RyRy

Injured Shoulder

2012-02-01T20:21:00.003-06:00

So a week ago yesterday, I hurt myself doing Crossfit for the first time in 2 1/2 years of doing it. Oh sure, there have been times where I was sore, where I could tell my form sucked and I needed to stop, or I wasn't sure what I was doing and I backed off. But I haven't actually been injured.

I think the last time I was actually injured was about 2 1/2 years ago when I ran the St. George Marathon. I developed plantar fascias in my right foot, which took a long time to cure (thanks Merrell running shoes!).

I hurt my shoulder, somehow, doing a workout called Helen. 3 rounds of a 400m run, 21 kettlebell swings w/ a 53# weight, and 12 pullups. I think it was the KB swings that did it, and now I have rotator cuff issues...

This comes at a bad time. I've been prepping to participate in the CrossFit Open, which starts in 3 weeks. But today I read this article about training through injury, and I'm going to continue to get ready as best I can in the next 3 weeks. My goal with the Open is to compete and finish as strong as I can... I know I'm not at a point where I can realistically compete, but compared to where I was a year ago I've come a long way. And maybe in a year I won't injure my shoulder right before the competition.

Math

2012-01-15T21:49:00.001-06:00

I've been thinking lately about the how we see the world, and how so much of how we see the world is affected by our knowledge and experiences.

For example, the other day I was having a conversation with someone, and they mentioned that they saw absolutely no need for Calculus in the world, to which I replied, "I use calculus everyday. Not the actual equations, but how I look at the world." Knowledge of how rates and changes occur based on other factors plays in everything and everywhere I go.

Similarly, people who have studied foreign languages sufficiently that they can think in that language gain a different way of viewing the world and forming their thoughts. People who study music, architecture, politics, or any other subject area all have nuanced views.

Of course, the danger of those nuanced views is that they diminish the ability to know, appreciate, and often even understand the importance of the other views. For example, engineers and scientists generally lack social aptitude, whereas getting lawyers and politicians to solve an algebraic equation, must less an incredibly difficult equation like the national budget, can be insanely difficult. Both lack the skills to do the job of the other, but in both cases a wider education would, I believe, aid the situation.

This all got brought up because I was mentioning to a friend that here in DC I have to be particularly careful not to mock people for the inability to do basic math, because chances are most of the people around are similarly lacking in math skills. I certainly found that to be the case in law school. It simply doesn't attract people with math based skills.

So, just like my obsession with Crossfit, I'm trying to be as well-rounded as I can in my education. And hopefully enough other people will become similarly well-rounded that we can have a more comprehensive view of the various issues and problems in our lives...

Yuk!

2012-01-05T20:42:00.004-06:00

So as I battle my 3rd or 4th bout of illness in about 6 weeks, I broke down today and drank a coke. This new law suit makes me question my decision. Apparently Mountain Dew will actually dissolve mice should one be canned on accident.

Do the Dew!

Bring it Mayans

2012-01-02T20:50:00.000-06:00

So... its 2012!? Weird, huh?

So I was reading something somewhere... I don't remember where, about the difference between goals and resolutions, and how at this time of year lots of people state resolutions as goals and goals as resolutions. So this thing I was reading stated that goals are definable objectives - "I want to run a marathon" "I want to lose 30 pounds" "I want to go to Egypt", whereas resolutions are less quantifiable - "I want to be nicer" "I want to eat more candy" "I want to watch less TV".

While I have some goals posted for this next year of life posted next to the light switch in my room, one of my resolutions is to be more adventurous this next year. I want to get back in the habit of seeing America, of going unique places, and getting outside the DC beltway. This (hopefully) will similarly result in increased blog postings about the fun things I'm doing here, and the things happening in my life.

On that note, I updated the blog for the first time in about 3 years. I wanted to take advantage of the new Blogger posting options, and since I had heavily modified customizing my previous template (which was based on the original template from 7 years ago) I was afraid I might break something without switching. Hopefully it looks and feels like something I would be posting to, but I imagine further modifications will come about soon.

Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish.

2011-10-06T10:53:00.001-05:00

Ironic that I bought my first Apple product within an hour or so of Steve Jobs' death. I got home from the Apple store, looked at my computer, and found out.

Associate

2011-09-19T20:08:00.002-05:00

Last month I had some big news - the firm I've been working with as a contractor hired me on as a full-time associate! Ironically, it was a year to the day that I had moved into my current house. It was a hard year, well... it was a hard 4 years giving up my job in Salt Lake, moving to Lubbock, graduating without a job, moving to a new city with barely any money, and just working and trying to meet people and get my name out there.

But I feel led to where I'm at. The partner I work under is an LDS Bishop. The founding partners of the firm both went to Texas Tech Law. The work is good, the opportunities are good, and people are asking me to do more and more. The work I did before finding this firm, patent research, is paying off in the work I'm doing now. I'm grateful for the time I did that.

Here's my work profile page: Ryan T. Ward

Understandably, I'll probably try not to put anything too inflammatory on this blog - no reason to burn bridges - though links to Economic pieces may continue. I do hope, however, that having this job will allow me to afford to do more adventure stuff than I've been doing. I feel like when I was in the Utahs every week, and sometimes every day, was an adventure, and that's been lacking. I'm hoping I can do a little more exploring and see some stuff now that I have a job.

Life and junk

2011-07-17T20:15:00.004-05:00

So I realized I never posted any pics from Florida, so here's a picture of Dave and I on the boat coming back from fishing.

Then last weekend I was sick, but had already signed up to run a race called the MetroDash. It was an obstacle course involving cargo-nets, flipping tires, jumping obstacles, carrying stuff, etc. It was a lot of fun, and Travis and Kelly came out and took pictures of me doing stuff. I was pretty happy with my performance, especially since I was pretty sick all week before the race.

