, I just think its sad when you come to expect people to do something dumb that could really injure people.

Another observation: Why can't 'express lanes' at the grocery store prohibit check writing? Cash or plastic only I say. I'd also be in favor of a test prior to people being allowed to use the express lanes.

Oh, here's another observation: I'm not the most sympathetic person, but I do feel bad for handicap people. I have ZERO sympathy for people that are so overweight they require a motorized cart to get around, but can still walk when they have to use the bathroom. Or when they need to reach something up high. I mean, can't we just outlaw carts unless you're really handicapped? Can we tax these people extra, for being a burden on normal people?

Hitch Covers

So I've been a fan the past couple years of hitch covers for ... hitches. They look cool - you have sport shapes, brand shapes, team insignias - I personally have a BYU cover, made from a nice steel. Here's the link to where I pulled this picture, at the BYU bookstore.
Anyway, today this became important, because I was rear-ended by a camero at a stop light. The guy just let his foot off the brake and rolled into me - just gave me a little tap.

So I get out of the car, and so does he, and I say "Did that just happen? Whad'ya do, let your foot off the brake" "No, I was just talking with my girlfriend..." "Yeah, you were just talking with your girlfriend and you let your foot off the brake." "Is there any damage?"

I look at it - not a scratch on my truck. Totally perfect. I look at his camero (which sits below my bumper) and the license plate is totally caved in. The hood looks like it may be caved in.

"There's no damage to my truck. I can't say the same for your car. We're good."

And we left it at that. So I guess the moral of the story is that not only do hitch covers protect from dust, rust, and junk. They also protect against idiots.

Marathon Pics

So the company that took/sells the pictures of me running the marathon wants some crazy amounts of money for the photos. The cheapest I can get the digital copies is on a CD for $55. If I were to download them, it would cost ~ $320. I called and spoke with a sales dude about how messed up their business scheme was - he didn't seem to care.

So what I decided to do was just save my own personal copies of the sample pictures (which I like just fine - people used to be happy with smaller pictures!), while I still debate on ordering a 5x7 or something that doesn't cost $40. Here they are:

Super Freakonomics

Despite some things in my life being far from perfect, on the whole I'm happy with my decisions to become an Electrical Engineer and come to Law School. Sure, I don't have a job yet, and we're in a horrible job market for lawyers, but things will work out, and I enjoy the material, even if I haven't exactly aced law school.

I enjoy the confidence both have given me. Other than advanced thermodynamics, I feel like I can understand and solve pretty much any engineering problem given some time to study it. Likewise, I feel like I can understand and communicate to legal clients what the options available to them are, and counsel them as to what would be best.

That said, if I had to choose another career, I think I would enjoy being an Economist. In particular, the types of studies the authors of Freakonomics do, and trying to come up with "some simple solutions." The sequel comes out soon - check out this video preview:

Publication

So I wrote a little something about an upcoming Supreme Court case that was published by the organization I worked for out in DC. You can find it here: In Re Bilski

My incredible weekend

First my complaints: American Airlines sucks. They were so awful this weekend that they alone could have spoiled the entire trip - delays combined with a dearth of gate agents, poor planning, and old nasty planes.... I will cheer when they finally go out of business the next time gas prices spike.

The rest of my weekend was awesome. I flew to Salt Lake and my friend Shannon was kind enough to pick me up (at like 1 AM when my flight got in) and I stayed at her place that night. The next day I got to meet my nephew Paxton Alan Ward and hang out with my brother Matt and his wife Raquel. We toured the Utah Capitol building and had a great time. Paxton's a quiet baby - at least when Uncle Ry is holding him!
I had an interview that went well, and hopefully something comes of it at some point. For now, no promises.

Then Shannon picked me up and we drove down to St. George, where we stayed with her cousin Joy, who I had met several years ago hiking the Narrows in Zion National Park. The next morning, it was marathon time.

It was a fun race - I finished a few minutes slower than I hoped. It was actually my slowest marathon yet - but I also felt really good. I don't feel so hot right now - muscles are still really sore, but I had a great time running the race. My leg muscles didn't even feel warmed up at mile 22, which is weird to say, but it's true. So I cranked out the last few miles as fast as I could. This is the only picture I have right now - there'll be more coming.
After the race I got cleaned up, then we headed back & I went to Priesthood mtg with T-Rav, ate some carnitas at Diegos, and just chatted with Trav & Kel. The next day they took me to the airport and away I went.

To Grand Junction. There was a medical emergency, so we landed, spent about 4 1/2 hours on the ground (because AA is awful) and I eventually got to Dallas about 8:40 at night. Called my parents and they offered to come pick me up, so I got to sleep at home for a few hours before going back to the airport for an early flight. Now I'm back at school, with a ton to do this week.

Also - it felt so good to be back in Utah. I don't know when or if I'll ever get to live there again, but I know that I feel at home in the mountains and mesas of Utah, and I love feeling the cool dry air.

Funny Training

So next Saturday I run the St. George Marathon. The time's come fast, but this time (unlike previous marathons) I've made a serious and concentrated effort to train for it.

Unfortunately, I've also suffered some tough injuries. I have plantar fasciitis in my left foot, my right knee has been hurting when I get over 10 miles, and I have a deep blister on my right foot that doesn't want to heal. Whereas originally my goal was to run a 3 1/2 hour marathon, now my goal is to finish.

Because of these injuries I've had to trade out my normal running for other things. Today I ran in the shallow lap pool for 3 hours 15 minutes. Boring beyond belief. I got out and could barely walk - my legs were total rubber. I'm sure I looked like a dork, but at least it was a nice day, got some sun, they had music playing.

Anyway, one more week.

Funny Patent

I know, it sounds weird. But it's almost midnight, I've been researching for many hours today, and yet this one stood out among the hundreds of weird things I've seen. It literally made me laugh out loud - enjoy!
*The image seems a little blurry until you click on it...

