Not much going on down in the Old Pueblo, though some interesting tidbits...

A couple months back I picked up some new shoes by Steve Madden. It was a bit of an impulse, but Becky said that they were good quality (a friend of hers is supposedly a shoe buff). Overall, I like the shoes, but I don't know if the quality is quite what I was looking for. Just today while lacing my shoes, I literally ripped off part of my lace! It seems to be a bit unreal that I possess the strength to rip off a lace, but I guess shit happens. Luckily for me, the lace was long enough that I don't have to find a new green lace.

Luckily for me, they weren't my shoes for squash. Unfortunately, my shoes don't make me a great player (maybe I should buy some Nikes?) While I am much better than I was a couple months ago when I started, I'm amazed what experience can do. After playing this afternoon, a couple of older guys (>50) started a game. I was amazed about their reaction time, if I had played, I would have gotten schooled. This is definitely a sport where experience makes a difference.

And my last comment, an airplane has been circling campus recently with a banner advertising GEICO insurance. Normally this wouldn't elicit any comments, but I've heard a few people commenting about the picture on the banner. Evidently people are not able to differentiate these two faces...

-Trevor

P.S. Picked up Halo 3, it's good, not great, but worth the money

Genre: Mystery, Alternate History
Author: Michael Chabon
Released: May 2007
Notable Works: Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay and Wonderboys

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Robert Jordan has died at age 58 from a rare blood disorder. Author of the Wheel of Time series, he let many a fan down with his death, leading many to believe that the series would finally see a conclusion in book 12. While he was working on the book, it is unclear at this time (to me at least) of how far along he was (the book was supposed to be published in 2009), so I guess time will tell his the book will be published posthumously similar to J.R.R. Tolkien. As I told Jenny via e-mail after she let me about this story, I would like to say this to all current and budding authors: If you have a good series, please try to move the series along and have a conclusion without making your readers wait 17 years for you to die before finishing your series.

-Trevor

my recent electronic splurge in a couple days. I decided to pick up an Xbox 360, I guess the possibility of not being able to play Halo 3 or Mass Effect this holiday season was just a little bit more than I could take. Also, I think Fifa 2008 when it comes out next month should add some interesting excitement and yelling at my house during get-togethers; I think my friends down here are sick of playing Fifa 2007 in French...

On the chance that there are some sweetheart deals on HDTV's during Black Friday, I decided to pick up the new version with HDMI, that way I have the potential to play my xbox in all of its HD glory, but I think my "shitty" 480i television will suffice for now.

-Trevor

A few of you may remember an earlier study that showed that Sodium Benzoate, a common preservative was shown to kill the mitochondria of yeast cells. A new study now shows that consuming preservatives such as Sodium Benzoate as well as additives such as food coloring is now causing kids to become more hyperactive and unable to concentrate. While they are not claiming this is the cause of ADHD, they are suggesting that hyperactive kids lay off the preservatives.

Well at least now that most schools are taking out vending machines, kids will have no choice but to sit quietly throughout the day listening to their teachers. I was going to write something else, but my mind is wandering, so

-Trevor

As a fairly proud member of the Creative Zen Touch, after reading the announcement about the iPod Touch, I will say it is nice to see a lot of the best features of the iPhone into a standalone player. Watching a video of the iPod Touch definitely opened me to the reality that there are mp3 players that have much more intuitive interface than what I have to deal with. However, I just installed iTunes and faced a problem without it working correctly after installation, but it was easy enough to find the solution online. If I decide to pick one up, this will be a big turning point for me, considering that I have advocated picking up alternatives to the iPod for years now; the basic reason is that the design was not worth the markup compared to competitors, though I believe this may have changed.

I don't know if I will purchase it at the end of the month, I think I may wait to hear more details about the second generation Zune that I hear is supposed to come out around November. One of the features that I like about the current Zuneis the ability to link up with the Xbox 360. While iPods are able to connect to the 360, only audio is accepted, but I haven't decided if that is going to be a killer feature for me, so I guess time will tell.

-Trevor

Sometimes I am always amazed at how people come across my site. I was going through my logs and here a couple of my favorites...

BLOODY NOSE ALLERGIES
Can drinking Mountain Dew cause nose bleeds?
suicide chicken
"wet dog smell" in nose after pneumonia
marijuana swamp cooler

-Trevor

I'm just sort of curious how one gets a "wet dog smell" in their nose after pneumonia and why do people think they can nose bleeds from drinking mountain dew? Unfortunately, Google offered no solutions for me...

Some friends recently got me interested in playing squash. For those who don't know, the game is similar to racquetball, though the ball is considerably less bouncy. Check the Wikipedia link if you still have questions. It is definitely a demanding game for a beginner who hasn't played either racquetball or tennis previously, I am running around the court way too much. While I have yet to win a game against my friends, I think I am improving a little bit, though I still have to really work on my techniques and consistency, and ..., well you get the picture. I will certainly keep the world updated when I finally win a game.

As a side note, I went out with some of my econ colleagues and played ultimate frisbee today. It is surprisingly punishing to play outside in the heat. I am looking forward to playing when it gets a little bit cooler outside.

-Trevor

When I first heard about Senator Craig's alleged lewd behavior, I found it sort of humorous; though a man looking for sex in a men's bathroom seems to be sort of an act of desperation. However, I find myself sad that this issue led directly to his resignation on Saturday. While I am certain that I would not have voted for Senator Craig had I been an Idahoan citizen, I think if I was a good "values voter", I would have worked harder to make sure he did not resign.

Here is my take on the situation at hand. Senator Craig built his campaigns around the strong family values of all good value voters, values that only conservatives seem to possess, and those heathen liberals lack. The problem with running on this platform is that one small mistake can derail a career, there is no forgiveness. My problem with this is that one of the biggest value of Christianity (it seems that only Christianity holds the keys to values) is forgiveness. How can the people who voted him in so quickly throw him aside. While the Mark Foley case was worse than that of Craig, this is very reminiscent of the Ted Haggard case in which while serious, the church community essentially exiled him. How's that for forgiveness? Are the arguments of hypocrites false because they do not practice what they preach? Perhaps their actions indicate that while we all strive for perfection, we can all fall, but hopefully those who have supported them in the past will at least try to help them back up.

In the end this is just merely another example of a knee jerk reaction to something that while immoral, is nonetheless blown way out of proportion. I think that this issue could have instead waited until the next elections, at least letting the citizens of Idaho be able to objectively view his actions.

-Trevor

Genre: Crime / Drama
Rating: R
Director: David Fincher
Starring: Jake Gyllenhaal, Mark Ruffalo, Robert Downey, Jr.
Released: 2007

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During my random trawls through the net, I came across this interesting site, about a couple who are advertising their wedding date on the internet. It is advertising that the two will become "us" in about 11 months. What will people think of next?

-Trevor