Why the Jobs Situation Is Worse Than It Looks - US News and World Report

2011-06-22T09:02:00.000-05:00

Here's a 'fun' follow-up to my previous post. In other news, I went to Florida and went deep-sea fishing with Dave last weekend. Pics coming soon.

Why the Jobs Situation Is Worse Than It Looks - US News and World Report

Decline and Fall of the American Empire

2011-06-07T08:21:00.002-05:00

"Above all, America must rediscover the qualities that originally made it great. That will not be easy."
- Larry Elliot, Decline and Fall of the American Empire, The Guardian, June 6, 2011

Back to the ISLAND - LOST

2011-06-05T08:10:00.003-05:00

I loved the television show LOST. Over the 6 years it was on, I had dozens if not hundreds of conversations with people about the show. Usually these conversations formed one of two types:

One type concerned what was actually happening on the show - "What is the Smoke Monster?" , "Are they dead?", "I hate Ana Lucia."

The other type concerned why I liked the show - the characters, their relationships, their struggles, all while dealing with this crazy, "I'm on an island with no flip-flops" experience.

Of course, usually these questions were broken down almost exclusively by the type of person that was watching the show. Some people really did care that there were polar bears on the island and wanted a reason why, other people didn't care at all. I was in the second camp. Usually when someone would come up to me and start going off on the list of unanswered LOST questions, I'd actually feel bad for them. They wanted answers to something they weren't going to get answers.

It was like they didn't get it. The show's producers and writers weren't out to answer every question and make sure you understood exactly what the island was or did, or how some dude turned into the smoke monster. If you want answers to everything, there's this show called Mythbusters you should check out.

Now that I've complained about the complainers, I think there are some things that LOST could have done, particularly that final season, to not frustrate so many fans. The whole Daddy issue with Jack I felt could have been resolved better, and not so awkwardly at the very end of the very last episode. I really thought it was lame when Sayid and the Man-in-Black/Fake Locke were talking, and everything was explained to Sayid, but they skipped out on the conversation and all of a sudden Sayid's crazy. I thought Crazy Claire was a little too crazy.

But here's the thing, despite those changes I would have made, I loved it. I loved the relationships, I loved Sayid taking one for the team, and I really enjoyed seeing Sawyer and Miles play cops the final season. I loved Hurley being Hurley.

Obviously this write-up's been hanging around for awhile. At first, I didn't just want to be another person writing about the end of the show... and then life happened and I kinda forgot about it. But the 1 year mark hit last week and I got thinking about it again, and I'll tell ya - I loved waiting for the new episode every week. It was the only show this decade I've watched as it aired ('24' lasted a little while), and I question whether that will ever happen again.

Offroading in Duck

2011-06-05T07:51:00.005-05:00

Last weekend I went down to Duck Beach, NC, for an annual gathering of East Coast single Mormons. Got in Friday night, spent all day Saturday on the Beach and then at parties, went to church on Sunday, took a nap in a hammock, and then I went offroading on the beach in my truck. After that, hung out with some friends, went to a party/crabbing on the beach, and the next day went paddleboarding before racing back to DC for dinner with my parents.

The weekend was good, and pretty much exactly what I expected - it felt like a 3 day long party, with moments of solitude interrupted by lots and lots of eating and conversation.

My favorite moments were 1) Offroading on the Beach and 2) Stand up Paddleboarding

When we went Offroading, we had 3 four-wheel drive trucks in case anyone got stuck, and sure enough, we got out on the beach, I slowed way down, and the truck behind me got stuck. Then we deflated our tires and were off to the races! I loved speeding around 30 mph on the beach, only a few feet away from the surf, listening to a little Johnny Cash.

We had been looking for wild horses, and didn't find any, but not for lack of trying!

Stand up paddleboarding was hard. A little nerve racking to be standing up on a board in the ocean with the waves bouncing you a little. Once you got out past the breakers it was pretty easy, but getting through the surf was a challenge. Really enjoyed it, and hope to do it more in the future.

A number of people have asked me what I thought of Duck, and the overall 'Mormon weekend' experience. For the most part, I thought it was exactly what I was expecting. I will say, I was way tired by the end, so maybe that idea of relaxing at the beach was totally off.

Jackson + Ragnar

2011-05-15T21:14:00.004-05:00

This weekend was great. It started Thursday about noon, when I left work to see my new nephew, Jackson Javier Ward, who was born Thursday about 8:30 AM. That was cool. Matt and Raquel were kind to let me in for an hour or so and see him, hold him, and get to know him a little bit.

And looking at this picture makes me realize just how pale I am.

Then I left DC with some friends and ran a Ragnar relay. It was 197 miles long, and we had 12 runners on our team. I was the first runner, with legs of 5.8, 7.6, and 8 miles (in that order). The hard part of a Ragnar is the lack of sleep. I got about 5 hours in 2 days, and going into that last 8 mile run I was not in a good place mentally. Afterwords, after running like 21 miles, I got a little tight, but I'm doing better now.
The other hard thing about this race was the weather, which I was a little underprepared for. It was supposedly going to be 75 degrees and sunny on Friday when I was running. Instead when I started running at 8 AM on Friday there was a slight drizzle and it was about 50 degrees. And I only had short sleeves and shorts to wear. Eventually I made it to a Wal*Mart, where I got a long-sleeve T-shirt for $7.

Unfortunately, as you can see from the picture above, it says NY Giants on it. YUCK. It may have an encounter with either a trash can or some paint in the near future. Boys from Dallas don't wear Giants shirts around. It ain't right.

