Greetings and welcome to the Un-Zone, the site for all things Un. It's December 31st, New Years Eve. According to my clock, in about 15 hours, it will be a brand new year. The end of 2005 and the start of 2006. Whoop-dee-doo. It'll be like 2005, but with some minor details changed. Bush will still wiretap phones without warrants, we'll still be slogging it out in Iraq(what mission was accomplished when the President was playing dressup in a Top Gun fantasy flightsuit?), and the Royals, the Chiefs, and the Chicago Cubs will be all claiming that this is the year that they win a championship. We've all heard it before.
Well, to celebrate the dawning of a New Year, some songs related to the New Year. The first is from Rent. Yes, I'm posting a song from a Broadway musical.
Seasons Of Love
COMPANY
525,600 minutes, 525,000 moments so dear.
525,600 minutes - how do you measure, measure a year?
In daylights, in sunsets, in midnights, in cups of coffee.
In inches, in miles, in laughter, in strife.
In 525,600 minutes - how do you measure a year in the life?
How about love?
How about love?
How about love?
Measure in love.
Seasons of love.
SOLOIST 1
525,600 minutes! 525,000 journeys to plan.
525,600 minutes - how can you measure the life of a woman or man?
SOLOIST 2
In truths that she learned, or in times that he cried.
In bridges he burned, or the way that she died.
COMPANY
It’s time now to sing out, tho the story never ends
Let's celebrate remember a year in the life of friends.
Rememberthe love!
Remember the love!
Remember the love!
Measure in love.
Seasons of love!
Seasons of love.
The second song is more of a post-booze, what the hell did I do last night sort of song. I think that several people will find the words quite apt. The group that wrote this song is called Babyshambles.
32nd of December
Don't talk about it
Don't want to know about it
Arguing with you's no good
You'll be nobody's fool but you'll almost speak...
Don't let me know about it
Don't let me know about the 32nd of December
Oh, thats the night I'm trying so hard to forget
All you do is you come around and make me remember
What I try, oh that I, what I....
Still you talk about it
Still don't wanna know all about it
Anybody want tea?
Anybody, thank you, ah fuck me
But don't speak
And don't talk about it
Don't talk about the 32nd of December
Thats the night im trying so hard to forget
So all you do is you phone me, and I remember
Remember what I try
That I, what I...
You know that I...
You was a stickler for manners
So don't you say goodbye
No, not to a good old friend,
I get by, please I get by
And get by
Argggh, so what you running from?
Still, ahh don't talk about it
Still, don't want to know about it
Don't want to know about it
The 32nd of December
Thats the night im trying so hard to forget
All you do is come around and make me remember
Remember what I try
What I, that I...
... nice reason, I'll go
But they'll never do
They'll never do
Saturday, December 31, 2005
Saturday, December 24, 2005
Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas, Hannukah, Kwanza, Festivus, Saturnalia...
Greetings and welcome to the Un-Zone, the site for all things Un. It's the holiday season and in order to celebrate it fully, Christmas-related websites for your perusal.
"The Twelve Days of Christmas" is a famous Christmas carol. The one where the guy gives all of those gifts and trying to remember what gift goes with what day. Well, according to a British researcher/historian, it was a song about pagan mating rituals before the Catholic Church messed everything up. I can understand where he is coming from. The guy gives expensive gifts and in the end, he is jumping up and down celebrating 'cause he hit the homerun out of the ballpark. Sounds like the modern mating ritual being used today, but without the "I love you baby" and other phrases.
http://www.westpress.co.uk/displayNode.jsp?nodeId=146238&command=displayContent&sourceNode=146064&contentPK=13731825&folderPk=69655
It's a sign of the times. More children now are writing Santa Claus e-mail than letters sent through the mail. Instead of getting disillusioned and saying "Santa Claus doesn't exist," they say "Santa commited a 404 error."
http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,2-2005590650,00.html
Oooh...with gas prices so high and worries about global warming, the government is advising Santa to ditch the reindeer and go with public transportation. Reindeer produce too much methane.
http://news.scotsman.com/scotland.cfm?id=2455542005
Now you can track where your Christmas presents are by using the Internet. It's the NORAD Santa website. Let's just hope with the global war on terrorism, the federal government doesn't consider him a hostile bogey.
http://www.noradsanta.org/index.php
That's all for now.
"The Twelve Days of Christmas" is a famous Christmas carol. The one where the guy gives all of those gifts and trying to remember what gift goes with what day. Well, according to a British researcher/historian, it was a song about pagan mating rituals before the Catholic Church messed everything up. I can understand where he is coming from. The guy gives expensive gifts and in the end, he is jumping up and down celebrating 'cause he hit the homerun out of the ballpark. Sounds like the modern mating ritual being used today, but without the "I love you baby" and other phrases.
http://www.westpress.co.uk/displayNode.jsp?nodeId=146238&command=displayContent&sourceNode=146064&contentPK=13731825&folderPk=69655
It's a sign of the times. More children now are writing Santa Claus e-mail than letters sent through the mail. Instead of getting disillusioned and saying "Santa Claus doesn't exist," they say "Santa commited a 404 error."
http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,2-2005590650,00.html
Oooh...with gas prices so high and worries about global warming, the government is advising Santa to ditch the reindeer and go with public transportation. Reindeer produce too much methane.
http://news.scotsman.com/scotland.cfm?id=2455542005
Now you can track where your Christmas presents are by using the Internet. It's the NORAD Santa website. Let's just hope with the global war on terrorism, the federal government doesn't consider him a hostile bogey.
http://www.noradsanta.org/index.php
That's all for now.
Thursday, December 22, 2005
Some Updates
Greetings and welcome to the Un-Zone, the site for all things related to Un, or at least stuff that seems interesting to the writer of this blog, the Un-Zone. Things are slowing down right now, as it is the holidays and whatnot. Even the writer needs a holiday, especially after another semester of law school, or the train called Cynicism Unlimited. Law school is not recommended if you want to leave there with rosy optimism about the real world. Trust me. You'll begin to feel and see your soul rot away after a while. Just kidding. They nuke it away.
It's time to do websites I found to be interesting. Yeah, I'm lazy. So what? It's my site.
The Patriot Act has been extended for six months. I guess civil liberties aren't as important as they used to be.
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory?id=1431415
In the Irony Department, the following site. Let's say you're an anti-spam crusader. Spam as in junk mail and not the canned meat made by Hormel. Yes, Spam is made out of actual meat (pork muscle tissue) and not mysterious substances like organs. If you want internal organs, try chorizo or headcheese. Chorizo contains lymph nodes and salivary glands. Really.
Anyways, let's say you want to be governor. How do you tell everyone of the great things you have done? You get the e-mails of thousands of citizens and send them an unsolicited mass e-mail. Irony.
http://sptimes.com/2005/12/21/State/Crist_e_mail_draws_ire.shtml#crust
It's that time of the year when the President of the United States pardons deserving people. I wonder if Mr. Libby is on the list... Well, the President used to have a drinking problem but he was saved by the grace of God and Jesus Christ. Who better to pardon than two Tennessee men convicted of making moonshine? More irony.
http://www.rctimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051222/NEWS01/512220393/1006/MTCN0301
The display of the Ten Commandments is considered constitutional. The display also contained the Star Spangled Banner, the United States Constitution, and other historical documents. The court cases on this issue are confusing and they contain not-so-helpful rules on what violates the First Amendment and what doesn't, so please do not consider this in any political manner. What is interesting is the language used in the opinion. I'm not sure if the following phrases sound very judicial: "tiresome" arguments and the ACLU is not a "reasonable person."
http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051221/NEWS01/512210407
Finally, since Christmas is three days away, a story about a person who likes Santa Claus. OK, maybe "like" isn't the right word. Maybe "obsessed" would be better. This is coming from the woman who has collected over 6,000 Santa Claus related items in her house. Well, you can't argue with a person who has the holiday spirit...
http://www.wsbtv.com/holidays/5589090/detail.html
That's all for now.
It's time to do websites I found to be interesting. Yeah, I'm lazy. So what? It's my site.
The Patriot Act has been extended for six months. I guess civil liberties aren't as important as they used to be.
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory?id=1431415
In the Irony Department, the following site. Let's say you're an anti-spam crusader. Spam as in junk mail and not the canned meat made by Hormel. Yes, Spam is made out of actual meat (pork muscle tissue) and not mysterious substances like organs. If you want internal organs, try chorizo or headcheese. Chorizo contains lymph nodes and salivary glands. Really.
Anyways, let's say you want to be governor. How do you tell everyone of the great things you have done? You get the e-mails of thousands of citizens and send them an unsolicited mass e-mail. Irony.
http://sptimes.com/2005/12/21/State/Crist_e_mail_draws_ire.shtml#crust
It's that time of the year when the President of the United States pardons deserving people. I wonder if Mr. Libby is on the list... Well, the President used to have a drinking problem but he was saved by the grace of God and Jesus Christ. Who better to pardon than two Tennessee men convicted of making moonshine? More irony.
http://www.rctimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051222/NEWS01/512220393/1006/MTCN0301
The display of the Ten Commandments is considered constitutional. The display also contained the Star Spangled Banner, the United States Constitution, and other historical documents. The court cases on this issue are confusing and they contain not-so-helpful rules on what violates the First Amendment and what doesn't, so please do not consider this in any political manner. What is interesting is the language used in the opinion. I'm not sure if the following phrases sound very judicial: "tiresome" arguments and the ACLU is not a "reasonable person."
http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051221/NEWS01/512210407
Finally, since Christmas is three days away, a story about a person who likes Santa Claus. OK, maybe "like" isn't the right word. Maybe "obsessed" would be better. This is coming from the woman who has collected over 6,000 Santa Claus related items in her house. Well, you can't argue with a person who has the holiday spirit...
http://www.wsbtv.com/holidays/5589090/detail.html
That's all for now.
Monday, December 19, 2005
Winter Break Update
Greetings and welcome to the Un-Zone, the home of all things Un. Nothing to do with the United Nations, unless I am going to make fun of something amazingly foolish that they have done like Kofi Annan's son and the oil thing. Anyways...
The Kansas City Chiefs have a snowball's chance in hell to make it to the playoffs as an AFC wildcard. They lose to the Cowboys and then lose to the Giants. The CBS commentators were right. The Chiefs' offense can do anything at all...except catch the football. The defense, well, they were horrible as usual. Can't tackle. Do they really think they can bring down Tiki Barber with a weak arm tackle? Come on. That might work against a second-rate running back, but that's TIKI BARBER. It's going to take alot more than that to tackle him. They looked great against some teams, but those teams weren't that great to begin with. If I were optimistic, I could couch it like Bill Clinton with his grand jury testimony, but we all know you can't spell "suck" without KC. This is coming from a Kansas City Chiefs fan. Face it. It's going to take a mighty big miracle. Praying with the televangelist won't work as they can only heal injuries and not bring back the dead.
