Go BU!

Most of you know that I greatly enjoy college basketball. Most of you also know that I like Butler Basketball. So, this past week was one of the greatest for Butler Basketball....ok second best in my experience. Second to their Sweet Sixteen run several years ago...that was the greatest. Anyway, for those of you unaware, Butler beat Notre Dame, then beat Indiana (yep, IU) to advance to the Preseason NIT semi-finals at Madison Square Garden. There they faced #21 Tennessee...and won. It was a great game, excellent close to the first half and a dominating performance in the second half. In the championship game, they faced #23 Gonzaga (who beat #2 UNC in the other semi). In that battle of the Bulldogs, Butler dominated. Had leads in the double digits for the majority of the first half and the second. Yep, Butler won the preseason NIT with wins over Big East, Big Ten, SEC, and two ranked teams. Awesome. Then, in less than 24 hours, won a double overtime game at Hinkle against Kent State.

After all of this awesomeness, Butler has been ranked. #18!! This is the second time that I recall Butler being ranked...the other being when they went 13-0 ('01-'02) before suffering their first loss (finished the season at 26-6...I think). I just hope that BU can continue playing at a high level...they should, but they are also going to get the best shot of every Horizon league team. Over the next few weeks, Butler will play most of the remaining Indiana based schools (Valpo, PU, ISU, Evansville). With a couple of wins, they can lay claim (again) to best college basketball team in Indiana (a pretty solid feat).

Ok, best wishes to Butler Basketball....sorry for taking another week to post.

Happy Turkey Day

Sorry that's it has taken over a week for me to get around to posting. I've been crazy busy for the past week. Last week consisted of a flurry of lab activity, then I had a presentation this past Monday (post-rotational talk) and a test on Tuesday. So all last weekend was studying and putting that presentation together. I was so busy I even forgot to call my Dad on his birthday and my grandma after her wedding. Silly me. But I called when everything was said and done.

In other news, Butler Basketball is going well. Last night, in the preseason NIT they defeated #21 Tennessee. It was a great game, with BU coming back from 13 down in the first half and dominating in the second half. So sweet! The finals against Gonzaga is on Friday night...sadly I'll be a Walgreen's during that game...boo!! I need everyone else to watch ESPN and root them on for me.

Ok, well, that's the highlights. Hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving (aka Turkey Day). Don't eat too much.

Best Sports Time of Year

From an overall sporting perspective, this is close to the greatest time of year. From now until March that is. Here's why:

1) The two greatest sports ever are now back on TV: Bowling and College basketball. The PBA has returned and is on ESPN Sunday afternoons at 1 pm (eastern). I highly recommend watching (at least as a backup to football). College basketball may be the best spectator sport out there. Almost every night there will be some game on and the promise of great matchups down the road. On a CBB note, Butler defeated Notre Dame and IU to advance to the preseason NIT semi-finals. It was wicked sweet, plus it means I get to watch Butler play at least one more televised game.

2) Prime NFL. The season is half over and the contenders are standing out, games begin to mean more, and the Colts are frickin' awesome (at least at offense). The playoffs lie ahead and culminating in the SuperBowl at the end of January.

3) NASCAR. Now NASCAR primarily runs over the summer, but this time of year consist of the highlight, the Chase. That is the final 10 races that determines the champion. It is an exciting time. Plus in February, NASCAR returns with the Daytona 500. Only better NASCAR time is the Brickyard.

4) College Football. Similar to the pros, these are the games that really set the stage. Rivalry games are up-coming in the next couple of weekends that have major National Champ implications (OSU v. Mich, and ND v. USC). Now, if only college football would have a tournament.....

5) Last only because it is the latest of the events and the grand prize...March Madness. I know I'm early to think about the Big Dance, but I did say from now thru March to be the best sporting time ever. I love the NCAA men's tournament. Filling out brackets, running illegal gamb....I mean just having fun with them...he he... Cinderella stories. It's the bestest.

There you have it....now for some shoutouts (aka who you should root for).