Talents

2011-05-07T21:55:00.002-05:00

So as I was talking with my Mom last night, I told her that I think one of the talents I've been given is the ability to see (and when I get upset, point out) the flaws of others. In other words, I can put people down and realize what sorry wastes of human flesh they are like nobody's business.

Thinking about it the past day or so, I've decided that I need to make more efforts to lift people up and encourage them. It's easy to break or destroy things - anyone can break things. The challenge is making something worth having.

Spring in DC

2011-03-18T21:05:00.004-05:00

So I realized the other day that I haven't posted in awhile... I've been staying busy. I joined a Crossfit gym, I've been doing contract work with a law firm, I went to Dallas, and lots of other stuff. I'll post more about the job and stuff if/when it becomes permanent, but I'm excited to be working there.

But I have been enjoying DC as the transition from winter to spring occurs. A month or so ago we had a good snow, and I snapped the pic of the Lincoln memorial, which I think turned out well.

Today I went mountain biking after work. This was effectively the first time I'd been mountain biking since leaving Utah 3 1/2 years ago, and it was awesome. Even when I was getting cut up by thorns carrying my bike around a foot deep, 200m long puddle. I will bleed for the price of Glory. I actually think that mountain biking in the East might be more my style, other than the lack of slickrock and huge vistas. I like the rolling hills, the dirt.

275

2011-02-12T09:21:00.002-06:00

Once upon a time, I benched 250 on a base far, far away, pretty much just to get a t-shirt. See here.

I've had the goal, pretty much ever since then, of benching 275, which was the next t-shirt I could have gotten, and the closest I'd ever come was 265.

Today I benched 275, and it felt great. In the past 2 months I had decided to make a serious run for it, and this morning I just decided to max out, and my roommate seemed willing to spot me, so boom, done. It's nice when a goal becomes an achievement.

Freeze Fest

2011-01-22T11:32:00.001-06:00

FreezeFest IX from carpeybiggs on Vimeo.

My buddy Tyler posted this video on Facebook. There was some question as to whether or not its been doctored, but I think its real. Regardless, its awesome, and makes me miss the West.

The Proposal

2011-01-18T19:14:00.002-06:00

My buddy Derek recommended this video, which I'm passing on. This dude made a video to propose to his girlfriend, and its amazing. He made muppets which resemble the two of them, and made a video about them. This link tells the story of how it was made, etc.

It uses the music from the Heartless video I shared some time ago.

Umm...

2011-01-17T10:52:00.004-06:00

So I have a kinda funny dating story from this past weekend... I asked out this girl last week, nothing fancy, just hey, lets go get dinner on Saturday night. She said she couldn't, she already had plans and couldn't go. Then she clarified and said, "not a date, but other plans." I said OK, no worries, and then got invited to a party Saturday night.

She was at the party. Yeah... So on the one hand, maybe her plans fell through and she decided to go to the party last second. Or maybe she would rather go to a party than spend time with me. Ouch.

And girls wonder why guys don't always want to Cowboy up and ask them out.

NASA video

2011-01-12T08:30:00.002-06:00

I've thought a lot about how the lack of a frontier has caused a paradigm shift in America, and how we push for advancement and how we treat one another as a society. Does it make us lose our edge? Become a nation of wussies? Lead to supermarket shootouts? I think the 'talking heads' on TV (and the internet) can cause us to forget about TRUTH, and how opinions matter zilch in comparison.

I've wanted a new frontier, and after watching this video I thought "The frontier is whatever you are pressing forward for in your life." Maybe its a degree, a job, a family, losing 20 pds, or joy and laughter. But there has to be a push to go beyond ones boundaries.

I guess one way I thought of it was this: In 1800, people in London didn't have any real idea of what/where the frontier was. They didn't care, they were worried about putting bread on the table. In 1492, most Europeans didn't care about the frontier, they were worried about putting bread on the table. In 2011, do most of us care about the frontier, or possibly our personal frontiers, or are we worried about putting bread on the table?

Investing & the Euro

2010-12-04T21:20:00.002-06:00

So lately the market seems to be recovering. Still no word on a job, but hopefully soon. But my worry is this: Several months ago I was talking with my Dad and he asked if I thought it was time to get back into the market. I told him no, and the reason why was that until governments both in the U.S. and Europe can spend their money in a sustainable fashion, i.e., have budgets where old people aren't stealing from those working and borrowing to do it, any short term increases or decreases in the market probably aren't sustainable.

Now, I'm not an economist, and this is just my theory. Well, it's my theory based in part on these links and videos:

link to the video posted above: Nigel Farage

Link describing Obama budget cuts, but pay close attention to the amount being spent on entitlements such as Social Security & Medicare: Wimp.com video

Also, keep in mind all the stories this week about how the Europeans actually borrowed money from the U.S. Federal Reserve... which borrows money from Asia. Nice.

So why am I writing all this? I dunno. I thought the video was funny. But I certainly hope the economy improves, and that I'm wrong about this stuff. In the meantime, I don't have money to invest anyway, but if I did, I'd be awfully cautious about where I put it.

Disturbing

2010-11-24T08:58:00.004-06:00

So I came across this funny picture while working today:

and I think it's disturbing. Who would do that? Also disturbing - I immediately began considering the product liability issues involved.

Turkey Fry

2010-11-14T16:19:00.004-06:00

So my friend Tim invited me down for a Turkey Fry - where instead of baking a turkey, you fry it. It was pretty dang sweet. Tim's been living in Tokyo for the past 2 years or so, & I hadn't seen him since I wintered in Savannah my 1L year of law school. He also got married to Heather in Raleigh about 5 months ago, but I hadn't met her, so I was really looking forward to seeing both of them, as well as the Van Valkenburgs and Kim Mah.

I took off Friday after working for a bit, drove on down, and had a great weekend - just got back this afternoon (Sunday).