I discovered some interesting things. One, I discovered that with a sufficient lack of things to do, one will resort to learning how to knit. Yes. Knitting. Two, I discovered that I suck at knitting. It seems easy, but for some reason, I mess up a lot. I always end up adding more knots than I begin with. You have to put the needle into the right hole and pull out correctly to do it right. It sounds easy but with a lack of hand-eye coordination, it becomes a big problem. I'm better off with more academic stuff like reading books and coming up with a politically incorrect school of philosophical thought that will manage to offend just about everyone. The truth hurts. Deal with it.
Barbara Walters has a special coming up about the topic of "Is There Heaven?" It's scary to think that Richard Gere is correct when he says that Heaven and Hell is right now and not some after you die thing. Creepy. You don't get sick when you're dead. You don't worry about money or any of those pesky little things that bother you when you're alive. No racism. No bigotry or hate. No nothing. It's sad when you realize the only equal-opportunity thing that doesn't discriminate based on anything is death. Everyone dies.
On an unrelated note, with the new emphasis on conservative values, people think they're going to Heaven by telling others that they are going to Hell. Go figure.
That's all for now.
That's all for now.
The Kansas City Chiefs have a snowball's chance in hell to make it to the playoffs as an AFC wildcard. They lose to the Cowboys and then lose to the Giants. The CBS commentators were right. The Chiefs' offense can do anything at all...except catch the football. The defense, well, they were horrible as usual. Can't tackle. Do they really think they can bring down Tiki Barber with a weak arm tackle? Come on. That might work against a second-rate running back, but that's TIKI BARBER. It's going to take alot more than that to tackle him. They looked great against some teams, but those teams weren't that great to begin with. If I were optimistic, I could couch it like Bill Clinton with his grand jury testimony, but we all know you can't spell "suck" without KC. This is coming from a Kansas City Chiefs fan. Face it. It's going to take a mighty big miracle. Praying with the televangelist won't work as they can only heal injuries and not bring back the dead.
I discovered some interesting things. One, I discovered that with a sufficient lack of things to do, one will resort to learning how to knit. Yes. Knitting. Two, I discovered that I suck at knitting. It seems easy, but for some reason, I mess up a lot. I always end up adding more knots than I begin with. You have to put the needle into the right hole and pull out correctly to do it right. It sounds easy but with a lack of hand-eye coordination, it becomes a big problem. I'm better off with more academic stuff like reading books and coming up with a politically incorrect school of philosophical thought that will manage to offend just about everyone. The truth hurts. Deal with it.
Barbara Walters has a special coming up about the topic of "Is There Heaven?" It's scary to think that Richard Gere is correct when he says that Heaven and Hell is right now and not some after you die thing. Creepy. You don't get sick when you're dead. You don't worry about money or any of those pesky little things that bother you when you're alive. No racism. No bigotry or hate. No nothing. It's sad when you realize the only equal-opportunity thing that doesn't discriminate based on anything is death. Everyone dies.
On an unrelated note, with the new emphasis on conservative values, people think they're going to Heaven by telling others that they are going to Hell. Go figure.
That's all for now.
That's all for now.
Friday, December 16, 2005
And The Insanity Will Soon End...For Now
Greetings and welcome to the Un-Zone, the site for all things related to Un. No, this is not a site relating to the United Nations.
The insanity called Law School Final Exams is nearly over. Just one more...one more. Business Associations. Woohoo. Feel the excitement? When this is over, I shall have an entire month to not think about law school until January. Then the process will repeat itself again until May 2007 when I graduate. Then comes the real world and 80 hour work weeks doing "stuff." This generally means doing research for a partner at the law firm. But at least you get paid. When you finally become partner after selling your soul and all sense of an actual life for thirty years, you get paid more. Then you enjoy it while it lasts before you die. The end. Sorry. That was a little too sarcastic. No. Not sarcastic enough.
After having my articles published in the Brief-Brief, I now have a reputation for being a person who doesn't give a damn. At least when it comes to political correctness and other things involving law school. According to one person, I've probably pissed off the law school professors and some hardcore Christian fundamentalists. At least those who actually believe that Intelligent Design is actual science, which it isn't by the way. By the way, they have an odd definition of tolerance, one of the supposed Christian virtures. It's tolerance if you promote Christianity, but if you disagree, you're an anti-Christian, Godless person. Interesting. What would Jesus think about that? He might beat up a relgion school professor to teach a lesson on real Christianity. Just kidding.
People found the article funny. Then I reminded them that it most likely was true. That put a damper on it.
The same person said the in the satire I wrote, I came off like an arrogant SOB. He added that it was fine as I was correct. Apparently, it's not arrogance if you're correct. If you're wrong, however, you're an arrogant SOB. I thanked him.
This got me to thinking. I should make a religion or a philosophy and call it something politically incorrect. I think the motto would be "I'm right and you're wrong. Get used to it." The whole purpose would be to spread enlightenment by telling it like it is to everyone, whether or not they like it. No holds barred. If you want to be sarcastic, go ahead. Socrates on steroids. Being the proverbial gadfly. Think of Judge Judy or maybe Doctor Phil when he gets on a roll. No, Judge Judy but even meaner and more sarcastic and biting.
Either that, or a television judge like Judge Judy. My own TV show. That would be cool. I would get paid to tell people that they are wrong and their case is a waste of my time. Or a stand up comedian like Chris Rock and point out that everyone is messed up.
Well, it's time to go to the Business Assoications final. Oh for joy.
That's all for now.
The insanity called Law School Final Exams is nearly over. Just one more...one more. Business Associations. Woohoo. Feel the excitement? When this is over, I shall have an entire month to not think about law school until January. Then the process will repeat itself again until May 2007 when I graduate. Then comes the real world and 80 hour work weeks doing "stuff." This generally means doing research for a partner at the law firm. But at least you get paid. When you finally become partner after selling your soul and all sense of an actual life for thirty years, you get paid more. Then you enjoy it while it lasts before you die. The end. Sorry. That was a little too sarcastic. No. Not sarcastic enough.
After having my articles published in the Brief-Brief, I now have a reputation for being a person who doesn't give a damn. At least when it comes to political correctness and other things involving law school. According to one person, I've probably pissed off the law school professors and some hardcore Christian fundamentalists. At least those who actually believe that Intelligent Design is actual science, which it isn't by the way. By the way, they have an odd definition of tolerance, one of the supposed Christian virtures. It's tolerance if you promote Christianity, but if you disagree, you're an anti-Christian, Godless person. Interesting. What would Jesus think about that? He might beat up a relgion school professor to teach a lesson on real Christianity. Just kidding.
People found the article funny. Then I reminded them that it most likely was true. That put a damper on it.
The same person said the in the satire I wrote, I came off like an arrogant SOB. He added that it was fine as I was correct. Apparently, it's not arrogance if you're correct. If you're wrong, however, you're an arrogant SOB. I thanked him.
This got me to thinking. I should make a religion or a philosophy and call it something politically incorrect. I think the motto would be "I'm right and you're wrong. Get used to it." The whole purpose would be to spread enlightenment by telling it like it is to everyone, whether or not they like it. No holds barred. If you want to be sarcastic, go ahead. Socrates on steroids. Being the proverbial gadfly. Think of Judge Judy or maybe Doctor Phil when he gets on a roll. No, Judge Judy but even meaner and more sarcastic and biting.
Either that, or a television judge like Judge Judy. My own TV show. That would be cool. I would get paid to tell people that they are wrong and their case is a waste of my time. Or a stand up comedian like Chris Rock and point out that everyone is messed up.
Well, it's time to go to the Business Assoications final. Oh for joy.
That's all for now.
Tuesday, December 13, 2005
Another Update from the Writer
Greetings and welcome to the Un-Zone, the official site of all things Un. It's time for another update to this site.
Estates and Trusts final finished on Saturday. It sucked. It really sucked. My brain still hurts thinking about it. I thought his Property I final was horrible with all of those Rule Against Perpetuities questions, but this one made that one look like a cakewalk.
Constitutional Law final finished on Monday. I actually made an outline for that final as my notes were kind of messy. I consensed sixty pages into seven. It came in handy as I did not need to wade through the notes during the test.
I have a Business Associations final on Friday. That should be fun. Nothing like remembering a billion different things about agency theory, partnerships, the different limited liability organizations, and corporations. That will not be fun. Thankfully, it is not a mandatory course. Which is the only good thing about that course at this moment.
The Christmas season is off and running. Or is it holiday season. Or Hannukah or Kwanza or...I don't know. I'm not a big fan of political correctness. Which made this article I found on the Internet pretty funny. Supposedly, the questions are based upon actual incidents, but they seem too funny to be true. Then again, the truth is stranger than fiction as fiction has to make sense.
http://www.townhall.com/opinion/columns/johnleo/2005/12/12/178651.html
Politicians have a reputation for being lying, stealing crooks. And this college class president shows potential as a future congressman.
http://www.wytv.com/news/regional/2075952.html
Another item added to the list of things the government cannot do well. This list includes organizing hurricane relief, helping the poor, and telling the truth. Especially the last one. Now you can include medical marijuana grown by the federal government. As one University of Massachusetts professor stated: "The government's marijuana just isn't strong enough." I hear that the Canadians grow some very potent stuff. Go figure.
http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20051212/marijuanamonopoly_20051212/20051212?hub=Health
I see dead people...voting in Tennessee and not in Chicago. The spirit of the former Mayor Daley has struck in Tennessee. In addition to a dead person voting, three convicted felons and a person living outside the district casted a ballot. This voter fraud occured during a special election to replace the former senator who resigned after being indicted on bribery charges. Interestingly enough, his brother won by 13 votes. Go figure.
http://www.tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051212/NEWS01/512120347/1001
That's all for now.
Estates and Trusts final finished on Saturday. It sucked. It really sucked. My brain still hurts thinking about it. I thought his Property I final was horrible with all of those Rule Against Perpetuities questions, but this one made that one look like a cakewalk.
Constitutional Law final finished on Monday. I actually made an outline for that final as my notes were kind of messy. I consensed sixty pages into seven. It came in handy as I did not need to wade through the notes during the test.
I have a Business Associations final on Friday. That should be fun. Nothing like remembering a billion different things about agency theory, partnerships, the different limited liability organizations, and corporations. That will not be fun. Thankfully, it is not a mandatory course. Which is the only good thing about that course at this moment.
The Christmas season is off and running. Or is it holiday season. Or Hannukah or Kwanza or...I don't know. I'm not a big fan of political correctness. Which made this article I found on the Internet pretty funny. Supposedly, the questions are based upon actual incidents, but they seem too funny to be true. Then again, the truth is stranger than fiction as fiction has to make sense.
http://www.townhall.com/opinion/columns/johnleo/2005/12/12/178651.html
Politicians have a reputation for being lying, stealing crooks. And this college class president shows potential as a future congressman.
http://www.wytv.com/news/regional/2075952.html
Another item added to the list of things the government cannot do well. This list includes organizing hurricane relief, helping the poor, and telling the truth. Especially the last one. Now you can include medical marijuana grown by the federal government. As one University of Massachusetts professor stated: "The government's marijuana just isn't strong enough." I hear that the Canadians grow some very potent stuff. Go figure.
http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20051212/marijuanamonopoly_20051212/20051212?hub=Health
I see dead people...voting in Tennessee and not in Chicago. The spirit of the former Mayor Daley has struck in Tennessee. In addition to a dead person voting, three convicted felons and a person living outside the district casted a ballot. This voter fraud occured during a special election to replace the former senator who resigned after being indicted on bribery charges. Interestingly enough, his brother won by 13 votes. Go figure.
http://www.tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051212/NEWS01/512120347/1001
That's all for now.