Out to lunch

So after watching Obama a little last night, and reading some more stuff, I have a few thoughts. I thought Obama (as always) made it sound like a very good thing. Frankly, if everything he said happens I think I, along with most of America, would be very pleased. A better healthcare system without fraud and waste, available to everyone without raising deficits? Count me in!

The trick, as always, is how to do it within budgetary constraints, especially if we're serious about not raising spending levels. If it can be done, and if he holds to his word about refusing to sign anything that spends more than we already are, I think it would be a good thing for America.

Just as big a news story is the heckling he received with regards to illegal immigrants not receiving the public option. He (Obama) said that these benefits would not be available to illegal immigrants, and some Republican yelled out 'You lie!' Then, on the Today Show this morning, McCain said he didn't see anything in the bill that would give illegal immigrants the right to participate.

Well, I think the yeller dude was right. Incredibly disrespectful, but right. How do we plan on restricting this to only U.S. Citizens? When someone shows up at the hospital without insurance, are we going to start asking them if they're a U.S. Citizen? It's illegal for hospitals to do that now - are we going to start? I realize we can probably restrict their ability to sign up for the public option, but healthcare reform is in a large part about taking care of those uninsured that just show up at the hospital - exactly the demographic that most illegal immigrants find themselves in.

I think the President is out to lunch thinking that we won't be paying for healthcare for illegal immigrants, McCain is right there with him not looking at the practical aspects of this, and the yeller dude is out to lunch on his place in American politics.

BYU v. OU

I went home to Dallas for the BYU v. Oklahoma game this past weekend - and as everyone knows, it turned out amazing! Here are some pics I took from the game.

A really big 'Y' following a BYU promotion

This is the BYU crowd about 5 minutes after the game ended
Victory Helmets

Health Care reform that would make sense?

I just read an excellent article in the Wall Street Journal with some suggestions about how to reform health care, and I think it has some actual ideas that could be implemented, would be fiscally reasonable, and could help everyone out.

Anyway, this article has some really good ideas that if enacted, I think would really make for a better system. I would want something like this.

Huge DC recap

So I've driven back to Texas - it took a few days, and was a very enjoyable trip. I spent a day with my Grandmother in St. Louis, had lunch with my friends T-Rav* and Kel in Memphis, spent a day with my family in Dallas, and almost hit a crane. As in the bird, not the machine. It had a 6' wingspan, and frankly I was tempted to hit it to add to my list of weird things I've hit. I restrained myself.

I also discovered a 'shortcut' for the drive between St. Louis and DC that saved me about 45 minutes and allowed me to see the first leaves of fall. Overall it was a very nice trip back. I definitely knew I was back when I saw this huge dust devil on my way back yesterday.
Of course, it's a little bittersweet leaving D.C. - on the one hand I really enjoyed it. Work was great, I was interviewing with patent attorneys before I left, dating seemed to flow easier. On the other hand, it was time to get back to Lubbock, to my stuff, to be out of the nasty townhome I was in out there.

I'm grateful I had the opportunity to work out there and learn some stuff. I'm VERY grateful I decided to drive out there. One might be able to get around DC via public transportation, but it would be a huge pain. Having my truck I could go to church, shopping, see friends, camping, and on dates without a second thought. I got to go to the Iwo Jima memorial at night and do lots of things I wouldn't have been able to.
I've decided my favorite museum is the National Portrait Gallery. Why? It's easily accessible - right across the street from the Chinatown metro stop. It's practically empty, and holds some amazing history.

Least favorite - Native American history museum. Why? BORING and misleading. If I wanted to know what modern indian life is like, I'd drive to Shiprock. Trust me, it ain't nearly as nice as they portrayed it in the museum.

Now back to life in Lubbock.

Nice Jump

You should check this video out.

Assateague Island

So this weekend I went out to Assateague Island, out on the Atlantic Ocean. It was pretty sweet. We arrived late Friday night, camped out and had a small campfire on the beach, then Saturday we just enjoyed the beach. Now I'm nice and sunburnt.

There are wild horses on the island, left over from when a Spanish Galleon shipwrecked back in the 1600's. A small herd of them were next to our beach campfire Friday night, and some of them were pretty dang big. Also saw a fox in the moonlight, a sea turtle, a pod of dolphins, and a billion 'skeeters.

During my time out here in DC I've been trying to get to know the city and see all the sites, making my outdoor adventures rare, so I really enjoyed the chance to get out and do something different. It was exactly 3 hours away from my place, and the weather was beautiful, so it made for a great getaway.

Tomorrow's my last day at my internship, then Tuesday I go in for training at my new job. I'll probably stick around a few days after that, but my thinking right now is that I'll head back on Saturday.

1 goal accomplished

Of the many 'mini-goals' I had for myself in coming out to DC, one was to find some part-time patent work I could do via the internet throughout the upcoming school year. I thought patent-searching could be an excellent way to go about that: flexible hours, the databases are all online, and I have some experience already. I also thought it would be excellent prep work for my upcoming career as a patent attorney.

So I started sending out emails to patent searching companies located here in Northern Virginia, and a company called Express Search wrote back that they were interested in meeting me for lunch. Well, lunch was today - and we signed the paperwork today too! I have some training and stuff I have to do, but I'm pumped about it.

I get paid, I get to look at patents, and I can work anytime I have internet access. My boss and his wife were both very real with me and are willing to coach me in this, and understand my goal of working at a law firm upon graduation, so it's really exactly what I was hoping for.

It's nice when things work out.

Chicago

So I went to Chicago on Thursday and came back on Friday - it was a quick trip. But just like my trip last year, the weather was perfect. It was ~75-80 degrees, a slight breeze, and super pleasant.

Rather than renting a car and trying to find an elusive parking spot in Chicago, or paying $40 for parking, I just took the EL in from O'hare - worked great. Got to my hotel late, but they gave me some warm cookies, and I figured that despite my cookie fast I deserved them.