Frying a turkey was cool. I don't have that much experience frying things, but this was the biggest thing I've ever seen fried - and like all fried food, it was delicious.

Getting outside DC: Woodstock Tower

2010-11-07T15:29:00.004-06:00

Yesterday I went with my buddy Jim down near the Shenandoah to this old fire observation tower. It was a good short trip, my truck found some dirt roads, and the fall colors were beautiful. The tower wasn't as tall as I was expecting, but it was still pretty cool. And there were a bunch of hang gliders prepping below us.

Most of all it just felt good to get out on the road, hit some dirt, and see some fresh air.

Counselor

2010-10-21T21:24:00.001-05:00

So I realized that while I called my family & some friends, had some people over, and posted it on Facebook, there may be some people who keep up with me exclusively via my blog. And I never posted the most excellent news I received yesterday - I passed the Virginia Bar!!! I get sworn in on Nov. 3 (I think). I'll be a legit lawyer soon! Now to just find a firm that will hire me.

Rather than esquire, I think I prefer the title of Counselor.

I want to be a lawyer

2010-10-19T10:06:00.001-05:00

For those of you who don't read 'Above the Law'...

One Down

2010-10-09T13:29:00.002-05:00

So I received some exciting news on Thursday - my first patent application for my first client was approved!

Atlanta & Utah

2010-09-19T22:25:00.004-05:00

So I never wrote that I recently went to Atlanta for the Intellectual Property Owner's conference. It was a neat trip, met some people, went to dinner at the Georgia aquarium, which was awesome, and got to see a tiny bit of Atlanta.

It was my first time in Atlanta - I really wasn't very impressed. I'm sure that suburbia is fine, but downtown I thought had some amazing buildings coupled with a lot of homeless.

Also, in Lubbock as well as in DC, I've met a lot of people who really have some harsh feelings about the state of Utah. I think it's unfortunate, because I love Utah. Here's why I think some people have hard/unenlightened feelings about Utah:

They spent all their time in Provo & Salt Lake associating with other Mormons
They had no money to do anything fun/their idea of fun is going to bars or museums

Because here's the thing, if you spend all your time in Utah hanging out in Provo, or perhaps the BYU bookstore, yes, its going to be lame. But! If you even venture out to Park City, that wild crazy place, you'll get out of the bubble.

Personally, I have a hard time finding anyone who has lived in Utah and been to any 2 of the following places and not enjoyed it. This also doubles as a basic list of places people who think Utah is a horrible place should go:

Snowboarding @ the Canyons/Brighton
Moab
Goblin Valley
Bryce Canyon
The Uintas
The Spiral Jetty
The Sun Tunnels
Nutty Putty Caves (closed)/The train tunnel I can't tell you about, but is in Spanish Fork Canyon
Chasing Wild Horses (may be a violation of the Wild Horse & Burro act, statute of limitations of 7 years)
Snow Canyon
Zions National Park
Capitol Reef
Shoot Guns
Hike Timp

So why did I write all this? Well, the fact is that I really didn't see that much of Atlanta, and shouldn't judge based off a limited experience. What I think a lot of people do is go to Utah, perhaps for years, but have a limited experience.

What do I think of people who make judgments based on a lack of understanding/experience? I feel bad for them - because they're missing out.

Jeff's Wedding

2010-09-06T19:45:00.005-05:00

So my little brother Jeff got married on Saturday in the Oakland Temple - it was a quick trip out & back, but a lot of fun to see everyone and participate a little in the wedding.

While I was out there I ran into my friend Shannon, who's brother was married in the session immediately following Jeff's wedding, and a friend from my mission to Argentina.

I also spent a lot of time playing with my nephews & niece, and got to spend a little time sight seeing. But considering I left just under 48 hours from arriving, it was a pretty quick trip.

I hadn't been to Oakland or San Fransisco since I was a little kid - both seem really nice, though I have a feeling my philosophies on life might clash with those of the northern CA lifestyle.

(squinting, not pissed)

Self-Employment

2010-09-01T11:00:00.002-05:00

So I've decided to stop telling people I'm unemployed. It makes it sound as if I have lots of free time to watch the cooking channel, go to the park, tour DC, stay out late, and spend money I don't have.

Instead, I'm going to tell people that I'm currently self-employed, looking for work as an associate patent attorney.

In DC

2010-08-14T21:43:00.002-05:00

So I've moved to DC. Getting here went well. My parents helped me pack up in Lubbock, then we drove to Dallas, where I had to swap out my truck battery. Of course the job turned out to be more than my Dad & I expected (it always does) so we finished completely covered in sweat about 9 PM Monday night.

Then my Mom drove with me to St. Louis, where we stayed with my Grandmother, and we saw cousins, as well as my brother Matt & his family, who are also on their way out to DC for a new job. The next day we hit the road, crossing through Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, and a chunk of Pennsylvania before calling it a night in a small town in PA.

We got to the place I had lined up here in DC, and well... the guy I sublet from for 1 month is a moron. The day turned out to be rough, but I got my stuff stored, I'm living in a cockroach infested building for a few more days, and then to top it off, the next day I woke up to find that my truck was gone. At first I thought it was stolen - nope. Just towed. The moron forgot to tell me I need a parking pass, so then I had to figure out how to get to my car without transportation (I eventually got a cab).

Since then, things are looking up. I have a place lined up through December, I've gotten most of the little things done I wanted, and I've received a paycheck from work. I'm really excited about where I'll be living for the next few months, and to start the full-time job hunt.

Adios Lubbock

2010-08-09T00:23:00.003-05:00

It's been a good, tough, and frustrating 3 years. I'm thankful its done, and I'm thankful that my attitude towards Lubbock changed. Now off to DC.