Thursday, December 08, 2005
Snow and Another Update
Greeting and welcome back to the Un-Zone, the official site for all things Un, as if that was a major surprise to anyone who regularly reads this blog.
I have a Commercial Law final today. I get the odd feeling that no matter what I write down in the essay section, I am going to get points taken off. That includes the possibility I put down the correct answer based upon the facts and the current law. To prepare for this final, I did some studying and I went outside to enjoy the snow. That was fun...snow.
Some words of advice for the weather people. Don't include in predictions on how much snow there will be. It's much simpler if you just say "It's going to snow." I think I saw the predictions on snowfall amount change once every time the news came on.
Some advice for the news channels out there. Your weather updates are pretty stupid, not to mention useless. Those updates...holy crap...IT'S STILL SNOWING! Didn't the weather person say it was going to snow ALL DAY, like thirty seconds ago? And that's the "breaking news update"? I never would have guessed that. Nor would I have guessed that "the roads are slick" and that "there was an accident due to weather conditions." Of course there are going to be accidents when it snows or sleets or whatever. That update is not worth the time to interrupt regularly scheduled programming. We need the news to tell us that it's still snowing. I could have just looked out the window to figure that out. Excuse me for that rant...
Cue up the dramatic movie and the apocalyptic movies like Deep Impact, Space Cowboys, and Armageddon because according to scientists and the fear-mongering thing we call the media, there's a slight chance that a giant asteroid will hit the Earth in 2037. Maybe. Wake me up in 30 years...
http://www.guardian.co.uk/space/article/0,14493,1660485,00.html
This story lends credibility to the notion that in college athletics, you can get away with a whole bunch of stuff and still keep your job as long as you win. This also applies to professional sports also. The coach of Colorado football finally was fired, not because of the worst recruiting scandals or because of his statements involving a female kicker alleging sexual harassment (including rape), but because he lost too many games. Go figure. Yeah, let the flaming begin.
http://www.denverpost.com/sports/ci_3285822
Add another corporation to the long list of corporate scandals. The major airlines are going bankrupt. They can't pay for many things. What is an airline to do? If you're Delta, you illegally raid a trust fund and claim it is solvent. When you get caught, you have your spokesperson give a bunch of canned BS. To quote from the article:
http://quote.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=conewsstory&refer=conews&tkr=DAL:US&sid=apXkt0mG0cyI
Finally...some more obvious news. A survey said that a majority of Americans hate their job. Wow. Isn't that an amazing result?
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10372274/from/RS.3/
That's all for now.
I have a Commercial Law final today. I get the odd feeling that no matter what I write down in the essay section, I am going to get points taken off. That includes the possibility I put down the correct answer based upon the facts and the current law. To prepare for this final, I did some studying and I went outside to enjoy the snow. That was fun...snow.
Some words of advice for the weather people. Don't include in predictions on how much snow there will be. It's much simpler if you just say "It's going to snow." I think I saw the predictions on snowfall amount change once every time the news came on.
Some advice for the news channels out there. Your weather updates are pretty stupid, not to mention useless. Those updates...holy crap...IT'S STILL SNOWING! Didn't the weather person say it was going to snow ALL DAY, like thirty seconds ago? And that's the "breaking news update"? I never would have guessed that. Nor would I have guessed that "the roads are slick" and that "there was an accident due to weather conditions." Of course there are going to be accidents when it snows or sleets or whatever. That update is not worth the time to interrupt regularly scheduled programming. We need the news to tell us that it's still snowing. I could have just looked out the window to figure that out. Excuse me for that rant...
Cue up the dramatic movie and the apocalyptic movies like Deep Impact, Space Cowboys, and Armageddon because according to scientists and the fear-mongering thing we call the media, there's a slight chance that a giant asteroid will hit the Earth in 2037. Maybe. Wake me up in 30 years...
http://www.guardian.co.uk/space/article/0,14493,1660485,00.html
This story lends credibility to the notion that in college athletics, you can get away with a whole bunch of stuff and still keep your job as long as you win. This also applies to professional sports also. The coach of Colorado football finally was fired, not because of the worst recruiting scandals or because of his statements involving a female kicker alleging sexual harassment (including rape), but because he lost too many games. Go figure. Yeah, let the flaming begin.
http://www.denverpost.com/sports/ci_3285822
Add another corporation to the long list of corporate scandals. The major airlines are going bankrupt. They can't pay for many things. What is an airline to do? If you're Delta, you illegally raid a trust fund and claim it is solvent. When you get caught, you have your spokesperson give a bunch of canned BS. To quote from the article:
Yesterday, the Official Committee of Delta Retirees filed a motion in the Delta bankruptcy case to end Delta Air Lines' improper use of funds from a separate Disability and Survivors Trust. Delta had spent over $30 million of the Trust funds in the last three years for employee severance benefits, even though the Trust documents prohibited those payments since March 2002.A quote from the Delta spokesperson:
In a filing during the first week of the bankruptcy, Delta had claimed the Trust was "fully funded," but financials provided since show the Trust has an asset shortfall of more than $212 million. The Committee also raised questions in its motion about Delta's separate amendment of its benefit plans, two days before the bankruptcy, to retroactively authorize $22 million in 2004 payments out of the Trust for active workers' sick pay.
The Committee is seeking relief under a bankruptcy statute that protects disability and death benefits of retired workers. "The Trust was set up to pay specific benefits for widows, orphans, and the disabled," said the Committee's lawyer Dean Gloster of Farella Braun + Martel. "Not as a fund for Delta operating expenses."
Say what? Delta brought the "mistake" to the attention of the Court? Wait a minute...Delta told the judge they were illegally taking funds? It just took "only" three years and after financial documents were provided and accounting done and...Maybe Delta should change their motto to "We love to lie and it shows.""Delta is a world-class organization that has, for almost all of its history, tried to do the right thing for the people who worked so hard as part of the Delta family, and to do the right thing for their families. In this instance, Delta made a mistake, and Delta did something wrong. We have brought
that mistake to their attention and to the attention of the Court. We fully expect that Delta will now do the right thing and correct this wrong."
http://quote.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=conewsstory&refer=conews&tkr=DAL:US&sid=apXkt0mG0cyI
Finally...some more obvious news. A survey said that a majority of Americans hate their job. Wow. Isn't that an amazing result?
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10372274/from/RS.3/
That's all for now.
Tuesday, December 06, 2005
Oh Joyful Update
Welcome and greetings from the Un-Zone. One final down, four more to go. Evidence is finally over. Yay. Now it's time to slog through Commercial Law, Estates and Trusts, Constitutional Law and Business Associations I. Ain't that going to be fun?
Christmas light displays. Quite possibly, this family has way too much time on their hands or they sure do like their light displays. 25,000 lights set to Trans-Siberian Orchestra. It's real, all real and not some crazy hoax. Video to boot.
http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2005512050331
The Salvation Army every year does their bell ringing. Some people are total Grinches and steal themoney inside. In one case, this leads to bad karma. As in crashing a stolen car containing alcohol and drugs, plus the kettle into a canal and drowning.
http://www.tampatrib.com/MGBOFV1MVGE.html
Google and their Ten Golden Rules.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10296177/site/newsweek/
You gotta love the CIA and their way with words. As if the government can't sound any more ludicrous. Waterboarding is not torture, despite the Army saying it was during Vietnam. Now they are explaining "rendition" or seizing alleged terrorist suspects and transferring them for interrogation. If they make an error, as in seizing an innocent person, the CIA "punishes" itself for making this mistake. To quote from the article:
One supposed suspect who turned out to be innocent, was held for five months in some prison in an unknown location becauseMasri was held for five months largely because the head of the CIA's Counterterrorist Center's al Qaeda unit "believed he was someone else". This person "didn't really know. She just had a hunch." And these people work at the "Central Intelligence Agency." You would think they had better inteligence than "a hunch."
Then again, if I were to be sarcastic, President Bush was right when he said that the US doesn't torture. They send suspects to other countries where those people do the torturing. There's a BIG difference there.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/12/03/AR2005120301476.html?nav=rss_email/components
That's all for now. Time to study for Commercial Law.
Christmas light displays. Quite possibly, this family has way too much time on their hands or they sure do like their light displays. 25,000 lights set to Trans-Siberian Orchestra. It's real, all real and not some crazy hoax. Video to boot.
http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2005512050331
The Salvation Army every year does their bell ringing. Some people are total Grinches and steal themoney inside. In one case, this leads to bad karma. As in crashing a stolen car containing alcohol and drugs, plus the kettle into a canal and drowning.
http://www.tampatrib.com/MGBOFV1MVGE.html
Google and their Ten Golden Rules.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10296177/site/newsweek/
You gotta love the CIA and their way with words. As if the government can't sound any more ludicrous. Waterboarding is not torture, despite the Army saying it was during Vietnam. Now they are explaining "rendition" or seizing alleged terrorist suspects and transferring them for interrogation. If they make an error, as in seizing an innocent person, the CIA "punishes" itself for making this mistake. To quote from the article:
One official said about three dozen names fall in that category; others believe it is fewer. The list includes several people whose identities were offered by al Qaeda figures during CIA interrogations, officials said. One turned out to be an innocent college professor who had given the al Qaeda member a bad grade, one official said.
"They picked up the wrong people, who had no information. In many, many cases there was only some vague association" with terrorism, one CIA officer said.
One supposed suspect who turned out to be innocent, was held for five months in some prison in an unknown location becauseMasri was held for five months largely because the head of the CIA's Counterterrorist Center's al Qaeda unit "believed he was someone else". This person "didn't really know. She just had a hunch." And these people work at the "Central Intelligence Agency." You would think they had better inteligence than "a hunch."
Then again, if I were to be sarcastic, President Bush was right when he said that the US doesn't torture. They send suspects to other countries where those people do the torturing. There's a BIG difference there.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/12/03/AR2005120301476.html?nav=rss_email/components
That's all for now. Time to study for Commercial Law.
Monday, December 05, 2005
Time For An Update
Greetings and welcome to the Un-Zone, now on a semi-irregular, consistently inconsistent updating schedule as it is Finals Season in Green Hall. So, instead of updating on a regular basis, I am spending much time reviewing notes to get ready for finals. Isn't that fun? First up is the wonderful world of Evidence. That should be fun.
I spent Saturday and Sunday watching football of all sorts. Texas v. Colorado (blowout), USC v. UCLA (rivalry game that was another blowout), Florida State v. Virginia Tech (a great game), and KC v. Denver (Go Chiefs). Then reality struck and it was time for review. Yes, I am actually studying for finals.
There are a lot of awards given to football players in college. You've got the Heisman, the Butkus, etc. This update is all about websites I've found, but with semi-catchy award titles for each site.