Woke up on Friday and explored Chicago a little before going to the career fair - I checked out Navy Pier, then went to the John Hancock building and went up to the observatory. It was pretty sweet, with amazing views of the city like this one.
Found a sweet place to eat - Billy Goat Tavern. If you're wandering around downtown Chicago I highly recommend this place. Very good burger.
Went to the career fair, went back to the airport, sustained a flight replete with crying babies, and made it back.

So while I haven't experienced Chicago during the winter, and I'm sure that they have plenty of days in the summer that are hot and humid, I think downtown Chicago is actually the nicest big city I've been to. Wide streets, clean (compared to New York), usually a nice breeze blowing through. I don't know how the suburbs compare, but downtown Chicago in the summer is a sweet place to be.

Did you finish?

So tonight at a church activity this guy sees me wearing my Eco-Challenge shirt from BYU and asks if I did it. I say yes, and he asks, "Did you finish?" I gave him the Ryan face for 'What!?!' If you're reading this, you know the face.

It had never even occurred to me that I might not finish. Literally - it had never even occurred to me. Anyway, he didn't really keep the conversation going - maybe he read my face.

"If the word quit is part of your vocabulary, then the word finish is likely not." - B.G. Jett

A hard decision

No, I'm not making my blog private. And yes, I'm still going to occasionally put things on it that probably will offend someone.

Instead, I'm publicly committing to the goal of no more sweets (cookies/cake/candy) or food that's bad for me (french fries/ranch/pastries) until after I run the St. George Marathon in October.

There are some exceptions - I can eat whatever I feel like on Saturdays, after my long runs. Also, if someone makes me cookies, or dinner, or I'm on a date and it would be weird not to, I'll do it in moderation.

My biggest weakness on this will be pizza, which is normally fine so long as I limit myself to 2 slices. But I feel like it's time to take my training to the next level in preparation for the race, and I haven't had the most success out here in DC at being regular about my exercising. The diet will (hopefully) compensate.

Museum Day

Yesterday I went to the National Museum of American History, the American Indian Museum, the Hirshhorn Musuem, and the western wing of the National American Art Gallery. It was a long day!

A few thoughts:
- apparently fanny packs are back in, and I've just been out of the loop
- the American Indian museum was, in my opinion, awful. They could have made it really cool. As someone who really enjoys reading about Native American cultures, and the interactions and changes that have occurred throughout their interactions with European cultures, I was sorely disappointed. Was there anything about the Trail of Tears? Red Cloud? I saw 1 bow - and it was for fishing. And then when I had some questions and wanted to ask someone about some stuff, was there anyone around? No. More on this later.
- I totally ran into my friend Emily Garrett (who went to high school with me) and her husband at the American History museum. I hadn't seen Emily in at least 5 years, and it was totally unplanned, so it was an amazing coincidence. A small world indeed!
- I have no clue what the 'bag check' at the Smithsonians is for. I'm guessing it must just be for a gun and drugs, maybe spray paint.
- The Hirshhorn building is amazing. The art I could do without.
- Somehow I didn't make the line for the 'First Ladies' exhibit, but I did make time for the 'Americans at War' exhibit. It was AMAZING!

The only other DC things I still have on my list are the Iwa Jima memorial and the Holocaust Museum.

I also wanted to say that I think it's a shame that the museums have to spend so much money on Security that they can't spend much money on curators who and inform the patrons about what they're seeing. The organized tours always have tons of people, and if you go on your own you miss out on so much. It ticks me off that I couldn't find anybody at the Native American museum to answer my questions about the building design, or the usage of war clubs in the indigeonus cultures.

What are you worth?

So I read an interesting article about health care, a topic everyone and their mom has an opinion about these days. It discusses how much we should pay to heal someone. For example, should we pay $50,000 to save a 90 yr old man for 6 months? What if it were for a week? Should we spend $100,000 to completely cure a teenager of some harmful disease? What about an elderly grandmother?

The point is, under socialized medicine (which is ANY medical plan enforced by the government, where you will go to jail if you don't pay the associated taxes) it will be a government bureaucrat making that decision. Under the present, though arguably equally cruel system, it's the market and one's earning power that determine if you live or die. I think both systems have their drawbacks, but I think it's important we realize that like it or not, the value of our life can be monetized (or perhaps quantized, as the article points out). I highly recommend the article, located here.

Also, there's a pretty funny joke in the 4th paragraph...

No slowdown

I feel like this week flew by. Everyday was something new & crazy, fun and exciting. I won't do a complete log of my weekend here, but here are some of the highlights.

On Thursday I went to the Air & Space museum to see the Apollo 11 stuff - I went on the 40th Anniversary of the Apollo 11 launch, and checked out the actual return capsule. It was pretty cool stuff.

Then yesterday I went and saw Mt. Vernon with my buddy Ken and my friends Shannon & Mikelle, in from Salt Lake. Mt. Vernon was a pretty cool place, with a beautiful outlook over the Potomac River.









Also, I realized I never posted about my little trip to Arlington National Cemetery last week. I went last Sunday after Church and it was amazing. Saw JFK's eternal flame, saw the changing of the guard at the tomb of the unknown soldier. Very sobering.

Capitol Tour

So today I went on a tour of our nation's Capitol building. It was pretty cool.

Before going I called my Congressman's office and arranged a tour. While the intern giving the tour didn't really know jack about the Capitol (I think I could have read a wiki article for 5 minutes and learned more) it was very nice to be on a private tour rather than a general tour. Instead of a group of 20ish people, it was the intern, myself, and the other Texas Tech law student that works with me. That's it, so we were able to move fast, see things, and move on. It's pretty much the best way to do it. We finished in an hour and 1/2, and I'll bet a normal tour is ~ 3 hours.

I haven't uploaded my pictures to my computer yet.... but seeing it was incredible. Especially the Rotunda and the Crypt. Both were way cool. The intern did show us the "whispering crack" - haha! No, it's these two spots in the House statue room where you can hear someone whisper on the far side - in a crowded room! It was freaky.

Then we went into the House gallery right when it was starting for the day - saw Nanci Pelosi, and there were maybe 3 other House members there at the start. The whole thing was sweet.