Things I love about Lubbock #7: Attitude

2010-08-08T00:06:00.003-05:00

Tonight's my last "Things I love about Lubbock" post. Attitude.

So this goes to Accent, Trucks, Showing up to Walmart in chaps (with jeans underneath), and who knows what else. There's an attitude in Lubbock, and West Texas in general, of people itchin' for a fight. I think its an attitude that used to prevail throughout the West, and has been decreasing slowly as civilization creeps in.

Of course, it could be easy to miss/dismiss this attitude. If you never go to sports in Lubbock, or rodeos, or auto shops, or just hang out at the university, or at Barnes & Noble, you could miss it. But when you get out to the dirt roads, or the places where people still sit on their porches instead of watching the latest 'American Idolatry', you can sense it.

It could also be dismissed as just hick, but I think its different. I think what distinguishes this attitude from hick is a knowledge of the odds or circumstances, and just utter disregard for it.

Anyway, I think the attitude is a very American one, and I've loved being around it and reminded of it.

Things I love about Lubbock #6: Traffic/Distance

2010-08-07T00:11:00.005-05:00

So tonight, when I was running late getting to a goodbye/graduation dinner for my friends Megan and Stephanie, I pretty much made it all the way across Lubbock in less than 10 minutes. Yes, I was exceeding the speed limit, but not by more than 10 mph.

Hence the thing I love about Lubbock for tonight - that I can get anywhere in Lubbock in under 20 minutes. Even in "heavy" traffic times, there's rarely a backup, and if there is, you still get through the intersection on the next signal.

Here's a shot of 'downtown' Lubbock at 5PM Thursday.

Here's a picture of one of the busier intersections just a short time after.
Now, because its a college town, traffic will be increasing in the next few weeks, but really its nice to be able to get around fast and easily. Somehow I think DC's traffic might be a little more intense than Lubbock's been.

Things I love about Lubbock #5: Doin' stuff with Chief

2010-08-06T00:06:00.005-05:00

So while I've been here in Lubbock, one of the things I've enjoyed most is getting to know Chief, aka Carl Mortenson. He was in the branch presidency when I moved here, and was released when we became a ward.

Whenever I'm around Chief, I go into sponge mode. Whether it's business, religion, ranching - I just absorb it. I asked him the first month or so I was here if I could just go work on his ranch when I had some time, just to learn - and I'm grateful I did. Rather than go into all the reasons I like and admire Chief, I decided that I would put a few of the nuggets of wisdom I've recorded & learned from Chief.

"You don't own land, land owns you."

"Make it look easy."
"We are rewarded in this life according to the service we render."

Don't subdivide property until you're sure it's going to sell, because the taxes will eliminate profits, and maybe bring a loss.
Always have a backup plan - and don't tell people, and especially the bank, about the backup plan.
Share what you have with others.
In business, beware hiring/working with other mormons. They may feel entitled to something.
Keep a nice car separate from your working truck.
If you're in charge of something, take care of the problems without making management question whether you're up to the task.

Things I love about Lubbock #4: The Rec Center

2010-08-05T00:21:00.002-05:00

Today's item of note is the Texas Tech Recreation Center, which is a amazing and getting better all the time.

At BYU, the athletic facilities are amazing. But unless you are a collegiate athlete, you don't get to use those. Instead, you are directed to some basketball courts, a pool, an indoor track that sometimes is fully open and smells like it hasn't been deep cleaned in 50 years, and 2 teeny tiny weight lifting rooms. They also have about 20 racquetball courts.

At Texas Tech, the student rec facilities put BYU to shame. There's a 3 story rock wall, bouldering, probably about 50 treadmill/eliptical things, an indoor track, an indoor pool, an outdoor pool w/ a lazy river, 3 big weight rooms, boxing equipment, a mat room, an indoor soccer court, and about 8 full basketball courts.

Oh, and they have actual lockers that you can rent out, instead of whatever BYU calls those pathetic little cubes we paid money for.

Plus, its right next to the law school, which was a perfect break for me.

Things I love about Lubbock #3: The Stars

2010-08-03T23:16:00.002-05:00

This is a simple one. I love being able to see the stars when I'm walking into my apartment at night. During law school I've had some late nights, and since I normally studied up at the school it would often be late when I'd get home. It was really nice to look up and see a dark sky filled with stars. Orion, the dippers, Polaris, and other constellations I can vaguely make out - right there, surrounded by stars.

Everywhere else I've lived - Dallas, Utah, Argentina, Iraq - were all so lit up that while you might see some stars, you couldn't really see the stars. Too much light pollution.

Not in Lubbock. They stand out, and its relaxing, and I'll miss it.

Things I love about Lubbock #2: Music

2010-08-02T23:03:00.002-05:00

Prior to leaving Utah 3 years ago, I was getting tired of country music. Tim & Faith don't write their own music, and only sing a song with passion once every 5 years. Toby Keith - does he still just try and put some funny one liners together with a beat? And Kenny Chesney + Rascal Flats = a bunch of gay cowboys singing crappy music.

I get tired of music, and musicians, when they just rehash the same junk over and over again. I understand that after 10-20 years, you get in a rhythm and it's tough to find the same fire and intensity you used to have (U2). So anyway, I was getting tired of country music in particular. I had started listening to a little more Johnny Cash, and then I moved to Lubbock.

Shortly thereafter, a radio station converted to country, and my buddy Jess from church started playing a bunch of Texas country. And I love it. It's so good. Thankfully, I can stream the station over the interwebs, because when I was in DC last week I was already getting frustrated by the lack of decent music options.