The Duh Award for Most Obvious Story goes to the Christian Science Monitor for their insightful opinion article entitled "A Culture of Bribery in Congress." John McCain once said, "If hypocrisy was gold, then Congress would be Fort Knox." Mark Twain noted that "Congress is the only criminal class" in America. As if ordinary Americans didn't know that people in Congress had a reputation for being corrupt and unethical...
http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/1202/p08s01-comv.html
The Future Dumb Criminal Award, the Be Afraid for the Future of America, and Most Likely to end up on COPS Award goes to a College of Charleston student. He told the police that he and his friend were kidnapped after a night of heavy drinking, kidnapped, and forced to smoke crack at knifepoint. He later confessed that the entire story was a lie, except for the smoking crack part.
http://www.charleston.net/stories/?newsID=54708§ion=localnews
The Interesting but Self-Defeating Use of Mathematics Award goes to the scientist who used mathematics to stabilize a wobbly table without resorting to the use of beer coasters or other shims. The table still won't be horizontal, but it won't move.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/items/200512/1524163.htm?melbourne
The Country Roads Lead to Rocky Mountain High Award goes to the drug lords in the Appalachian Mountains of Kentucky, not West Virginia. Sorry, John Denver fans. Senior citizens are the new drug dealers out there. They can sell their prescription drugs for $10 a pill and well, some are sorely tempted to make a deal or two to those addicted to pain killers. I guess that throws out all of those traditional "drug dealer" profiles out of whack.
http://www.wkyt.com/Global/story.asp?S=4197306
That's all for now.
I spent Saturday and Sunday watching football of all sorts. Texas v. Colorado (blowout), USC v. UCLA (rivalry game that was another blowout), Florida State v. Virginia Tech (a great game), and KC v. Denver (Go Chiefs). Then reality struck and it was time for review. Yes, I am actually studying for finals.
There are a lot of awards given to football players in college. You've got the Heisman, the Butkus, etc. This update is all about websites I've found, but with semi-catchy award titles for each site.
The Duh Award for Most Obvious Story goes to the Christian Science Monitor for their insightful opinion article entitled "A Culture of Bribery in Congress." John McCain once said, "If hypocrisy was gold, then Congress would be Fort Knox." Mark Twain noted that "Congress is the only criminal class" in America. As if ordinary Americans didn't know that people in Congress had a reputation for being corrupt and unethical...
http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/1202/p08s01-comv.html
The Future Dumb Criminal Award, the Be Afraid for the Future of America, and Most Likely to end up on COPS Award goes to a College of Charleston student. He told the police that he and his friend were kidnapped after a night of heavy drinking, kidnapped, and forced to smoke crack at knifepoint. He later confessed that the entire story was a lie, except for the smoking crack part.
http://www.charleston.net/stories/?newsID=54708§ion=localnews
The Interesting but Self-Defeating Use of Mathematics Award goes to the scientist who used mathematics to stabilize a wobbly table without resorting to the use of beer coasters or other shims. The table still won't be horizontal, but it won't move.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/items/200512/1524163.htm?melbourne
The Country Roads Lead to Rocky Mountain High Award goes to the drug lords in the Appalachian Mountains of Kentucky, not West Virginia. Sorry, John Denver fans. Senior citizens are the new drug dealers out there. They can sell their prescription drugs for $10 a pill and well, some are sorely tempted to make a deal or two to those addicted to pain killers. I guess that throws out all of those traditional "drug dealer" profiles out of whack.
http://www.wkyt.com/Global/story.asp?S=4197306
That's all for now.
Thursday, December 01, 2005
More Random Links
When real life imitates an Evidence hypothetical...well, at least with the professor I have.
http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/11/30/heroin.ring/index.html
The Top 50 Independent Films according to Empire Online. They actually have films that I actually watched before.
http://www.empireonline.co.uk/features/50greatestindependent/50-41.asp
Lenny Kravitz might play Jimmy "Are You Experienced?" Hendrix in biopic. If this movie is made, how many people will want their $9 back?
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,176988,00.html
He thought that it would be in "good humor" but the New Orleans mall found it to be in poor taste. It's the little things that count like the "You loot, we shoot" graffiti on the miniature refrigerators and the fake hurricane debris.
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,177222,00.html
Man involved in car chase crashes into...um...office building containing law firm specializing in personal injury cases.
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,177222,00.html
http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/11/30/heroin.ring/index.html
The Top 50 Independent Films according to Empire Online. They actually have films that I actually watched before.
http://www.empireonline.co.uk/features/50greatestindependent/50-41.asp
Lenny Kravitz might play Jimmy "Are You Experienced?" Hendrix in biopic. If this movie is made, how many people will want their $9 back?
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,176988,00.html
He thought that it would be in "good humor" but the New Orleans mall found it to be in poor taste. It's the little things that count like the "You loot, we shoot" graffiti on the miniature refrigerators and the fake hurricane debris.
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,177222,00.html
Man involved in car chase crashes into...um...office building containing law firm specializing in personal injury cases.
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,177222,00.html
Wednesday, November 30, 2005
US Military = Independent Journalists in Iraq
Just when you thought it couldn't get any worse when it came to the United States government changing the definitions. First came "enemy combattants." Next came the redefinition of "torture." And now, it's "independent journalist" and "unbiased media." Wait, that's not something new in the United States. Try Fox News or the people touting the No Child Left Behind Act as an example. Well...anyways. According to the United States military, as part of their anti-insurgent campaign, are redefining what is an "independent journalist" and "unbiased media." Just read the following quotes from a newspaper story:
You've just got to love the irony in that last paragraph.
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2002654715_articles30.html
As part of an information offensive in Iraq, the U.S. military is secretly paying Iraqi newspapers to publish stories written by U.S. troops in an effort to burnish the image of the U.S. mission in Iraq.
..........
While the articles are basically truthful, they present only one side of events and omit information that might reflect poorly on the U.S. or Iraqi governments, officials said. Records and interviews indicate that the U.S. has paid Iraqi newspapers to run dozens of such articles — with headlines such as "Iraqis Insist on Living Despite Terrorism" — since the effort began this year.
..........
The military's effort to disseminate propaganda in the Iraqi media is taking place even as U.S. officials are vowing to promote democratic principles, political transparency and freedom of speech to a country emerging from decades of dictatorship and corruption. It comes as the State Department is training Iraqi reporters in basic journalism skills and Western media ethics, including one workshop titled "The Role of Press in a Democratic Society."
You've just got to love the irony in that last paragraph.
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2002654715_articles30.html
Random Sites I've Found
Greetings and welcome back to the Un-Zone, the semi-regular update to all things Un, as well as stuff I find interesting. NaNoWriMo 2005 is over...finally, at least for me. I've gotten my 50,000 words and finished a relatively coherent novella to boot. Now, it's time for me to make an attempt at studying for this semester's lovely law school finals. Wow, I've actually made a sentence with the words "study" and "law school" together.
It's time to go back to the regular format of this blog. No more updates to Gray Hall. I'm doing the normal(at least for this site) format.
An interesting court case that proves that bizarre court cases do not happen just in the United States. Someone complained when they got three speeding tickets. They tested the camera on a brick wall and the wall was moving at 1 kilometer per hour. Apparently, stationary objects aren't stationary. It must be continental drift.
http://www.sundaytimes.co.za/zones/sundaytimesNEW/newsst/newsst1133249856.aspx
Proof that some scientists have too much time on their hands. They might also win an IgNobel Prize to boot. Monkeys have accents. Enough said.
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,10117,17413711-13762,00.html
A dumb criminal story. A man wants drugs. He dials a number and asks for drugs. The person at the other end says he'll be coming over. Man who called gets promptly arrested. The person he called? A police officer. Not very smart.
http://www.lincolntimesnews.com/Default.asp?Section=20&VA=8813
Former State Department official on Dick Cheney's troika of pro-Iraq War people:
It's time to go back to the regular format of this blog. No more updates to Gray Hall. I'm doing the normal(at least for this site) format.
An interesting court case that proves that bizarre court cases do not happen just in the United States. Someone complained when they got three speeding tickets. They tested the camera on a brick wall and the wall was moving at 1 kilometer per hour. Apparently, stationary objects aren't stationary. It must be continental drift.
http://www.sundaytimes.co.za/zones/sundaytimesNEW/newsst/newsst1133249856.aspx
Proof that some scientists have too much time on their hands. They might also win an IgNobel Prize to boot. Monkeys have accents. Enough said.
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,10117,17413711-13762,00.html
A dumb criminal story. A man wants drugs. He dials a number and asks for drugs. The person at the other end says he'll be coming over. Man who called gets promptly arrested. The person he called? A police officer. Not very smart.
http://www.lincolntimesnews.com/Default.asp?Section=20&VA=8813
Former State Department official on Dick Cheney's troika of pro-Iraq War people:
"I have to declare him a moron, an idiot or a nefarious bastard."
Rumsfeld's beliefs on the power of the President:
"the president of the United States is all-powerful, that as commander in chief
the president of the United States can do anything he damn well pleases"
On the intelligence that led to the fateful decision(to quote from CNN):
"Wilkerson criticized the CIA and other agencies for allowing mishandled and bogus information to underpin that speech and the whole administration case for war.
He said he has almost, but not quite, concluded that Cheney and others in the administration deliberately ignored evidence of bad intelligence and looked only at what supported their case for war.
A newly declassified Defense Intelligence Agency document from February 2002 said that an al Qaeda military instructor was probably misleading his interrogators about training that the terror group's members received from Iraq on chemical, biological and radiological weapons. Ibn al-Shaykh al-Libi reportedly recanted his statements in January 2004. (Full Story)
A presidential intelligence commission also dissected how spy agencies handled an Iraqi refugee who was a German intelligence source. Codenamed Curveball, this man who was a leading source on Iraq's purported mobile biological weapons labs was found to be a fabricator and alcoholic."http://www.cnn.com/2005/POLITICS/11/29/wilkerson.interview.ap/index.html#101
That's all for now.
Tuesday, November 29, 2005
The End of Gray Hall
Sadly to day, at least for me, it is the final chapter of the Gray Hall story. I'm going to miss my main character and all the other people I've written about in this story. But there is next year to do NaNoWriMo. I might bring them back, or I might do something different.
Today's post is about Law School parties involving beer and other stuff.
Today's post is about Law School parties involving beer and other stuff.
Monday, November 28, 2005
Chapter Fifteen is Up and Running
NaNoWriMo is almost over. The Gray Hall story is almost over. One more chapter to write and it is done.
It's official. I have done it. At last count (updated today): 53, 562 words. I have one more chapter left. And it, the story, will be over.
Today's Gray Hall topic, imagining Jake with children...
Now it's time to figure out what to write next year. Wait. Study for finals. Yes. I have Winter Break to decide what to write about.
It's official. I have done it. At last count (updated today): 53, 562 words. I have one more chapter left. And it, the story, will be over.
Today's Gray Hall topic, imagining Jake with children...
Now it's time to figure out what to write next year. Wait. Study for finals. Yes. I have Winter Break to decide what to write about.
Saturday, November 26, 2005
Nearing the End
Chapter 14 is posted. NaNoWriMo is nearly over. I think I have over 50K words typed at this moment. I'll probably check soon.
In Chapter 14, Jake does a talent show. You just have to read it.