PBA: I have preferences, but just watch it. To borrow the golf slogan, "These guys are good."
CBB: Butler, of course. Then any Indiana school, then Big Ten schools, then Duke, then anyone but Kentucky.
NFL: Colts...show the '72 Dolphins who's boss.
CFB: Notre Dame...go Golden Domers....ND v. OSU for the national championship.
NASCAR: Kasey Kahne, but he's kind of out of it now.

Reviews: A DVD, a Movie, and a Book

As stated in my last post, last weekend I saw two movies (rented and theater) and finished a book I was reading. So I like to keep my fans out there informed of my opinion on these things and advise them on whether things are worth doing or not. So, I'll start in the order listed in the title.

Monster House: I rented this because my brother said it was pretty good, and I like cartoons. I had some reservations about it. I had not read anything that said it had much word humor or adult humor (some not slap stick stuff that only adults get). But I rented it and watched it, and it is frickin' funny. I definitely laughed out loud numerous times. Particularly funny is watching the two boy characters act like idiots around the girl character...ah, young boy akwardness. Not as funny as the Toy Story or Shrek movies, but still worth renting. My grade: B +

The Prestige: If you want a purely entertaining, don't think, just enjoy movie, do NOT see this one. If you want a thinking movie that will stick with you for awhile, then this is your cup of tea. It is a decent movie, a little confusing at first (it jumps around chronologically), but you catch on pretty quick. It gives several twists without falling into the trap of too many twists. I figured one twist out, one over time (ie shortly before it was revealed), and the ending twist I never saw coming. But after thinking about it, there were hints, but it just never crossed my mind (in the same way that the Sixth Sense surprises you, but does give some hints...not as cool as the Sixth Sense twist though). The movie has a good point/moral, but is tough to enjoy because the characters are not overly likeable. Recommendation: Worth renting, NOT theater prices (unless at cheapies or $5 club). My grade: B -

And the Book:

Inklings of God by Kurt Bruner: Rarely do I buy and read spiritual books without some sort of recommendation from a trusted source (ie my dad or other minister I trust), but this one I did. Primarily because Barnes and Nobles had a buy 2 get 1 free sale. After picking 2 fiction books and no others that tempted me, I selected this one. The dust jacket sounded decent enough. After reading the introduction and finding out the author was raised Baptist I was worried. No offense, but Baptist theology is NOT for me. However, the book turned out to be really pretty good. In it, Bruner related his experiences and how they brought him to 3 main themes and many "inklings" to the character of God and life. I was pleased and was not annoyed at his logic. It was very non-preachy. It reminded me a little of Philip Yancey's style (present experiences, but let the reader make up their own mind). Recommendation: Not a bad library book or if you find it cheap its ok.

Ok, hope you enjoyed and might make use of this information. If not, that's cool too.

Amendment 42

I did have a test yesterday and saw two movies over the weekend and finished a book. So you can expect some reviews of each of those items in the next couple of days, but today is election day, so it seems right to do another issues topic. This one is generally not quite so controversial as my last one, but still important. Again, CO has many constitutional amendments and referendums on the ballot. Check them all out here. So, amendment 42 deals with the minimum wage.

Overview: Proposal to increase minimum wage from $5.15 to $6.85 for salaried workers, and from $2.13 to $3.85 for workers recieving tips. There is also a provision to increase this wage annually based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI).

My thoughts: I truly believe that the minimum wage should be increased. It has been at the $5.15 level for nearly a decade (possibly 11 years...not really sure, but it's been awhile). Considering the price increase of some necessities (especially gas), it is crazy that the minimum wage hasn't increased. I favor an increase.

But I do have my reservations about this amendment. While I believe the minimum wage should be increased, I'm not sure a constitutional amendment that stipulates yearly increases is the best way to go. The problem with yearly increases means that employers are paying more and therefore have to charge more for product and so the increase gets offset. A one-time increase that will last for several years will be less likely to do this (I think). Also, it is difficult to foresee what the future will bring. Tough economic times down the road could be worsened by mandatory minimum wage increases.