Living in a rough(er) neighborhood

So I'm living the 2nd half of the summer here in Alexandria, VA, and umm.... I don't live in the nicest part of Alexandria. Alexandria as a whole is very nice. But I happen to live about 2 blocks from a rough part. As in, I can see a homeless shelter across the street rough part. Luckily, it's a family homeless shelter, so isn't that rough, but it's a little more ethnic than I'm used to.

On that subject, 2 quick stories:
My first night living here, a Saturday, I got back from visiting my friends Ken and Jim up in Maryland. Got back via the metro (train) at 2 AM and walked back right through the ghetto. Groups of black teens hanging out all over the place - I was scared I was going to get jumped. I walked past a black family and I heard a little kid ask what the white boy was doing out. Some girl said something I couldn't hear so I just turned around and smiled, but kept walking. It was a brisk walk, and I've since found a safer way home.

Tonight I went to the neighborhood rec. center to see about using their boxing equipment. I'm pretty sure I'm the only white person to ever walk in, from the looks I was getting. Anyway, so I introduce myself to the guy who runs the gym, and he says that it's normally $60 a month, but since I'm only here another 5 weeks I can just use it for free. Sweet.

I've experienced being a minority before - South America, Kuwait... but I never felt in danger because of my minority status until I moved here. It's scary. Having felt only a modicum of the fear minorities must have felt pre-60's, I have to respect the trials they went through to obtain equal rights.

Chillin' in DC

So I had my first week of work - it's pretty sweeet. In a week I'm already adjusting to a lot of things about DC living - and living with roommates again. It's pretty annoying not to be able to buy what I want at the grocery store because there might not be room in the refrigerator.

But work is great - I really enjoyed my first week, and I'm hoping I can really start providing some things of substance in the weeks to come. It's nice to have friends nearby - Jim and Ken have been very willing to drop me off at the metro after going to the movies or what not. And it's nice getting to know DC, and seeing the sights and museums on a daily basis.

On Friday for the 3rd I went to the National Zoo, which was pretty cool. Yesterday for the 4th I hung out with my friend Jenn. We went kayaking in the Potomic, went out to Great Falls, and then watched the fireworks on the National Mall right by the Lincoln memorial. It was amazing! I've never been a big fan of fireworks, but these were incredible.

Going to DC - part 2

So I am officially in DC, and start my 6 week internship with the Washington Legal Foundation tomorrow. I drove from Dallas to St. Louis on Thursday and spent the evening with my grandmother - we have a very nice visit, and then Friday I drove from St. Louis to DC.

Farm land in Illinois & Indiana has to be the best I've seen in the country - absolutely beautiful. Kentucky was nice - and they drive really fast in West Virginia & Maryland. Thank goodness - it was a 13 hour trip.

A quick story: I stopped for gas in West Virginia at this Exxon in the middle of nowhere. If it hadn't been an Exxon I wouldn't have trusted this place. The pavement ended just beyond the gas station, and continued on as a dirt road covered shade from huge trees. There was a restaurant across the street - the kind that just says 'restaurant.' So while I'm filling up this 70 year old dude comes walking really slow out of the 'restaurant' carrying a case of beer and wearing a flannel shirt. But of course, he only has 1 button buttoned - right next to his belly button. It was spectacular.

Anyway, I'm moved into my place here in Alexandria, VA. It's not the greatest of places, but the rent's cheap & it's only 6 weeks. Today I went to the singles ward here, then drove up to my work to make sure I knew where it was and what I was looking for.

Going to DC - part 1

So I finished my Criminal Procedure class with a final Wed. morning, then packed up and headed for DC. And like any good product of the West, my truck is going too. Last night I stopped in Dallas at my parents place - today I head for the Gateway of the West, St. Louis, to see my grandmother.

Only funny story from the trip yesterday: I pulled into gas at this Texas style 'resort town' Runaway Bay. (Texas Style resort town means no shops, restaurants, or other worldly attractions. Just a lake with a bunch of houses built around it.) Anyway, so I pull in to get some gas at the 1 gas station in town, and this dude pulls into the pump next to me - blasting Cher! Cher!?!? Who listens to her? Dude appeared to be in his 40s, and from his music choice I assume he must suffer mental difficulties...

Here's a long read for you

So in my wanderings about the internet, I came upon this interesting article about What makes us Happy. I'm always curious about this sort of thing, and so I started reading it.

It's a long read.

But it's really good. It follows a bunch of Harvard guys from back in the 1930s, who've been part of a longitudinal study ever since, analyzing their lives and figuring out what makes them tick, and ultimately, what leads to happiness.

On top of learning a little more about that, I also learned what a longitudinal study was. Anyway, I really enjoyed the article.

I wish all my food came in a bag

So I came across this little gem this morning



and then I went on to discover a host of other sweet Backpacker videos

My favorite so far? Bacon & Eggs in a bag.

Starting a business?

So since I passed the Patent Bar last October I've been hoping I could work for Texas Tech doing patents until I graduate. The past week or so I've been thinking that I might just open up my own shop doing patents during my 3rd year of law school. I could control my own schedule, I'd get all the money, and I'd learn a lot in the process.

(Not to mention, maybe be taking the first steps to opening my own law practice... the Economy is still pretty rough...)

Because I've been thinking about doing that, last night I went to a seminar put on by the local Small Business Development Association (or something like that) here in town. The seminar was about "starting your own home based business," so I thought that'd be perfect. It was really a very nice seminar, though I didn't really learn that much new from law school - some, but not much.

What I did enjoy was being the only law-person in the room. I made clear that I couldn't give them legal advice, but I did give them some advice on how to find a lawyer, types of lawyers, free clinics at the law school, etc. People were asking me all sorts of questions - it was kinda fun!

And I am getting pretty serious about this business stuff. We'll see.

Henry Poole is Here

So I just finished watching Henry Poole is Here, which I had said looked really good about a year ago. Turns out the movie was very different than I was expecting. I went in expecting a dark comedy about an alcoholic finding faith. What I got was a movie about personal faith & finding a purpose to life.