In Chapter 14, Jake does a talent show. You just have to read it.
Friday, November 25, 2005
And Yet Another Update
I've posted up Chapter Thirteen of the Gray Hall saga. It's all about March Madness, that period of non-stop college basketball. So I cheated and not posted up any names, but just the seed numbers. I think it would have been freaky if I actually posted up actual team names and things went out as I predicted in this chapter.
That's all.
That's all.
And Yet Another Update
I've posted up Chapter Thirteen of the Gray Hall saga. It's all about March Madness, that period of non-stop college basketball. So I cheated and not posted up any names, but just the seed numbers. I think it would have been freaky if I actually posted up actual team names and things went out as I predicted in this chapter.
That's all.
That's all.
Thursday, November 24, 2005
Another Update for the Holidays
It's another update to Gray Hall. It's an ode to the website called Facebook. I also maul some Shakespeare to add the right touch of poetic value to the piece.
Happy Thanksgiving.
Happy Thanksgiving.
Tuesday, November 22, 2005
Chapter 12 Is Up and Running...
I just posted up Chapter Twelve of the Gray Hall story. The main character celebrates his birthday. In addition, one also learns about his habit of waking up at 6:00 AM every day, without fail, despite falling asleep at 2:00 the previous night and functioning perfectly well the entire day. You also learn about his love of having his eggs cooked a certain way and the method he uses to get them that way. Yeah, and there's something about Facebook and other random stuff. What else would you, the constant reader expect?
I had fun last night. Nothing like celebrating a birthday than with well, a two hour long Evidence review session. Woohoo. Enough said.
Yeah, I posted up a handy-dandy, super-nifty NaNoWriMo dynamic word counter. It keeps track of lots of stuff like word count and how much time is left until the entire thing is over. I'm ahead of schedule. I probably won't be finished with the saga however. This is going until I think it is done.
Another thing. I posted up a section. Then I didn't like it. And I modified it. Then I...well, the final results are posted up. I stopped myself. So, what you see on Gray Hall is the results of being too picky.
That's all for now.
I had fun last night. Nothing like celebrating a birthday than with well, a two hour long Evidence review session. Woohoo. Enough said.
Yeah, I posted up a handy-dandy, super-nifty NaNoWriMo dynamic word counter. It keeps track of lots of stuff like word count and how much time is left until the entire thing is over. I'm ahead of schedule. I probably won't be finished with the saga however. This is going until I think it is done.
Another thing. I posted up a section. Then I didn't like it. And I modified it. Then I...well, the final results are posted up. I stopped myself. So, what you see on Gray Hall is the results of being too picky.
That's all for now.
Monday, November 21, 2005
A Big Bad Post and Other News
Greetings and welcome to The Un-Zone.
I was busy this weekend. I had an early birthday celebration on Sunday. That was fun. I would have been celebrating it today, but, alas, there is an Evidence Review Session today at 5:00 PM. It shouldn't be too bad. I like Evidence. One of the few classes I actually enjoy at law school. The other is Estates and Trusts. Go figure. These sentences are really shorter than normal.
Anyways, I'm a year older today. I don't feel any different. Nothing much has changed. Being optimistic, 1/4 of my life has gone away. It is now time to use that alien technology I appropriated from the mother planet. I must now suck the life force out of humans to survive from now on...
I had the weirdest dream last night. Something involving me losing all ability to speak English but gaining the ability to speak fluent Spanish. When I woke up, I was speaking Spanish. Creepy. I haven't used Spanish since...well...high school.
Today's update in the Gray Hall saga is very long. Because I didn't post during the weekend, you get an extra-long section from the story. It's the end of Chapter Ten PLUS all of Chapter 11. If you ever wanted to know where the fodder for crooked lawyer jokes come from...read Chapter 11. Think of it as a Personal Bankruptcy section involving ethics and morality.
That's all for now.
I was busy this weekend. I had an early birthday celebration on Sunday. That was fun. I would have been celebrating it today, but, alas, there is an Evidence Review Session today at 5:00 PM. It shouldn't be too bad. I like Evidence. One of the few classes I actually enjoy at law school. The other is Estates and Trusts. Go figure. These sentences are really shorter than normal.
Anyways, I'm a year older today. I don't feel any different. Nothing much has changed. Being optimistic, 1/4 of my life has gone away. It is now time to use that alien technology I appropriated from the mother planet. I must now suck the life force out of humans to survive from now on...
I had the weirdest dream last night. Something involving me losing all ability to speak English but gaining the ability to speak fluent Spanish. When I woke up, I was speaking Spanish. Creepy. I haven't used Spanish since...well...high school.
Today's update in the Gray Hall saga is very long. Because I didn't post during the weekend, you get an extra-long section from the story. It's the end of Chapter Ten PLUS all of Chapter 11. If you ever wanted to know where the fodder for crooked lawyer jokes come from...read Chapter 11. Think of it as a Personal Bankruptcy section involving ethics and morality.
That's all for now.
Friday, November 18, 2005
All You Need to Know About Your First Year in Law School
It's a new day and another update to the chronicle called Gray Hall.
If you ever wanted to go to law school, this post is/is not for you. Depending on your views on what I've written, you will think law school is great or a waste of time and money. The results are inconclusive. But even if you are not turned away from law school, you will hate how they grade finals, especially if you were an academic achiever during high school and college. Trust me.
That's all for now.
If you ever wanted to go to law school, this post is/is not for you. Depending on your views on what I've written, you will think law school is great or a waste of time and money. The results are inconclusive. But even if you are not turned away from law school, you will hate how they grade finals, especially if you were an academic achiever during high school and college. Trust me.
That's all for now.
Thursday, November 17, 2005
Chapter Nine and I'm Feeling Fine...
Chapter Nine of the Gray Hall story is finally done. Jake survives his finals...including the dreaded Evidence, Business Associations, Secured Transactions, Estates and Trusts, AND the Constitutional Law final. In addition to Chapter Nine being finished, the semster is finished for Jake. Unlike my semester. It's going to be done soon, very soon. Time to make outlines and gripe about the lousy way things are graded.
My word count is over 31K. About 20K more and I've hit the goal of 50K. But I might go over considering the pace I'm going at right now. I'd hate to abruptly end this just because I've reached 50K. So I'll probably go over. It's time for an interlude tomorrow about law school finals.
That's all for now.
My word count is over 31K. About 20K more and I've hit the goal of 50K. But I might go over considering the pace I'm going at right now. I'd hate to abruptly end this just because I've reached 50K. So I'll probably go over. It's time for an interlude tomorrow about law school finals.
That's all for now.
Wednesday, November 16, 2005
On Top of Chapter Nine
Done with Chapter Eight. Starting on Chapter Nine, the chapter about a look into law school finals. Oh the joy. And so relevant at this moment as they are going to start very soon...
In other news...
Apparently, it's possible to know too much about methods of torture acceptable by the United States. In Constitutional Law yesterday, I guess I proved that point. If the professor asks how the use of torture is justifiable, it is best to give a simple answer. A good example is "The ends justify the means as it could prevent a terrorist attack from happening."
It is never wise to say, "Let's say you have a terrorist--wait, the correct term is enemy combatant right now. You know he is an Al Qaeda operative and he might have some information about future attacks on the US. But he won't say anything. So you can use near-drowning, asphyxiation, sleep deprivation, food deprivation, electric shocks, humiliating positions, physical uncomfort, as well as interesting methods involving viscious dogs to get information. Just as long as it prevents an attack, by God, it's all right. Yeah, you might have violated international law like the Geneva Convention, but it's OK."
Yeah, in addition, never elaborate on what you mean by "interesting methods involving viscious dogs." That gets laughs, especially when you use "Latin American countries." Then again, I didn't get the chance to explain in certain Latin American countries and in some Middle Eastern countries with not-so-nice secret police, the dogs are trained to attack the genitals and the neck. You either get your genitals ripped to shreds or your neck ripped to shreds, thereby bleeding to death and suffering much pain.
At least one person expected me to answer that question with such enthusiasm and with such interesting knowledge.
Time to go to Evidence.
In other news...
Apparently, it's possible to know too much about methods of torture acceptable by the United States. In Constitutional Law yesterday, I guess I proved that point. If the professor asks how the use of torture is justifiable, it is best to give a simple answer. A good example is "The ends justify the means as it could prevent a terrorist attack from happening."
It is never wise to say, "Let's say you have a terrorist--wait, the correct term is enemy combatant right now. You know he is an Al Qaeda operative and he might have some information about future attacks on the US. But he won't say anything. So you can use near-drowning, asphyxiation, sleep deprivation, food deprivation, electric shocks, humiliating positions, physical uncomfort, as well as interesting methods involving viscious dogs to get information. Just as long as it prevents an attack, by God, it's all right. Yeah, you might have violated international law like the Geneva Convention, but it's OK."
Yeah, in addition, never elaborate on what you mean by "interesting methods involving viscious dogs." That gets laughs, especially when you use "Latin American countries." Then again, I didn't get the chance to explain in certain Latin American countries and in some Middle Eastern countries with not-so-nice secret police, the dogs are trained to attack the genitals and the neck. You either get your genitals ripped to shreds or your neck ripped to shreds, thereby bleeding to death and suffering much pain.
At least one person expected me to answer that question with such enthusiasm and with such interesting knowledge.
Time to go to Evidence.
Tuesday, November 15, 2005
"A Modest Proposal on the Origins of Life"
NOTE: The following is meant to be satire in the style of Swift's "A Modest Proposal." For those not of the English major mold, "A Modest Proposal" jokingly advocated cannibalism to solve the problem of starvation and famine. Some people just didn't get it and thought Swift was actually serious, sort of like the Kansas School Board who thought that their new "science standards" were serious science. It is not meant to be my personal views on Intelligent Design, Creationism, or Evolution in any means, shape or form. I wouldn't be surprised is someone posted a comment calling me an idiot supporting ID/Creationism or a Godless person who supports the "flawed theory of Evolution." With that said, enjoy this piece.
"A Modest Proposal on the Origins of Life"
by
Jonathan Swift the Fifth
After nearly nineteen years of state funded education (elementary school to law school), I have learned several important lessons. First, the state of Kansas can find money for the interstate system, but never enough to properly fund for education. Second, teaching is not a blue-collar profession, but a no-collar profession, as most do not make enough to buy a shirt with a collar. Third, and most importantly, many years of studying rarely prepares you for real life. A stint as a bartender would be more helpful.
The state of Kansas has become the laughing stock of the nation, and not for the inexplicable choking by the Jayhawks against Bucknell. No, it is because of the Intelligent Design-friendly science standards. People have mocked Intelligent Design with the Flying Spaghetti Monster. Popular Science called the Kansas high school science teacher the third worst job in science.
By the time this gets published, the Kansas School Board will have appproved of the new standards that will go into effect in 2007. Listing the pros and cons of Intelligent Design and evolution and the basic descriptions of each theory would be long and really boring. No one but masochists and those with a penchant for sesquipedalian words (really long words) like "phylogenetic tree" would enjoy such explanations. Instead, I would like to make a modest proposal on scientific standards. I am considering making this proposal to the Kansas School Board as a viable option.
