Down my Alley

Monday, March 28, 2005

This ones a long one.....

This post will be long. Mainly due to the fact it is my first post in some time. The reasons involve this site being dumb. I've attempted twice to make a post, but have ran into difficulties. So this post will be long and include recent events and some personal commentary.

My life - nothing really new here. Got some grades to report: Self-care 84%, biostats/research design 93%, MDS 52.5/50 (>100%), and debate 99/100 (we won!!!). That's about the most exciting stuff going on with me. Still need (ok ok, probably want) to get Star Wars: Battlefront and Killzone (or some other cool first person shooter).

Washington Hatchets - Congratulations to the 3A IN high school state champs. The championship game was awesome, and that was the single greatest shot I have ever seen in person. Mad props to Luke Zeller (can we say...Mr. Basketball?). Also, the semi-state game was really cool. The loudness and everything was neat. This really is what Indiana high school basketball is all about.

Dogs - Apparently, it is incorrect to call a young-dog just a dog. It is perfectly acceptable to say puppy, but simply call it a dog appears to be offensive. Who would've thought? In fact, when I think of dogs, I think of Snatch and Brad Pitt calling them "Dags. You ike dags?" Anyway, Danielle and Daniel got themselves this little dog...sorry, I mean puppy...last week. Kinda like practice for future babies....or something like that.

Terri Schiavo - This ones a current events hot topic. Here's my personal opinion on everything. First, its the husband who should get final say. Second, quite giving the husband a bunch of crap for moving on and finding another woman to love. I've heard what kind of husband is he for living with another woman and having a kid and whatnot. Did I miss something, or did he stay only Terri for the first 2-5 years? And I don't think Terri is holding up her end of the bargain in being the perfect wife (I know its not her fault, but still). Third, let the poor girl go. If the brain is not working, then you are not alive. Yeah, the heart and lungs work, but if you don't know what's going on, can't communicate, can't swallow, can't do anything other than lie there, you are not alive. With modern technology and meds we can sustain people for a long-long time, but that does not transfer to quality of life. In pharmacy school, the one aspect that needs to be considered in all things is quality of life. Death, especially for a Christian, would, and should, be preferred over a "persistent vegetative state." Finally, Congress should NOT have been involved. If the Florida courts were divided and the feeling that the case never got a fair shake existed, then maybe...just maybe...Congress could step in. However, the fact that every court, everyone of them, deemed that the husband had the say and the feeding tube be removed, the fact that Congress stepped-in really irks me. Can we say violation of separation of powers? Now, I don't want to make assumptions, but I'd bet that if it weren't for Jeb being in Florida and Big Brother in the White House, then this does not go to Washington and stays in Florida. Also, I find it interesting that the media plays up the emotional aspect, when every poll I've seen shows 60-75% of Americans support the removal of the feeding tube. And Congress shows what the people want?

All right, I'm off my soap box. Sorry about that. I get a little carried away sometimes. Well, there you have it. I hope to be a little more regular in my postings. Comments are appreciated.

Until next time....

Wednesday, March 16, 2005

Got my game on

So with Spring Break underway, I opted to get away from my normal pharmacy life and spent the day with my brother. We did some mad gaming. The games ranged from hack-n-slash, to WWII shooters, to Futuristic shooters, with the crown pinnacle being "in a galaxy far far away" shooter (ie Battlefront). We played Battlefront a lot! Quite simply, this game rules. In our final 2 hours of playing, we queued up every map and kept a running tab on kill count. We got through all but 1 map and in the end my brother had 433 kills and I had 380ish. Granted, that kid plays the game a little more than I do, so it should be expected that he outshoots me. All-in-all it was an extraordinarily great day. Nearly 4 hours on the road and about 10 hours of gaming fun.

I really need to got buy Star Wars: Battlefront. Plus, we also watched the newest Star Wars trailer....and I think that this movie is going to rock!!!

Sunday, March 13, 2005

March Madness...Baby!!

In my opinion, this is one of the greatest times of the sports year. Championship week....Selection Sunday...then the Big Dance. Great stuff. In fact, I've watched more college basketball this week than the rest of the year combined. Watching 19 year old kids (kinda weird to actually think that most of them are younger than me) play their hearts out is really fun to watch.

The other reason this season is great, is running the NCAA tournament pool. Since my spring break is this week, it is going to be more difficult to get as many people as I've had in the years past, but I'm going to try anyway. With that said, if you are interested (and preferrably if I know you in some way shape or form), drop me a line and I'll give you all the details.

In the words of Dickie V. "That's awesome, baby!!!!"

Wednesday, March 09, 2005

The Democratic Process at work

So yesterday, some of my family (dad, bro/sis-in-law, aunt/uncle, cousin) went with Grandma to the Indiana House of Representatives to have a resolution passed for Grandpa. Grandpa worked there for 20 years as the Head Doorman. My guess is while he was there, he personally knew every Rep., and could tell you nearly everything about them. It was really nice to have them honor Grandpa with the resolution. While we were there, we got to watch the entire session. In other words, we got to see what they get to do outside of committee meetings. Now, there were no bills up for vote/discussion, but there were 2 resolutions and then open discussion. So, we saw both of those passed and then heard 1 democrat and 1 republican politely tell each other to stick it.

I did find it interesting how scripted everything seemed to be. All in all it was a nice, interesting experience.

Sunday, March 06, 2005

Live Telecast

So today, I got to experience something that was quite cool. I was at the TV finals for the Baby Ruth Real Deal PBA tour stop in Indianapolis. If you were one of the smart people, you would have been watching ESPN at 12:30 and might have caught a glimpse of me. I've come to the realization that professional bolwers are some of the most accessible and fun professional athlethes around. At any stop, they are more than willing to sign autographs and chat with the fans. During the show, they throw out free towels/hats/shirts, cheer with the fans, talk with them, and in general, really are nice to the fans. All-in-all it was really really fun.

Mad props to Dad for splitting the cost of attending. That's all for now. Time to get started on my research proposal for biostats/research design (and I really do mean, get started).

Tuesday, March 01, 2005

Review: The Da Vinci Code

Let me first say, this is a GREAT book. It was really, really enjoyable. Quite possibly one of the best novels I have read. It really is a page-turner. I'd plan to read a chapter or two at night, and end up having to force myself to put the book down after 45 min. and requiring sleep for the next day. Dan Brown keeps you interested and wanting to know what happens next. The twists and turns are reasonable and do not leave the reader thinking this is impossible. All in all, I would highly recommend this book to anyone who wants a great read. This will also make quite a fun movie too.

Now, this book has taken a lot of criticism from a lot of different groups. Here's my response, lighten up. It is a fiction book, a novel. By definition, it does not tell a true story. If you read it as such, you will enjoy it. I do not believe the claims that get told, but I found them interesting, especially in the context of the book. The claims made are really bombshells. I won't ruin them for you, in case you read it. Now, if you are catholic, I can understand even more frustration with the basis of the book, but again, remind yourself it is fiction. In fact, it is just as fictious as the Left Behind series. However, I don't remember them catching near the flack this book does...but anyway...

My review: An extremely well-written, page-turning, grand novel. Read it and enjoy it.