I'm not going to spoil anymore of the movie here, but I would definitely recommend RedBoxing it. It has two excellent tho underrated actors - Luke Wilson & Radha Mitchell. Nor did it do well in the box office, and after seeing it I understand why - but I still really liked it. It gets my vote.

Google Wave & Natal

So a few days ago my buddy Tim posted a link to Google Wave. The clip is 80 minutes long, so it took me a few days to get through it, but it's REALLY cool. I highly recommend the video to everyone.

At the end - say the last 20 minutes, it gets a little more technical, so if you're not technically inclined and going to skip any of it, that's the part the skip. But I think this has the ability to transform communications and networking in all new ways.

Also, Project Natal by Microsoft for the Xbox could really change the face of gaming. This video is only 4 minutes long... and could cause just as large of a paradigm shift as Google Wave, but in a different way.

Leno

Tonight after watching the ballgame via ESPN360 (I don't have cable), I realized it was Jay Leno's last night on the Tonight Show. He's been on for 17 years, and it was a pretty amazing last show. I missed the very beginning, and I thought Conan talked a little too much when he was on, but the last 20 minutes were excellent.

James Taylor was on - he played an acoustic version of Sweet Baby James, and then Jay gave his closing. I thought it was a really good way to go out - he did it with a lot of class, and two things he finished with stood out to me:

1) He brought out the kids born to the Tonight Show crew over his 17 years - and said that they were his legacy. Jay doesn't have any children... so I think this is probably even more true than many viewers may have realized at the time.

2) He said that he was "Leaving with the same woman he came in with." Not too many people in Hollywood can say that these days, but Jay seems to do things the right way despite being in an environment where others would accept inappropriate behavior.

Anyway, those are my thoughts after watching a really good man saying goodbye tonight.

Went home to Dallas

I went home to Dallas for the weekend, and got back pretty tired Monday evening. It was a very nice weekend - Mom's cookies, watching NBA playoffs with Dad, bugging my little sister, an awkward blind date, and lots of good food.

I did see plenty of dead armadillos around, but my only contributions to roadkill were about a billion dead bugs on my windshield - and 1 bird. I wasn't sure I hit it until it came flying down behind my truck. It was definitely hit.

Cheesus

Cheesus

So other shows

My brain is fried. I still have 2 finals left... and I'm completely exhausted.

On another note, I think TV ratings are interesting. They measure what's popular in America - so given that I think most people are dumb I also generally don't believe in popular opinions (i.e., Global Warming, Socialism, American Idol). So I'm just going to come out and say this - I like NBC. I think they put together some really good shows. Over the past 2 years I've really liked and Life and Chuck.

Well, Life is pretty much gone, which is too bad because I thought it smart, hilarious, and a lot of fun. Chuck is fighting, but even if it pulls through I'm not sure the series is going to hold together. I think these shows are worth saving - but moving on, this Community preview looks hilarious.

Let me tell you about Heroes

So 3 years ago Heroes premiered on NBC. I didn't watch it, but my roommate at the time Jim had them on his iPod, and eventually got Ken and I to sit down and watch the first season. It was great - kinda like the X-Men, but maybe a little more realistic.

Then the first season finale aired... and it sucked. It was horrible. And that same degree of horrible writing has continued to date. I stuck with the show despite a horrific season 2, and despite wanting to stop watching I watched season 3 (I promised a friend I would stick with it).

Now - I'm done. The show is horrible. While they once had a sweet show, they've ruined it. I don't even know how to describe my level of disgust with these writers, and I'm not going to take the time right now to list all the ridiculous examples of why this show now sucks. Maybe I should start such a list...

Anyway, it seems that so often the shows we like are taken off the air too early and we're left wanting more - but this is the opposite. I'm left wanting less.

Crazy Dude

So I've had a long crappy week - 90% of which has to do with finals starting on Tuesday. So last night I decided it might help to get a haircut, but of course I decide this at 7 PM on a Saturday, so I drove around for awhile before going to the mall, the only place still open. I figured I'd pay more, but I really wanted it done.

I go into the haircut place and get lined up with a barber named Jesse, and older dude of Mexican descent. This dude's nuts. He first tells me about how he helped bust up this $12 Million dollar fraud scheme against the Texas lottery, where the DA was going after the wrong person so he helped get the right person by intoxicating the fall guys and getting them to spill the information. In retribution, the real fraud guy (who my barber was renting from) burnt his house down with him inside. Don't worry, he just got burned a little bit.

Then he proceeds to tell me about how he used to have this ancient cup that was 'spiritual' but his sister had thrown it away because it was evil. So he keeps trying to get into the Lubbock landfill to dig for it, but the government has made it all classified so he can't get in. Apparently the cup was made between 1130 & 1250 A.D. and is made of bronze because he had it tested. It's just 1 of a set of 4, one of which the Vatican has. The Vatican has the gold one, some business people have the silver one, and he never told me about the 4th one. He did tell me who had them originally - yup, King Arthur. He also learned how to 'activate' the cup by saying some prayer to Jesus and drinking from it.

But we're not done. He then proceeds to tell me that he's a seer. That he predicted 9-11, that he's seen Osama Bin Laden in his visions, and that he's helped the Lubbock Police on multiple occasions by telling them how to solve cases. But of course he doesn't have super great control over this power.

Oh - this was all unprovoked. I didn't ask anything. He just told me all this. And you can't just make this stuff up. So now the haircut's done, and guess what - best haircut I've had since I left Provo. Expensive, Crazy Dude, but a really good haircut. So do I go back?

What I really meant to say

So I just re-read my last post. I think what I was really trying to say didn't come out... so I'll try again.

There are lots of different ways of staying in shape, and they all can work great. Yoga, Pilates, Martial Arts, Weights, Running, Hiking, Swimming, Tennis, Basketball, Gymnastics, and the list goes on and on. Some people like certain things more than others - I really don't enjoy playing basketball much, so I do other stuff.