I am proposing the addition of the panspermia hypothesis to the new science standards. This hypothesis states that the seeds of life are prevalent throughout the universe and life on Earth began by such seeds landing on Earth and propagating themselves. A less radical form is exogenesis, which states that life originated elsewhere in the universe and was transferred to Earth. It does not state how prevalent life is in the universe.
Panspermia and exogenesis have two advantages over Intelligent Design. Panspermia and exogenesis have two renowned scientists as major proponents. Fred Hoyle and Chandra Wickramasinghe, in the 1970s, discovered traces of life in the dust around stars. Fred Hoyle is known for his studies of star structure and the origin of the chemical elements in stars. Francis Crick of DNA fame came up with a modified version of panspermia. Some articles published in Nature and Science lend some credibility to the hypothesis, long known as the hypothesis "that got no respect". One study published in Science shows that space rocks could transport life between planets. Other evidence is disputed, but this is similar to disputes within fields like evolutionary biology.
The panspermia and exogenesis hypotheses are plausible within the current knowledge of science. The Earth, according to the latest dating techniques, is about 4.6 billion years old. The Late Heavy Bombardment of the moon occurred 3.9 billion years ago. The first fossilized life--photosynthetic bacteria aggregates called stromatolites--are 3.5 billion years old. If life originated on Earth, then it occurred in a range of time from 3.9 to 3.5 billion years ago. If one were to assume life started in another part of the universe, life could have originated 12.7 billion years ago. Some bacteria can survive extreme conditions like high levels of radiation, being buried under a mile of Antarctic ice, or living near volcanic vents.
Scientists and many other people prefer simpler explanations. Most scientists consider geogenesis--life created on Earth--the default position. This only requires one step and not two steps: life forming elsewhere and being transported to Earth. But the number of steps cannot determine what is the "simplest" explanation. Geogenesis, although needing one step, requires a lot of stuff to happen in a relatively short amount of time.Intelligent design proponents on the Kansas State School Board claim that these standards will allow for "true academic freedom" and other values that an education should provide. I hope they allow science teachers in the state of Kansas to pursue other equally viable theories in the science curriculum standards. Not only in biology, but in other fields. Why should students be limited to gravity, as it is just a theory. There are viable hypotheses like the "glue particles" that prevent us from floating into the sky or maybe Intelligent Falling. Jacques Benveniste published fascinating works about water having a memory and the possibility of transferring such memories over the phone line. If his theories can be proven, this will be a momentous breakthrough in science. It might lure pharmaceutical companies into Kansas, thereby generating enough revenue to properly fund for education.
Why stop at science standards? This reform should occur in all educational standards--across the board revisions. The Kansas School Board should adopt the Tourism Board slogan: "As big as you think." Alternative theories on math. After all, people just assume that the multiplication tables are "true" because teachers "told them" they were true. It was the only "multiplication theory" they were taught. Social studies and geography? Just because the teacher tells the students that the country is called France, it doesn't mean it has to be called France. There should be discussion on other viable names like "Stinky Cheese Land." Shakespeare wrote all those plays? Just another theory. Yes, the current theory is based upon all currently known facts and observations, but there are holes that evidence cannot explain. His "plays" are too complex for a man with little formal education. There's an alternative book that states Bacon wrote the plays. Using the same methodology explained in the book, Bacon also wrote the Bible and other well-known works. It's still a viable theory which should be taught.
I hope the Kansas State Board of Education will take some time and consider this modest proposal on an alternative theory on the origins of life. I truly and sincerely believe the ideas that form the basis of this proposal can be extended into other fields like English, Social Studies, and Mathematics. Without allowing for alternative theories to be taught in the classrooms of Kansas, there will be no "true academic freedom." It would be a shame to deny the students of Kansas this worthy opportunity.
Another Update and Random Stuff
It's another update in the Gray Hall story.
Random thoughts on alcohol and a look into what a "normal" Thanksgiving looks like for Jake at his parent's house.
Since I'm feeling the need to go and randomly type some stuff (other than online novel), here is some random stuff I've found on the Internet.
Something for those who like beer. In ancient Peru, before the Incans came into power, the Wari Empire built breweries. They staffed them with females who knew how to make alcohol and who possessed noble blood or exceptional beauty. Obviously, the idea of beautiful women serving beer (think Coyote Ugly) was thought of long before.
A semi-timely topic for those in Kansas and the recent state school board decision. If it weren't for a comedy of errors, Wallacism and not Darwinism. Apparently, the captain of the ship that picked up Darwin and took him on his historical voyage, also "picked up" some Patagonians and well... To make a long story short, the captain became embarrassed at what he had done and since he was short of crew, he needed a travelling companion. Who answered the ad? Charles Darwin. The rest is history.
And a dumb criminal story. Several lessons are made in this story. One, when using a stolen debit card at a supermarket, don't use your own discount card. Two, never argue with the cashier over the cost of said items bought with stolen card. Three, when giving an excuse like "It's my girlfriend's card," don't speed away leaving evidence behind like your license plate number. Four, don't tell the police and the grand-jury that you got the card in a trade with a one-legged man for a bag of pot as an alibi.
That's all for now.
The Ancient Andean Brewery
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10043096/#brewery
Charles Darwin...the Untold Story
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/4429006.stm
A Dumb Criminal Story
http://timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=418793&category=ALBANY&BCCode=&newsdate=11/14/2005
Random thoughts on alcohol and a look into what a "normal" Thanksgiving looks like for Jake at his parent's house.
Since I'm feeling the need to go and randomly type some stuff (other than online novel), here is some random stuff I've found on the Internet.
Something for those who like beer. In ancient Peru, before the Incans came into power, the Wari Empire built breweries. They staffed them with females who knew how to make alcohol and who possessed noble blood or exceptional beauty. Obviously, the idea of beautiful women serving beer (think Coyote Ugly) was thought of long before.
A semi-timely topic for those in Kansas and the recent state school board decision. If it weren't for a comedy of errors, Wallacism and not Darwinism. Apparently, the captain of the ship that picked up Darwin and took him on his historical voyage, also "picked up" some Patagonians and well... To make a long story short, the captain became embarrassed at what he had done and since he was short of crew, he needed a travelling companion. Who answered the ad? Charles Darwin. The rest is history.
And a dumb criminal story. Several lessons are made in this story. One, when using a stolen debit card at a supermarket, don't use your own discount card. Two, never argue with the cashier over the cost of said items bought with stolen card. Three, when giving an excuse like "It's my girlfriend's card," don't speed away leaving evidence behind like your license plate number. Four, don't tell the police and the grand-jury that you got the card in a trade with a one-legged man for a bag of pot as an alibi.
That's all for now.
The Ancient Andean Brewery
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10043096/#brewery
Charles Darwin...the Untold Story
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/4429006.stm
A Dumb Criminal Story
http://timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=418793&category=ALBANY&BCCode=&newsdate=11/14/2005
Monday, November 14, 2005
The Uniform Grading of Law Essay Exams Code
Law school professors have a Code that states how law school essay exams are graded. The following are excerpts from the Uniform Grading of Law Essay Exams Code of 1999 (2003 Revision).
§ 1.01. Short Title and Abbreviation.
This Act shall be known and may be cited as the Uniform Grading Code.
Official Comment to 1-101
Although considered legally valid by most state and federal jurisdictions, referring to this Code by the full acronym of UGLEE is not recommended by the drafters of this Code as it brings up negative connotations.
§ 1.02. Purposes; Rules of Construction; Variation by Law School Professors.
(a) This Act shall be liberally construed and applied to promote its underlying purposes and policies.
(b) Underlying purposes and policies of this Act are
(1) to annoy, anger, and confuse law school students on the law school grading process;
(2) to make law school finals as difficult as possible with respect to what is really wanted as an answer;
(3) to entertain professors as they see students suffer while reviewing for said finals.
(c) The provisions of this Act may be varied by law school professors at ABA approved law schools. Modifications made to this Act can be made with lack of reasonableness and without the knowledge of law school students. The standards by which the modifications are made is to be measured by an unreasonable law school professor standard.
§ 1.03. General Definitions.
(a) Unless the context otherwise requires, words or phrases defined in this section, or in the additional definitions contained in other articles of [the Uniform Grading Code] that apply to particular articles or parts thereof, have the meanings stated.
(b) Subject to definitions contained in other articles of [the Uniform Grading Code] that apply to particular articles or parts thereof:
(1) "Anonymous Number" means a system that supposedly guarantees anonymity and fairness in the grading process, but actually provides a great way of a professor to remember who had a better answer than someone else. This ensures this person will get a higher grade than someone else.
..........
(3) "Answer" means words written onto the pages of a bluebook that the professor will scan over and give a random grade to, despite said professor claiming this process is done in a fair and objective manner.
(4) "Assign" means to subjectively give a person a grade based upon the score received on a final. If referring to anonymous numbers, "assign" means to give an anonymous number to a student.
..........
(6) "Better" means closer to what the law school professor would have written in he/she had answered the question and not some law school student. This term, however, does not mean more correct, as in having the right answer based upon the current interpretation of the law or applicable code if it is a statutes based course.
..........
(17) "Fail" means a nearly impossible grade in law school. Due to the mandatory curve, this grade is rarely assigned to a student, despite the student meriting it.
(18) "Final" means a test that the professor believes will take three hours if a law school student, but actually takes much longer than that. To come up with an ideal answer to the question takes three hours.
(19) "Grade" means a letter representation of numerical score earned on a law school final. This is subjectively assigned by a professor and not upon any rational basis.
..........
(22) "Ideal" means the answer that the professor would have written had they taken the final. The professor, however, has (i) earned a JD, (ii) become a member of the bar, (iii) practiced law, (iv) wrote the question, and (v) had an entire semester to come up with a coherent answer. Due to the subjective nature of grading, a correct answer is not an ideal answer, as it was not worded in the same way, despite covering the same material.
..........
(24) "Mandatory Curve" means a foolish and idiotic means of assigning grades. According to law schools, this supposedly ensures fairness. This however, leads to a person who would have normally gotten an F on a final getting a C due to the mandatory curve. Based upon the curve, it's highly unlikely anyone in law school will get an F.
..........
§ 1.10 Mandatory Anonymous Numbers
(1) All law schools shall assign a random anonymous number to each student during finals period.
(2) Except as otherwise provided in subsection (3), this number shall be placed on all bluebooks and answer sheets used by the student for all finals taken by that student during that semester.
(3) If the student forgets their anonymous number, the student may any acceptable form of identification such as student ID number or Social Security Number.
§ 2.01. Grading Process of Essay Exams
(1) This process shall be used by all law school professors at all ABA approved and non-ABA approved law schools for all essay exams.
(a) The professor will choose a method of grading that will supposedly balance effective grading against undue prejudice for or against any certain groups of people. Acceptable methods include
(i) Separation into multiple piles and grading each pile in a different order
(ii) Grading just one question at a time and changing the order the exams are graded
(iii) Any similar method that ensures randomization of grading order like randomly choosing bluebooks or having a chicken choosing bluebook by pecking at them.
(b) After reading each answer written by each student, the professor shall give points to each question.