Here's the radio station link: 105.3 The Red Dirt Rebel
Here's some artists I would have never heard of had I not moved to Lubbock:
Josh Abbott Band
Turnpike Troubadors
Bleu Edmonson
Brazos Stone

Things I love about Lubbock #1: Bar-B-Q

2010-08-01T22:29:00.003-05:00

So when I was in Roanoke VA last week, I looked up restaurants to go to dinner after my first night of the test. I found a bar-b-q joint, and the review online made it sound really good. I went, got seated, and ordered up some soft brisket that had been smoked all day long.

Now, I've had lots of brisket. I like brisket. A friend a couple years ago smoked a brisket at home all day and brought it to a dinner - softest, juiciest brisket I've ever had. Delicious. This? Not so much. It wasn't bad, but I really had to work to cut it with a knife. Juicy - yes. Tender - no. Was I disappointed - absolutely.

I suppose I should have expected as much, and maybe I did. The restaurant's specialty was something I would've complained about here, though they did rescue it with a nice smattering of sauces. But the meat...

This gets to the thing I love about Lubbock - there's some great barbq here. Whether it's Tom & Bingo's Hickory Pit, 4BarK, or even just Dickies fast food barbq. I've been spoiled by delicious meat, made and served by people who actually have smoked their meat all day, or even 2 days, and know how to serve it right.

Tom & Bingo's Hickory Pit, 34th Street in Lubbock

The Bar is Done

2010-08-01T22:06:00.003-05:00

The bar is done. I hope, I pray, I pass. I felt pretty good about the test - I felt really good about my prep. I don't know what more I could have done in preparation. I can still tell I'm exhausted from the prep, the test, and everything involved.

So when I arrived in Lubbock Saturday evening, it hit me a little harder than normal that my time here is really getting short. I've talked down on Lubbock during my three years here, but the fact is that I kinda like the town. If there were hills, forest, or rivers of worth mentioning anywhere nearby (less than 2 hours), I'd consider staying. This is true despite the fact that there isn't enough work for me here.

I like the weather, minus 40 mph constant wind & dust. I like the people. I like the attitude.
My dislikes... well, they exist, but I'm not dwelling on those anymore, certainly not this last week before I leave for DC.

So what I have decided to do is start making a list, or a compilation, of favorite things/memories about Lubbock. Since I'm doing these day by day, they probably won't be in order...

Crossfit Games

2010-07-19T23:38:00.004-05:00

I've written before about how I love crossfit. Here are some videos from the crossfit.com website describing a little about what crossfit is. The 2nd one I think is way cool because the people work at the gym up in Park City - and the guy just got 3rd in the international competition last weekend. He weighs about 135 pds.

What is Crossfit?

Adidas Commercial

I feel broken

2010-07-10T15:31:00.002-05:00

I feel broken. Physically, mentally. 2 1/2 weeks until the bar. So while I'm taking a break to eat some lunch, I decided to embed some motivational videos.

We might have been a free and great people together

2010-07-03T19:51:00.003-05:00

This is a sweet article about the Declaration of Independence, and some words which the Continental Congress removed. I learned something new, and think it's worth sharing.

A Cold Man's Warm Words

Happy Independence Day - may we always be willing to fight for our Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.

Anosognosia

2010-06-27T22:03:00.002-05:00

So there's this sweet NY Times article that I started reading... but it's 5 parts. And they're not linked right. So I decided to post the links right here, so when I get around to reading the other links I can find them.

Based on only the first part that I've read so far, I would highly recommend reading it. It discusses people who are too dumb to know they're dumb - and if there's every something I would want to read, it would be "How to find out if I'm a moron." So here the links.

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5

Bankruptcy and Student Debt

2010-06-24T08:54:00.002-05:00

So as I was eating my oatmeal this morning, I was reading online about student loans, which got me thinking about bankruptcy for people with outstanding student loans.

At present, when people can't pay back their student loans and begin to default, the creditor (bank) can eventually go to court, seek a claim, and try take that person's money and stuff - just like any other unsecured loan. The trick is that when that person also can't pay their credit card, home mortgage, car payments and student loans, they'll often file for bankruptcy.

While there's a couple different ways to do this, when they do, everything but the student loans can be discharged, wiped clean, and gone forever - though their credit rating will be in the tubes for several years. For student loans, there has to be an "undue hardship" preventing the repayment of the loan.

What is considered an undue hardship? Its up to the judge, however, earning $10/hr when you owe $140,000 in loans probably doesn't qualify. Probably.

So why all this backstory? Here's the thing: I feel for these people that get themselves into this situation. I think they had hopes and dreams that somehow got off track. But it's still their fault for taking out loans they couldn't pay back. Who know who else's fault it is? The schools, who took the money from these kids yet didn't prepare them adequately for a job.

There's been some talk lately of lowering the standard for forgiving student debt to something easier than "undue hardship." I have an idea (and this is the reason for this post) - How about we not allow any discharge of student debt for the first 15-20 years after the loan is made. That'll give the person who took the loan time to work and pay it off.

After that set time, let's assign some of the debt (1/2?) to the school that took the money. I think they're just as at fault. This would probably lead to further raising of tuition, and continue escalating until crappy schools go out of business - and I think that would be good for everyone.

I'm sure there are flaws to this idea - I haven't been thinking about this for very long. But, I do think that the schools are often as much at fault as the dumb students that can't balance their budgets, and should bear more of the responsibility.

Heartless

2010-06-10T10:41:00.000-05:00

Heartless: The Story of the Tin Man from Brandon McCormick on Vimeo.

Chart

2010-06-04T17:13:00.003-05:00

So the other day I was looking for a chart of end-of-day Dow Jones Industrial Average figures. Why? Why do I do lots of things in my life - because I'm weird. Anyway, so I'm looking for an excel spread sheet of this data, which I never found, but I came across this chart comparing recent Dow numbers against the Nikkei from Japan. Japan, for those unaware, has been in a stock funk for about 20 years now.