But I had someone tell me the other day that they were going running and that they hated it, so I suggested they do something else. They asked what, and I suggested pullups, to which they responded "I don't want to get big." One doesn't have to lift weights to exercise, and if you don't like it one shouldn't do it. But I think everyone should try hard at everything they do in life, and to the extent possible they should enjoy it.

So if you don't want to go running, there are other ways of exercising. Go swimming. Go dig a hole in the dirt. Go for a walk. But don't feed me crappy excuses about why you don't exercise hard when you have some mental block prohibiting you from finding some form of exercise you could enjoy. I'll just give you same look I give to people with 30 items in the express check-out line (and it's not pity).

"I don't want to get big"

So here's a quick rant of mine.

I like to work out - and I try to push myself. Be it running, mountain biking, weight lifting, boxing, raquetball - whatever I'm doing, I like to try and be the best I can be. Same goes for school, work, etc. Work hard, have no regrets.

So it ticks me off when people are out of shape &/or fat, and they tell me they don't want to lift weights/do pullups/ do pushups because "they don't want to get big." Guess what? Those people are ignorant.

All the literature says that you have to be consuming a great deal of protein in order to gain excessive muscle mass, and in all probability you'll need to be on creatine and other types of growth enhancers. Me? I just think you're lazy.

How about instead of telling yourself "I don't want to get big" you tell yourself "I don't actually want to burn calories in the most efficient way possible because it might hurt a little bit." And then we can go on an 8 hour hike and we'll see who is in better condition for it - you or I.

Now back to studying.

Charge Cards

So I never realized there was a difference between a charge card & a credit card - however an article I just read explained the difference in a very simple way. Read it HERE.

Lone Survivor

So I've had Lone Survivor sitting on my table for about 4 months now, and just haven't gotten around to it. Friends and family have read it and told me it's awesome, I just haven't gotten around to it.

Anyway, here's an article I saw on Drudge that just makes me feel more for the guy...

Clarity Tunnel

Friday night I went out to a place called Clarity Tunnel. It's a tunnel that was built long ago for the Ft. Worth - Denver railroad line, and is now home to many bats. Unfortunately we didn't get there in time to see the bats fly out - it was already very dark - but we did see some bats flying around & feeding.

The tunnel itself was in really good condition - and the guano wasn't too thick!
The tunnel was a lot taller than I was expecting, and a lot shorter than I was expecting too. But it was great to get out of Lubbock and do something a little different.

Ryan v. The Headlamp

I started my new part-time job yesterday doing Patents for Texas Tech - should be pretty fun. But because of that and some other things going on, I didn't get home until 10 PM. I still had some studying to do, but rather than do that, I opted to replace the batteries on an old headlamp. Little did I know what I was beginning...

Of course there's a backstory - I own multiple flashlights, headlamps, etc. This particular headlamp I've owned for about 9 years, and I distinctly remember buying it before my first foray to Nutty Putty Caves. It's not an LED, but rather a heavier but more powerful "straight" beam, that really focuses the light and lets you see a good 20-30 feet.

Well, the batteries I had in there had corroded a bit (they were a couple years old), leaving a nice layer of alkaline material all over the electrical contacts. So I got some q-tips & rubbing alcohol and cleaned it up, replaced the batteries - no light. Cleaned some more - no light. Now the fun begins. I'm not one to back down from something like this...

So I busted out my multimeter - checked the voltage on the batteries - both at ~ 1.6V, right where they should be for out of the box AA batteries. Put them in the light, check the contact points, reading just below 3V, right where it should be for 2 batteries in series, accounting for added resistance of the light. Good so far.

I look at the bulb - filament looks good. Change the multimeter to measure resistance - picked up a small resistance, meaning the light circuit wasn't broken. It should still be working. I swap bulbs anyway - nothing. Measure voltage inside the 'cap' the light sits in - voltage good.

At this point I'm becoming frustrated - either both of my bulbs are busted and I don't know how to use a multimeter anymore, or something isn't making contact. So I took the next step,

and hit it. Repeatedly. and it worked.

Swapped bulbs, made sure both bulbs are still good (they are), cleaned up my tools and was done. 11:30 PM, over an hour on it, but it works.

Goodbye Old Friend

So I got rid of an old friend the other day - my 'Y Rocks' shirt.
My buddy T-Rav* and I bought these shirts in August of 2000 at a BYU rock-climbing club movie presentation. They cost $3 each, and I think it was a good investment.



















Unfortunately, mine finally needed to be thrown away. The collar was busted, the white had turned to a yellowish white gross color, and you can see there was a large hole in the right armpit.

The shirt and I had many adventures together...

Makin' Sausage

So what did I do today? I made sausage - from scratch.

We start with pigs & a gun.

Then we gut it and skin it.

Then we chopped it into pieces, took the meat off, ground it up and out came sausage.

It was a different experience. It's been awhile since I had killed & ate anything, and I think it's important to do it sometimes to remember where our food comes from. Now I have a couple packs of sausage in my freezer from a pig I helped slaughter - Pretty cool.

Carlsbad Caverns

My spring break has been a little different this year (ranching, lounging by the pool, and studying?), but my parents came into town and we went with my sister & her family to Carlsbad Caverns yesterday. I'd never been, so I wasn't sure what to expect.

First of all, where is Carlsbad?
It's down towards El Paso, about 3 hours from Lubbock. Pretty close by Texas standards.
The caves themselves were most impressive - absolutely huge. Pictures don't do it justice - the immensity of the caverns dilutes the ability of the camera to capture it. Here some anyway:

The most impressive thing about the caves was how huge they were - this is definitely something everyone should check out - you know, the next time you're in southeastern New Mexico.

The only things I'd recommend to do differently than we did would be to eat before going or bring food with you (though you can only eat in a specified part of the cave). Also, if I ever go back I think it'd be fun to take a Ranger-guided tour and see some more isolated parts of the cave.

Of course the best part of the trip was spending time with my family - here's a shot of me and my dad just before going into the cave.

Would you be my friend?