(c) After all questions are given points by a method chosen by the professor, the professor shall assign grades.
(i) Grades shall be based upon an ABCDF system.
(ii) The average GPA shall fall within a mandatory curve, depending on whether the course is a First-Year course or an Upper-Level course.
(2) "Assign" for purposes of 2.xx and 3.xx means an arbitrary process of giving a letter equivalent of a numerical score while fitting the mandatory curve and all applicable statutes in the Uniform Grading Code and all other applicable laws and inequitable grading principles.
..........
§ 2.03. Point System Scales for Answers
A question worth X number of points, to insure fairness, shall be broken down into its separate and distinct components and each component shall be given a certain amount of points.
(1) The professor shall see if the student's answer contains a component. If it does, unless it falls within UGC 2.04, it shall be checked off and the points be added to student's score.
(2) The professor, once all subsections to the question are totaled, shall note the final score of the student's answer.
(3) This scheme may be modified within the discretion of the professor without the knowledge of the law school and without the knowledge of the student if it is subjectively reasonable for the professor to do so.
§ 2.04. Point Distribution for Answers
For answers worth X points, the professor may choose not to give a student points for a correctly identified component noted in the student's answer but included in the professor's ideal answer. The use of this power is within the discretion of the professor. Acceptable uses include, but is not limited to
(1) Not wording the answer as the professor would have worded it in ideal answer;
(2) Not wording the answer to questions asked by the professor in class;
(3) Not including in a minute, inconsequential detail that makes no difference to the actual answer.
..........
§ 3.01. Mandatory Curve Required
The grades, when assigned, shall fit a standard bell curve with a median that falls within the range set by the law school depending on the course classification by the law school.
§ 3.02. Priority of Assigning Grades
When two or more people have the same point total and grades have to be assigned such that the mandatory curve is kept, the following priority rules apply.
(1) The highest priority in assigning the highest grade shall be applied to the person whose bluebook answers are closest to the professor's ideal answers. If it is impossible to determine whose answer is closest to the professor's ideal answer, the professor is to continue to 3.02(b)(2).
(2) The second highest priority in assigning the highest grade shall be assigned to the person who brown noses with the professor the most before, during, and after class.
(a) If the amount of brown nosing is equal, then the quality of brown nosing shall be considered.
(b) If the quality is equal, then the first to start brown nosing shall receive the highest grade unless the other brown nosers started brown nosing within a two week period after the first act by the first brown noser. If this occurs, then 3.02(3) applies.
(3) If the first two priority rules fail, the highest grade shall be assigned to the person whose bluebook is closest to the professor's hand.
(4) If all else fails, then the highest grade shall be assigned by a method that the professor finds suitable. Acceptable methods include, but are not limited to rolling a dice or randomly choosing a bluebook.
§ 1.01. Short Title and Abbreviation.
This Act shall be known and may be cited as the Uniform Grading Code.
Official Comment to 1-101
Although considered legally valid by most state and federal jurisdictions, referring to this Code by the full acronym of UGLEE is not recommended by the drafters of this Code as it brings up negative connotations.
§ 1.02. Purposes; Rules of Construction; Variation by Law School Professors.
(a) This Act shall be liberally construed and applied to promote its underlying purposes and policies.
(b) Underlying purposes and policies of this Act are
(1) to annoy, anger, and confuse law school students on the law school grading process;
(2) to make law school finals as difficult as possible with respect to what is really wanted as an answer;
(3) to entertain professors as they see students suffer while reviewing for said finals.
(c) The provisions of this Act may be varied by law school professors at ABA approved law schools. Modifications made to this Act can be made with lack of reasonableness and without the knowledge of law school students. The standards by which the modifications are made is to be measured by an unreasonable law school professor standard.
§ 1.03. General Definitions.
(a) Unless the context otherwise requires, words or phrases defined in this section, or in the additional definitions contained in other articles of [the Uniform Grading Code] that apply to particular articles or parts thereof, have the meanings stated.
(b) Subject to definitions contained in other articles of [the Uniform Grading Code] that apply to particular articles or parts thereof:
(1) "Anonymous Number" means a system that supposedly guarantees anonymity and fairness in the grading process, but actually provides a great way of a professor to remember who had a better answer than someone else. This ensures this person will get a higher grade than someone else.
..........
(3) "Answer" means words written onto the pages of a bluebook that the professor will scan over and give a random grade to, despite said professor claiming this process is done in a fair and objective manner.
(4) "Assign" means to subjectively give a person a grade based upon the score received on a final. If referring to anonymous numbers, "assign" means to give an anonymous number to a student.
..........
(6) "Better" means closer to what the law school professor would have written in he/she had answered the question and not some law school student. This term, however, does not mean more correct, as in having the right answer based upon the current interpretation of the law or applicable code if it is a statutes based course.
..........
(17) "Fail" means a nearly impossible grade in law school. Due to the mandatory curve, this grade is rarely assigned to a student, despite the student meriting it.
(18) "Final" means a test that the professor believes will take three hours if a law school student, but actually takes much longer than that. To come up with an ideal answer to the question takes three hours.
(19) "Grade" means a letter representation of numerical score earned on a law school final. This is subjectively assigned by a professor and not upon any rational basis.
..........
(22) "Ideal" means the answer that the professor would have written had they taken the final. The professor, however, has (i) earned a JD, (ii) become a member of the bar, (iii) practiced law, (iv) wrote the question, and (v) had an entire semester to come up with a coherent answer. Due to the subjective nature of grading, a correct answer is not an ideal answer, as it was not worded in the same way, despite covering the same material.
..........
(24) "Mandatory Curve" means a foolish and idiotic means of assigning grades. According to law schools, this supposedly ensures fairness. This however, leads to a person who would have normally gotten an F on a final getting a C due to the mandatory curve. Based upon the curve, it's highly unlikely anyone in law school will get an F.
..........
§ 1.10 Mandatory Anonymous Numbers
(1) All law schools shall assign a random anonymous number to each student during finals period.
(2) Except as otherwise provided in subsection (3), this number shall be placed on all bluebooks and answer sheets used by the student for all finals taken by that student during that semester.
(3) If the student forgets their anonymous number, the student may any acceptable form of identification such as student ID number or Social Security Number.
§ 2.01. Grading Process of Essay Exams
(1) This process shall be used by all law school professors at all ABA approved and non-ABA approved law schools for all essay exams.
(a) The professor will choose a method of grading that will supposedly balance effective grading against undue prejudice for or against any certain groups of people. Acceptable methods include
(i) Separation into multiple piles and grading each pile in a different order
(ii) Grading just one question at a time and changing the order the exams are graded
(iii) Any similar method that ensures randomization of grading order like randomly choosing bluebooks or having a chicken choosing bluebook by pecking at them.
(b) After reading each answer written by each student, the professor shall give points to each question.
(c) After all questions are given points by a method chosen by the professor, the professor shall assign grades.
(i) Grades shall be based upon an ABCDF system.
(ii) The average GPA shall fall within a mandatory curve, depending on whether the course is a First-Year course or an Upper-Level course.
(2) "Assign" for purposes of 2.xx and 3.xx means an arbitrary process of giving a letter equivalent of a numerical score while fitting the mandatory curve and all applicable statutes in the Uniform Grading Code and all other applicable laws and inequitable grading principles.
..........
§ 2.03. Point System Scales for Answers
A question worth X number of points, to insure fairness, shall be broken down into its separate and distinct components and each component shall be given a certain amount of points.
(1) The professor shall see if the student's answer contains a component. If it does, unless it falls within UGC 2.04, it shall be checked off and the points be added to student's score.
(2) The professor, once all subsections to the question are totaled, shall note the final score of the student's answer.
(3) This scheme may be modified within the discretion of the professor without the knowledge of the law school and without the knowledge of the student if it is subjectively reasonable for the professor to do so.
§ 2.04. Point Distribution for Answers
For answers worth X points, the professor may choose not to give a student points for a correctly identified component noted in the student's answer but included in the professor's ideal answer. The use of this power is within the discretion of the professor. Acceptable uses include, but is not limited to
(1) Not wording the answer as the professor would have worded it in ideal answer;
(2) Not wording the answer to questions asked by the professor in class;
(3) Not including in a minute, inconsequential detail that makes no difference to the actual answer.
..........
§ 3.01. Mandatory Curve Required
The grades, when assigned, shall fit a standard bell curve with a median that falls within the range set by the law school depending on the course classification by the law school.
§ 3.02. Priority of Assigning Grades
When two or more people have the same point total and grades have to be assigned such that the mandatory curve is kept, the following priority rules apply.
(1) The highest priority in assigning the highest grade shall be applied to the person whose bluebook answers are closest to the professor's ideal answers. If it is impossible to determine whose answer is closest to the professor's ideal answer, the professor is to continue to 3.02(b)(2).
(2) The second highest priority in assigning the highest grade shall be assigned to the person who brown noses with the professor the most before, during, and after class.
(a) If the amount of brown nosing is equal, then the quality of brown nosing shall be considered.
(b) If the quality is equal, then the first to start brown nosing shall receive the highest grade unless the other brown nosers started brown nosing within a two week period after the first act by the first brown noser. If this occurs, then 3.02(3) applies.
(3) If the first two priority rules fail, the highest grade shall be assigned to the person whose bluebook is closest to the professor's hand.
(4) If all else fails, then the highest grade shall be assigned by a method that the professor finds suitable. Acceptable methods include, but are not limited to rolling a dice or randomly choosing a bluebook.
End of Chapter Seven
Chapter Seven has finally concluded. To sum up, Jake discovers that drunk people say the craziest things and that all Asians supposedly look alike.
In other news, I wrote an article making fun of the Kansas School Board decision on science standards for the Brief-Brief. That was amusing. I tried to put in as many pointed barbs and crazy statements as possible, all while making it as factual as possible, unlike the science standards. I also make a modest proposal. You'll have to read it when the November issue is posted. Or you could drop by the law school and pick a paper copy of it.
I also wrote a mock Uniform Grading Code. It is meant to be satire about the supposedly objective ways law school essay exams are graded by the professors. I'll post it or I'll submit it to the Brief-Brief.
Lawrence Tynes mysteriously forgot how to kick field goals. Then again, the Buffalo field goal kicker couldn't kick straight also.
I'm going to be a year older very soon.
That's all for now.
In other news, I wrote an article making fun of the Kansas School Board decision on science standards for the Brief-Brief. That was amusing. I tried to put in as many pointed barbs and crazy statements as possible, all while making it as factual as possible, unlike the science standards. I also make a modest proposal. You'll have to read it when the November issue is posted. Or you could drop by the law school and pick a paper copy of it.
I also wrote a mock Uniform Grading Code. It is meant to be satire about the supposedly objective ways law school essay exams are graded by the professors. I'll post it or I'll submit it to the Brief-Brief.
Lawrence Tynes mysteriously forgot how to kick field goals. Then again, the Buffalo field goal kicker couldn't kick straight also.
I'm going to be a year older very soon.
That's all for now.
Sunday, November 13, 2005
Thank Heaven, It's Part One of Chapter Seven
The first installment of Chapter Seven is up. Jake goes to a bar for TGIT. He does some drinking and thinking. Enough said.