Final thoughts: I think that an increase is needed, and that the minimum wage should be monitored annually. I don't believe that a required yearly increase should be done. I'm not sure how I'm going to vote on this one, I am a little torn over the 2 aspects. I fear a vote against Amendment 42 could result in more years at $5.15, but a vote for Amendment 42 could result in some hard economic times for CO down the road (especially if we continue to elect Presidents like our current one....sorry, had to say it).

Thanks for reading....those reviews will be coming soon.

Amendment 43 / Referendum I (it's long)

As promised, it's issue time. I know that many have been eagerly awaiting this, and now you don't have to wait any longer. Here's a quick heads-up. Colorado has a ton of amendments and referendums on the ballot this year, so I have decided to start there as my guide for issues. Go here if you want to read summaries or the entire legalese versions. So without further ado, let me get on to the issue.

Today I'm going to voice my opinion on Amendment 43 and Referendum I. Quick highlight, Amendment 43 proposes that the state constitution defines marriage as between a man and a woman. Similarly related is Referendum I which would establish same-sex partnerships (domestic partnerships) many of the same rights afforded to spouses. Since these are so closely related, I'm addressing them together.

Amendment 43. I oppose this for several reasons. First, in CO, marriage is already recognized as a man and a woman, there is no need to make it constitutional. Secondly, I do not oppose same-sex marriage. Here is my reasoning. 1) There is no reason a same-sex couple should not be allowed to commit themselves in a legally recognized monogamous loving relationship; 2) It does NOT undermine marriage (sanctity of marriage should start with making it harder to get married, and harder to get divorced...unless abuse is present). Gay couples do not alter or affect the status of other peoples marriages.; 3) It is NOT a religious issue. If it was, then only churches/ministers/priests should be allowed to marry. However, plenty of non-religious people marry on a daily basis. Just go to the justice of the peace and have it done. So I don't view that as a fair argument. To deny marriage of same-sex people on a religious point of view would also mean denying the marriage of millions of others. ; 4) Same-sex couples are not damaging to children. There is no logic that supports that children raised by homosexuals are going to be deliquent. It doesn't necessarily result in more homosexuals either. Just consider that current homosexuals were most likely born to heterosexual couples (ie. environment doesn't tell the whole story).; 5) Of all issues in elections, this rates as nearly unimportant on a state and national scale (unless you are homosexual). Taxes, war, education, illegal immigration are far more important issues. However, gay marriage is constantly being brought up as most important (or a "values vote"). Please ask yourself, what will affect you (and your family) most? Taxes? Economy? Education? or Gay marriage? I don't see how anyone can say that gay marriage will affect them (and the nation) more than those other items (again, unless the person is homosexual).

Now if you agree with a candidates position on Economy and taxes, but disagree on education and war in Iraq, then consider gay marriage as a tie-breaker.

Ok, now for Referendum I. This allows same-sex couples to file and be certified as a domestic parntership. It gives many rights to the couple that is afforded to spouses. Visitation rights in hospitals, family leave, property inheritance rights, dependent status for insurance, incurring debt, and others. I fully support this. It gives rights to a committed same-sex couple. There are criteria for couples to apply and be awarded the certification, as well as, criteria to dissolve the certification. Opponents will claim that this is marriage under a different name, while the support slogan is "It's not marriage, it's basic legal rights." Again, I wonder why some are so against same-sex couples. Should they not be allowed to have these rights to care for and live with a loved one? I for one believe that many of these rights should be awarded.

On the whole, I see gay rights as a civil issue similar to racism (generally less violent though). I think that same-sex couples should be afforded all rights of heterosexual couples. I do not believe that being homosexual is always a choice. I honestly think that the number of people who choose (like choosing Coke over Pepsi) to be homosexual is the minority.

Ok, that's the start. It's tough to get all of my thoughts out here on this, but it gives you the general gist. I appreciate comments (thoughtful, constructive kinds).

"Of course, that's just my opinion. I could be wrong." - Dennis Miller