So I'm kinda particular about the use of the word 'Friend'. These days it seems easily confused with the word 'acquaintance'. I figure a real friend is someone who will come help you when you need to move something heavy in the middle of the night, or actually initiates communications from time to time. Anytime things are too one sided, you know it's not a real friendship.

I bring this up because with the internet social websites I use - Facebook & Xbox Live, the debate is always "Are you really my friend?" Here the rules I've established so far...

Xbox Live: Do I know this person in Real Life? If not, they are not my 'friend.'
Facebook: The same rule applies, but because it's becoming so widespread these days additional corollaries include

• Have I ever talked to you? Would I be likely to repeat this activity?
  
• If I saw you in a room, would I want to talk to you?

Put another way, if I saw you were going to be hit by a train, would I warn you? If not, you are not my 'friend.'

I would guess that many/most of my Facebook friends probably are not the kinds of friends I mentioned at the top of the post - you know, real friends. It's certainly a good way to network and stay in touch with people, plan events & junk. Sometimes it's nice to know what's going on with old roommates and friends you haven't seen in years.

But the freaky dude with 1 tooth that was in my ward when I was growing up for 2 years, that I haven't seen in 10 years & wasn't friends with then, who's son's are a couple of straight idiots, you sir are not my friend.

Simple Math

So the other day in my Copyright class, the professor was talking about certain time limits, restrictions, etc., and when you could act on those limits. He then proceeded to put some examples up on the screen via powerpoint - and got ALL of them wrong. 4/4 wrong. And we're talking simple math here - add 35, subtract 2 type stuff.

I told this to my brother in law Justin, who's also in law school here, and he said that he thinks it's wrong that in law school they put so much emphasis on being able to write well, but it's OK if you can't do simple math.

Because guess what?!? It's not OK. Maybe they need to put a math section on the LSAT, maybe they should have algebra for lawyers, but lawyers need math. Most lawyers probably aren't pondering ways to use calculus to speed up equations (guilty), but they certainly need to know simple arithmetic. Corporate mergers, divorce settlements, advising clients on short-term v. long-term payouts. What are they going to do, hire someone to do the math for them?

Roller coaster

You ever have those weeks that are just complete roller coaster rides? Both highs and lows? That was this past week. I'm really hoping this week is better.

Going Private

I always wonder why people make their blogs private. I've had mine for a few years now, and whenever someone makes their blog private I have to wonder why. I've heard some cases of weird stalker people, and I've had my cases of nutjobs commenting (after which I enjoy mocking them), but I really don't get it. And that's not a knock on anyone - I understand some of the reasons why one might want to restrict access to their blog. Anyway, while I am decidedly against restricting my blog, I decided to post some pros & cons to an open v. closed blog.

Open
+ Anyone can read it
- That means job supervisors, HR, etc., can read it too
+ Friends can find it
+ You don't have to have a google account to access it
+ Maybe someone you don't know well can read about your life and relate to it
+ Higher traffic - if you do advertising

Closed
+ No weirdos
- People can't really search and find your blog
+ If you're into copyright violations & image theft, this is a great way to restrict access

Anyway, from personal experience I'm guessing that most people that restrict access probably are trying to protect their children from being gawked at by deviants on the web, and I get that. I just don't really think it's that frequent to negate the positive factors having it open provides.

Plus, isn't the idea of a blog to allow people to stay in touch? I started this blog so people could know I was alive when I went to Iraq, and now I use it in part to maintain contact with people I don't see often at all, sometimes for years. I dunno. Maybe once I have kids I'll feel differently.

Addicted to Crossfit

I have a confession - I'm addicted to Crossfit.com

A couple years ago I went to the website and it didn't really impress me all that much. A few weeks ago I checked it out again and found it much improved, and since I always am looking for new and creative ways to workout, thought I'd give it a try.

It kicked my trash. The first day I almost threw up. That is, I was gagging and had to hold a towel to my face to control my breathing.

Here's why I think it's awesome.
1) It posts a Workout of the Day (WOD). You can compare your time with others, but I don't - I just push as hard as I can, see how fast I can do it. If I wanted to start keeping track, they apparently do repeat the WODs - maybe twice a year.
2) They have exercise/video demos. These people are sick, and its addicting to watch them do 50 pullups, or a hundred air squats. They also have videos of combat techniques, which are way fun as well.

I've been doing it, not every single day, but 4-5 times a week now for 2 weeks, and I can tell its working. I would recommend it to anyone looking for a changeup, but also just to anyone bored and looking for some insane videos to watch.

NBA & the Economy

So I'm a fan of Bill Simmons, a sportswriter for ESPN. He wrote an interesting article about the NBA and how it's being affected by the economic downturn, which I highly recommend.

I know I've been pretty negative about the economy, and I'm hopeful that things are on the upswing. I've seen data saying that we've passed through the worst... but I have my doubts. In my mind, the fundamental problem is that we continue to lend $$$ to people that can't repay the loan - be it home mortgages, cars, credit cards, or federal bailouts. And while those have slowed down, they certainly haven't stopped. In fact, it seems like certain people want those loans to increase back to previous, non-repayable rates.

Anyway, with the NBA the cliff note version of the article I linked above is this: that NBA contracts are huge, multi-million dollar contracts, which are completely separate from attendance and revenue streams. That is, the player gets payed for showing up, even if the stadium is empty. That's bad for the owners, because suddenly they're kicking out millions, but not making anything. After all, why kick out tons of money to go watch sports when you don't have money for groceries? Interesting to see what happens in the next couple of years...

Teaching

So I've decided that there are as many ways to teach as there are people in the world. I don't think its any surprise to anyone reading this that most people generally annoy me, so I guess its really no surprise that most of their teaching styles annoy me as well. Between law school and church I feel like lately I've seen quite a variety of teachers, so here some descriptions of teachers that drive me crazy.

The Preacher
Gets up and tells everyone, in a loud voice and with much energy, how they know what's right and insinuate that everyone should be more like them.

The Used Car Salesman
You feel like slime after talking to them. Uses poor analogies, doesn't really pay attention to what the audience is saying, but really wants to get his point across.