Here's the link: Dow Jones Industrial Average Model
And here's the particular graph I found interesting:

Anyway, hopefully things get turned around soon. I, like most working Americans, have complete faith in both Congress and the President to turn this around.

Steel Horse

2010-06-01T22:00:00.003-05:00

Sold my ride today. Am I happy about it? No. Did I need the cash? Yes.
Why can't I be like most Americans and willfully go into extreme debt?
Hopefully soon I'll be making lawyer money and can buy myself a new ride.

Big Bend

2010-05-23T20:20:00.014-05:00

After 3 years of law school, I finally took a weekend and went to Big Bend. I decided that while I may be short on time/money, this was the one and only opportunity I would have for a long time in the foreseeable future to go.

It took about 6 hours to get there...
Shortly after setting up my tent, a micro-storm came in. Rain, hail, lightening, all blowing my little camp away. After the storm it dried out pretty quick, but the rain remained. After trying to tie down my tent, I decided to just sleep in the bed of my truck. There was a thunderstorm just over the ridge all night, so the thunder/wind/full moon kept me kinda awake, but I figured it was still better than trying to keep a tent from caving in all night.

The next day I went and hiked Cattail Falls, a hike not quite 'on the map.'

Then I drove the 'River Road' - a dirt road that borders the Rio Grande. It took about 4 hours, and wasn't nearly as exciting as I was hoping. In part because there were only a few views of the river, in part because I was driving, slow, by myself, for about 4 hours.

But I saw the river, had a good time, and could see old Mexico. It was pretty cool. Of course, the air temp on the road when I was driving? About 110.

Then I ate some dinner at the lodge restaurant, and watched the sunset near my camp in the mountain basin.
Slept again in the back of my truck. When I woke up in the middle of the night, the moon had set and the stars were out in fine fashion. Slept until dawn, then took a different route home through Alpine and Ft. Davis. I've decided that these towns, in particular Alpine, have to be some of the prettiest towns I've ever seen in TX. As in, I would actually want to live in them.

I also passed through this town, whose name I couldn't figure out how to pronounce.
I finally decided it rhymes with 'diarrhea.' Notice this didn't make my list of places I'd want to live.

All in all, it was really a great trip. I enjoyed getting down there, and it was worth the wait. Considering the task before me (the bar) I'm glad I took 3 days off. Big Bend was beautiful, and considering how far away it is from anything it's quite possible I'll never return.

Ghostbusters

2010-05-18T15:20:00.000-05:00

This needs to be seen...

Law School Graduation

2010-05-16T22:21:00.003-05:00

So I've graduated from Law School! Bar Prep starts tomorrow... but at least the weekend was good!

Red Lights of Doom

2010-05-06T21:59:00.003-05:00

Anyone who has owned a XBox 360 for more than a year and a half knows these lights. The red lights of doom. For those interested in why Xboxes have failed so consistently, costing Microsoft millions/billions? of dollars, here's the short version: They did no thermal analysis prior to selling them. None! If you buy one in the stores now, it works properly because they've put the necessary heatsinks in to absorb the heat and disperse it.

The thing is, I really enjoy having an xbox, and yet I start studying for the bar in 1 1/2 weeks. Now's probably not the time to buy a new one...

Post #400

2010-05-02T17:53:00.003-05:00

I haven't blogged in 2 1/2 months. Part of it was feeling that nothing in my life was exciting enough to write about. Part of it was that I was too busy to really think about it. Part of it was that this is my 400th post and I wanted it to be somewhat memorable. But I've decided that there are a number of exciting things going on right now that I should share.

1) I graduate from law school in less than 2 weeks.
2) I'm still looking for a post-law school job, but I have some leads, and I'm hoping for the best.
3) I helped brand cows yesterday. I was really excited to be doing it - it was fun!
4) I continue to do Crossfit, although my exercise routine has been somewhat more erratic lately. Despite this, and despite gaining more weight lately than I like, I'm actually stronger than I can ever remember. If only my cardio were still worth speaking of...
5) My youngest brother Jeff is engaged!!!

Now, anyone who knows me knows that I have plenty to complain about - I've been super frustrated in my job search, I'm stressed with school, and I'm ready to bid adieu to Lubbock. But the fact is that I'm very blessed, and hopefully in the next few weeks I'll have even more good news to post.

You can't chase the night

2010-02-20T09:28:00.004-06:00

So I haven't written in a long time, but I've had a lot on my mind lately that I've been thinking about, so here's a new post!

I read this article by Bill Simmons, the Sports Guy that had one particular point that resonated with me. He was in Dallas for the NBA all-star game, and was out late with a bunch of guys when the bars were closing. Apparently a young player wanted to keep looking for open bars, etc., when a guy named Wes said,

"Nothing good can happen at this point," Wes explains simply. "You can't chase the night. When the night is over, the night is over. That's just the way it is. You just gotta wake up tomorrow and hope for a better day."

Lately I've been debating a whole lot more of what I want out of my life. I'll be real, this last semester of law school is kicking my trash. The job market still sucks - no significant leads on a job, I've spent 3 years going after this and now I have to wonder if I'm going to go back and beg for an engineering job in a year. I miss the mountains - snow boarding, camping, mountain biking. But then again, you can't chase the night. That time of my life was awesome, but it's over now and won't be coming back. I would like to move back to the mountains, but I worry that it wouldn't live up to the memories I have.

I did submit my Virginia Bar Application this week. I'm going to try and make it work out there. Of course, promptly after submitting my application I contacted an attorney out there I've been staying in touch with, hoping for a job. He told me that given Virginia's bar passage rate I might want to have a backup plan. Thanks bud.

I'm considering opening my own practice, but I'd really prefer to have more mentoring. Also, the idea of building my own practice intimidates me, but I think it would ultimately be very rewarding. Stressful, but rewarding.