The not-quite Spiritual Giant
Trying to be so spiritual that you fall asleep listening to their monotony. Jokes are prohibited here, as is any practicality.

The Bum
Didn't actually prepare the lesson, so you read out of the textbook/manual the entire time. Questions are generic, and you feel like you could have used your time better by staring at a wall.

Socrates
Rather than telling you how it is, they ask you questions to see if you already know how it is. Really great method, especially if you don't like to teach.

OK, so I wrote this after I just got done with a class where the professor drives me crazy, and my mood probably dictated the tone of this post. Still, his teaching style is the absolute worse I ever seen in a classroom. It's not uncommon for him to speak absolute rubish for 50 minutes straight without asking or answering any questions, and in some cases providing incorrect/misleading information. He drives me absolutely nuts. Just a complete waste of my time.

Harddrives

So I was beginning to ponder making a list of some of the cool but unknown websites I frequent, when I got distracted by the topic of harddrive destruction/wiping. I know most people just tune out to this sort of thing, but it's important - think Identity Theft. You throw away your computer, or sell it to someone, and somewhere on the drive is your social security number. Not good.

When I was in undergrad, a buddy of mine took a computer forensics class at BYU. Once a month, the professor would bring in a bunch of old hard drives and they'd have to put together a profile of the previous owner. Scary stuff.

One might think, "I deleted everything, I'm good, right?" Not necessarily. Here's a brief explanation of why not, complete with some neato drawings I made.

Computer harddrives are magnetic based, and record information basically as a One or a Zero. Like this:
When we delete something off our computer, we normally think the data completely erased, and gone back to the 'zero' level on the magnetic tape in the drive. But the truth is, it never gets completely back to zero. It's more like this:

Now, most people don't have the specialized software to recover data when it's in a partial state like this. Some people, like computer forensics guys, police departments, and the NSA can. Oh, and some crazy people too - maybe your neighbor that digs through your trash trying to steal stuff? I dunno.

So what to do about it? There are a couple schools of thought.

1) Wipe the disk. Here's a discussion on how to do it. Basically the fastest way to do this is to fill the drive with meaningless data. This can be random data, as mentioned in the article, or just fill the ENTIRE drive with '1's (not mentioned in the article). While deleting doesn't get the physical data back to 'Zero', when you record data it does become a '1' (or close enough).

2) Destroy the disk. Definitely more fun. There some fun videos on how to do this with extreme prejudice. Environmentalists probably say that this is a waste of resources and hurts mother earth. But it's your stuff, and its your identity.

Weird Month

So I've had a weird month. Rather than write out all the reasons why, here are some short blurbs about the past couple weeks in my life.

• I almost got crushed by a garage door. No, really. It wasn't cool.
• I superglued my face, and got some in my hair
• I hit a bat in my truck. Impact was smaller than the horse I hit a few years ago.
• I was billed for something I returned over 2 months ago
• I made a pinewood derby car that had 7 wheels
• I wrote an excel macro in Visual Basic
• I drove in snow and ice, and had to scrape my car for 10 minutes
  

All of this, while in law school. No wonder I feel super busy all the time.

Home Cafe

I know everybody's interested in where I eat here in Lubbock, so in continuing on the theme today I went to Home Cafe for lunch. From the outside it looks just like a little Ma&Pa restaurant that will probably go out of business anytime soon.

Upon entering, I realized my mistake. The place has a old time Texas feel, replete with old black & white photographs and aging books. Every table is different, as are the chairs. And the food is pretty much made from scratch. I got the chicken fried chicken, which was delicious. This is definitely one spot in Lubbock that people should know about.

Oh, and no worries about it going out of business. At one point while we were there the line extended out the door.

Located at 34th & Gary in Lubbock.

Defensive Driving

So a few weeks ago I got a ticket. It was my first ticket in almost 5 years, so now I get to go to defensive driving. Frankly, I think it might be worth it to drive slow just so I don't have to endure going to defensive driving ever again.

However, I decided to take my course at defensive driving at Home Plate Diner so I could get a free Chicken Fried Steak dinner with it, and ice cream tonight when I go back for the second half.

But oh yeah, my teacher's freaky. I found some YouTube clips of him. Be scared.

Dirty Monkey

you will laugh...

Taken to Spanky's

So today, because it was Friday, I decided not to spend the entire day studying. Instead, I actually enjoyed the day.

First, I went to Spanky's burger joint here in Lubbock. Spanky's is one of those places I'd always driven by, and thought "Wonder if it's any good?" It's located right at the 'mouth' of campus, and looked pretty old, so I figured it would be my kind of place. Yup, sho'nuff, it was. Delicious bacon burger with fried cheese... mmm... bacon.

After studying a bit more, I went and saw the movie Taken with Liam Neeson. This movie was sweet. It was exactly what I expected - neither less, nor more. I enjoyed the fact that they didn't butter up the plot any. It was exactly what the trailer promises - a father rescuing his daughter. Awesome.

Nice

I saw this on the news this morning, and thought it was hilarious....

More good news

Here's a link talking about the dissolution of one of the largest Intellectual Property firms in the United States. Great news. I especially like how the first year associates are pretty much being completely left out to dry on this.

But hey, that's only a few hundred people compared to the 81,000 that have lost their jobs in the last 2 days.

An old friend

So I just got finished visiting an old friend - it had been forever since we'd seen each other. But after some initial awkward conversation, we fell right in step and things just flowed. Who is this mystery friend?

Computer Programming.

I had this gi-nourmous list of data I had pulled from a .pdf file in an unformatted mess. I figured I could either sort it by hand (& mouse), or I could figure out the mysterious world of excel macros. I opted for the second and it was super fun, at least compared to my normal day-to-day activities. It was in Visual Basic, which I had never used before, but after figuring out the basic structures and commands, worked like a champ. The data is now sorted in one fell swoop, and I'm happy about it- which would not have been the case had I done it by hand.

Why am I in law school again?