All at once

2010-01-26T22:53:00.003-06:00

I might as well keep posting while I'm in the mood. I put this collage together awhile back - some of my favorite memories of 2009, but then I forgot to post it. Of course there were plenty of other great memories, but I often didn't take a picture or get one...

Busted Computer

2010-01-26T22:36:00.005-06:00

So my computer was busted for a few days, and while I've spoken with many on the phone about it, I thought I'd post some pictures and tell about it here.

First of all, my computer is 5 1/2 years old, and I use it about 12 hours a day 6 days a week. It gets opened and closed a lot, and its held up remarkably well. I try to take good care of it, and it still does everything I need. Would it be nice to have a new quad processor or something? Of course, but I'm pretty happy with my machine.

So on the 2nd day of the semester, I come home, open up my computer, and the monitor falls all the way back - busted. Being an Engineer, and the fact that I need it, I take the thing apart - it turns out the socket the hinges plugs into had worn out. So I tried cramping it and super-gluing it. No dice. Then I tried epoxy overnight - again nothing.
The next day I worked from home, with my laptop leaning against the wall, and my buddy Jim suggested I order something off E-bay. I found someone selling my exact monitor for a decent price, ordered it, got it 3 days later, installed it, and now I'm back in business.

During this whole experience, my apartment looked like a lab - here's a pic:
Frankly, it's a little scary how comfortable I've gotten opening and working on my laptop...

A word that always makes me laugh

2010-01-26T10:28:00.000-06:00

Eyeball.
I dare you to say eyeball in a normal conversation without having the desire to smile. I contend it cannot be done.

Cholesterol

2010-01-10T22:57:00.002-06:00

So way back when I had a real job I went to this health fair, where they drew a little of my blood, did some tests, and sent me back some data. At the time (Feb 2007) my cholesterol was 174.

Well, about a year ago I started giving blood semi-regularly to United Blood services here in Lubbock. Yesterday when they called to bug me about a new appointment they told me that I could look up my cholesterol from previous donations online, so I checked it out. My most recent score? 136.

Maybe it's an anomaly, but wow. The things I've been doing that might be helping are
A) taking fish oil (omega-3) supplements
2) eating less red meat
iii) Crossfit and a little more running

I'm giving blood again this week, so I'll be sure to report if it stays low.

Looking for a calendar

2010-01-06T23:31:00.004-06:00

So I don't have a calendar yet for 2010 - I'm still on the hunt. But while wandering the Barnes & Noble and looking through the picked over calendars, I came upon a book I thought could be perfect for future lawyer Ryan's office: History's Worst Inventions. So I start perusing it - the first invention I look at was exactly what I hoped - the flying car. Like, they attach wings and a tail to a car, so you can park it. Apparently, cars that take flight, yet lack a propeller. wasn't a great idea. And people died trying to make it.

Then I get looking a little more at this book (which was on sale by the way). Apparently, gunpowder, pesticides, and atomic weapons are also among the worst inventions ever. For the curious, I disagree, but that's not my point.

My point is that it's always frustrating/sad when you have something that seems great, and it turns out to be crap. Maybe it's a book, maybe a cookie or pie - maybe it's a relationship. Yesterday I had a quesadilla that sounded great, looked great. Turned out to be crap.

On the flip side is when something seems awful and it turns out to be a pretty dang good thing.
Moving to Lubbock has been a dang good thing.

Follow Up

2009-12-14T23:25:00.002-06:00

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

2009-12-11T15:19:00.000-06:00

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

Still Alive

2009-12-09T22:19:00.002-06:00

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

2009-11-20T13:28:00.002-06:00

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

2009-11-15T21:24:00.003-06:00

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

2009-11-04T21:07:00.004-06:00

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

2009-10-19T12:27:00.014-05:00

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

2009-10-17T08:40:00.002-05:00

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

2009-10-06T13:42:00.002-05:00

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

2009-10-05T12:12:00.004-05:00

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

2009-09-26T23:18:00.002-05:00

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

2009-09-14T23:52:00.003-05:00

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

2009-09-10T09:57:00.002-05:00

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

2009-09-08T22:39:00.004-05:00

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?

2009-08-26T22:30:00.002-05:00

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

2009-08-20T20:53:00.006-05:00

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

2009-08-09T20:27:00.001-05:00

You should check this video out.

Assateague Island

2009-08-09T19:10:00.002-05:00

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

2009-08-04T22:26:00.002-05:00

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

2009-08-02T10:46:00.004-05:00

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?

2009-07-27T22:05:00.002-05:00

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

2009-07-26T17:48:00.002-05:00

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

2009-07-26T17:24:00.002-05:00

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?

2009-07-21T16:13:00.003-05:00

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

2009-07-19T17:15:00.006-05:00

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

2009-07-14T22:10:00.003-05:00

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

2009-07-09T21:43:00.002-05:00

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

2009-07-05T08:45:00.003-05:00

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

2009-06-28T21:01:00.002-05:00

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

2009-06-25T07:29:00.002-05:00

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

2009-06-15T22:01:00.002-05:00

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

2009-06-14T10:07:00.002-05:00

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?

2009-06-10T23:06:00.002-05:00

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

2009-06-07T00:11:00.002-05:00

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

2009-06-03T22:44:00.003-05:00

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

2009-05-30T00:20:00.002-05:00

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

2009-05-25T20:32:00.002-05:00

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

2009-05-20T08:34:00.000-05:00

Cheesus

So other shows

2009-05-04T22:28:00.003-05:00

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

2009-05-01T14:28:00.002-05:00

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

2009-04-26T10:44:00.002-05:00

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

2009-04-24T10:27:00.002-05:00

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).