The second installment of Chapter Seven should be better.
The second installment of Chapter Seven should be better.
Friday, November 11, 2005
Five, Six, Pick Up Sticks
Woohoo. I've got Chapter Five done. I also have the first part of Chapter Six done also. I decided to lump them together in one giant post instead of two smaller ones. The second part of Chapter Five seemed a little short and I was on a roll with Chapter Six, I decided to lump them together. Yeah, that's lazy, but deal with it. I'm writing this, not you.
Today might be your lucky day if you actually read this. I might have the end of Chapter Six done by this afternoon. Aren't you all lucky?
That's all for now.
Today might be your lucky day if you actually read this. I might have the end of Chapter Six done by this afternoon. Aren't you all lucky?
That's all for now.
Thursday, November 10, 2005
A High Five To Chapter Five
It's another post to the Semi-Never Ending Saga of Gray Hall. It's gotta end sooner or later. Well, when I get past 50,000 words.
In this post, Jake talks about flowers, delivery people, confused law school students, and Latin American societal views on the non-importance of things being on time when compared to a more European view on it. Ooh...so much fun.
Oh, and there is a little mini-lecture on trusts and the Uniform Probate Code. I'm sorry. Just slog on through. What happens next will be much better. It's a cheap way of inserting in a bunch of words. You just write a law school lecture. It also puts people in the right mood for much more exciting things.
That's all.
In this post, Jake talks about flowers, delivery people, confused law school students, and Latin American societal views on the non-importance of things being on time when compared to a more European view on it. Ooh...so much fun.
Oh, and there is a little mini-lecture on trusts and the Uniform Probate Code. I'm sorry. Just slog on through. What happens next will be much better. It's a cheap way of inserting in a bunch of words. You just write a law school lecture. It also puts people in the right mood for much more exciting things.
That's all.
Wednesday, November 09, 2005
Going Philosophical
I got another update posted for the story. It's a short interlude. It's philosophical in a weird way. Maybe Eastern Buddhist mindset might be better. It was quick and easy.
That's all.
That's all.
Tuesday, November 08, 2005
Kids Say the Darnedest Things...
Greetings and welcome to the Un-Zone, my little Internet puulpit where I get to rant and rave about what's going on in my life and to vent some holy brinstone and fire on the congregation. Excuse me while I rant about some comments made by the current "President", George W. Bush.
You remember the show "Kids Say the Darnedest Things?" Where an adult would ask kids questions and people would laugh at the great answers the kids gave? Maybe they should have "G. W. Bush Says the Darnedest Things."
The following comes from a BBC story:
Hmm, I wonder what happened at Abu Graib? Oh, the "we" didn't refer to the US soldiers that did those things. Wait, according the President, it really wasn't "torture" per se, as the Geneva Conventions were "quaint." It was more along the lines of heavy tactics to persuade enemy combatants and not POWs to give vital information against the war on terrorism. I guess what happened there was just a mistake and would never happen again. Then comes rumors of the secret CIA prisons and the Rangers beating up prisoners. Rare incidents that do not reflect an accurate picture of the US.
Or how about this ironic doozy coming from Bush in Brazil? He called on Latin American countries to embrace democracy and not authoritarian rule. This is what he had to say about authoritarian rule:
Hmm. Playing to fear? If we do not fight the terrorists everywhere they are, they will attack the US and try to destroy our democracy. The avian flu might become a pandemic and we do not have the necessary resources. What's that? Pitting neighbor against neighbor? Rich versus poor. The US against Latin American criticism. Tension in the Middle East. Blaming others for their own failures to provide for the people? FEMA during Katrina and Bush not watching the news? Not knowing the gravity of the situation until a staffer showed him four days worth of video of people stranded on roofs and chaos in the Superdome? The "mission accomplished" in Iraq? What mission was accomplished then in 2004? The same one we're facing now or a new one? We've got money to fund a military initiative in Iraq but we seem to be out of money for other stuff like social security and healthcare and education. What's up with that?
G.W. Bush says the darnedest things. That's all for now.
BBC Article
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4415132.stm
AP on Yahoo News
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20051106/ap_on_go_pr_wh/bush
You remember the show "Kids Say the Darnedest Things?" Where an adult would ask kids questions and people would laugh at the great answers the kids gave? Maybe they should have "G. W. Bush Says the Darnedest Things."
The following comes from a BBC story:
"We do not torture," Mr Bush told reporters during a visit to Panama.
He said enemies were plotting to hurt the US and his government would pursue them, but would do so "under the law".
Hmm, I wonder what happened at Abu Graib? Oh, the "we" didn't refer to the US soldiers that did those things. Wait, according the President, it really wasn't "torture" per se, as the Geneva Conventions were "quaint." It was more along the lines of heavy tactics to persuade enemy combatants and not POWs to give vital information against the war on terrorism. I guess what happened there was just a mistake and would never happen again. Then comes rumors of the secret CIA prisons and the Rangers beating up prisoners. Rare incidents that do not reflect an accurate picture of the US.
Or how about this ironic doozy coming from Bush in Brazil? He called on Latin American countries to embrace democracy and not authoritarian rule. This is what he had to say about authoritarian rule:
"The other seeks seeks to roll back the democratic progress of the past two
decades by playing to fear, pitting neighbor against neighbor and blaming others
for their own failure to provide for the people," he said. "We must make
tough decisions today to ensure a better tomorrow."
Hmm. Playing to fear? If we do not fight the terrorists everywhere they are, they will attack the US and try to destroy our democracy. The avian flu might become a pandemic and we do not have the necessary resources. What's that? Pitting neighbor against neighbor? Rich versus poor. The US against Latin American criticism. Tension in the Middle East. Blaming others for their own failures to provide for the people? FEMA during Katrina and Bush not watching the news? Not knowing the gravity of the situation until a staffer showed him four days worth of video of people stranded on roofs and chaos in the Superdome? The "mission accomplished" in Iraq? What mission was accomplished then in 2004? The same one we're facing now or a new one? We've got money to fund a military initiative in Iraq but we seem to be out of money for other stuff like social security and healthcare and education. What's up with that?
G.W. Bush says the darnedest things. That's all for now.
BBC Article
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4415132.stm
AP on Yahoo News
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20051106/ap_on_go_pr_wh/bush
Ding, Dong, Chapter Four is Dead...
Chapter Four is completed. The main character exppounds on what constitutes a geek, a nerd, and a dork.
Yeah, you'll find out what he meant by "surprise." That comes later, maybe in one or two more days. I'm going to dread writing this chapter out...
That's all.
Yeah, you'll find out what he meant by "surprise." That comes later, maybe in one or two more days. I'm going to dread writing this chapter out...
That's all.
Monday, November 07, 2005
Words, Words, Words
After the massive post yesterday, I thought I would take a break yesterday and today. I didn't. I started writing Chapter Four. If you get slapped by the muse, you follow her bidding. I decided to cointinue the break from poking fun at law school. I'll get back to that later.
Some people have asked me if the characters are based upon people they know at the law school I attend and have hazarded guesses. In short, yes and no. Those who read this blog (law school people) might note similarities with people they know and meet everyday. Some characters are based upon actual people and some characters ARE not based upon actual law school students. They're completely fictional and exist only in the mind of the author. This brings up the concepts of mental images and what defines who you are. That's another post for another time...
I've posted up the beginning of Chapter Four.
The main character begins his lecture into the rare and wonderful world of word history and the differences between geeks, nerds, and dorks. That's what you get when you become an English major. You rant and rave about words, words, words. Tomorrow, comes the main lecture. If you want to know the difference between the terms, you'll love what comes up next.
That's all.
Some people have asked me if the characters are based upon people they know at the law school I attend and have hazarded guesses. In short, yes and no. Those who read this blog (law school people) might note similarities with people they know and meet everyday. Some characters are based upon actual people and some characters ARE not based upon actual law school students. They're completely fictional and exist only in the mind of the author. This brings up the concepts of mental images and what defines who you are. That's another post for another time...
I've posted up the beginning of Chapter Four.
The main character begins his lecture into the rare and wonderful world of word history and the differences between geeks, nerds, and dorks. That's what you get when you become an English major. You rant and rave about words, words, words. Tomorrow, comes the main lecture. If you want to know the difference between the terms, you'll love what comes up next.
That's all.
Sunday, November 06, 2005
A Big Update on Gray Hall
I just made a massive update on the Gray Hall story. It's two days worth of writing. The main character fights with swords and ballroom dances in one afternoon.
That's all for now.
That's all for now.
Friday, November 04, 2005
It's all About the Hypothetical Questions
I'm a writing machine. It's another update.
It's amazing what you find when you look at old notes from your 1L year and your 2L year in law school. I've discovered that I've written down some really off-the-wall stuff like "Hurricane at the Bar" in my Torts notebook and "The Contracts Professor's Family Tree" in my Contracts I notebook. The sad thing is, I actually remember what all of these comments mean.
Which brings me to the update I've written to the Gray Hall saga. It's not really part of the stroy plot-wise, but it's more of a snippet of what law school life is really about. The more "human" side to law school. This little interlude I've written is all about the weird and interesting questions that law school professors and law school students have said during class.
That's all.
It's amazing what you find when you look at old notes from your 1L year and your 2L year in law school. I've discovered that I've written down some really off-the-wall stuff like "Hurricane at the Bar" in my Torts notebook and "The Contracts Professor's Family Tree" in my Contracts I notebook. The sad thing is, I actually remember what all of these comments mean.
Which brings me to the update I've written to the Gray Hall saga. It's not really part of the stroy plot-wise, but it's more of a snippet of what law school life is really about. The more "human" side to law school. This little interlude I've written is all about the weird and interesting questions that law school professors and law school students have said during class.
That's all.
It's the End of Chapter Two, as I Know It...
It's the end of Chapter Two as I know it...and I feel fine...and I feel fine.
So what happens in this update? Well, here is what happens...
(Sung to "Memories are Made of This". Sorry Dean Martin.)
Sweet, sweet the mem'ries you gave to me,
You can't beat the mem'ries you gave to me.
Take one fresh and tender kiss,
Add one stolen night of bliss;
One girl, one boy; they meet, some joy.
He gets a date out of this.
I'm doing so well, I might come up with another section of this novel post up. A two for one deal just for today.
That's all for now.
So what happens in this update? Well, here is what happens...
(Sung to "Memories are Made of This". Sorry Dean Martin.)
Sweet, sweet the mem'ries you gave to me,
You can't beat the mem'ries you gave to me.
Take one fresh and tender kiss,
Add one stolen night of bliss;
One girl, one boy; they meet, some joy.
He gets a date out of this.
I'm doing so well, I might come up with another section of this novel post up. A two for one deal just for today.
That's all for now.
Thursday, November 03, 2005
Codewords and an Official Military Guide
It's another post to the Un-Zone, but not related to NaNoWriMo 2005.
Have you ever seen spy movies or TV shows? Stuff like Alias, the James Bond series, La Femme Nikita (a really cool TV show that used to be on USA Network), and the Bourne series. Remember all those cool codewords they used? Well, now you can figure out and translate what the government is really saying.
Thanks to the Federation of American Scientists (FAS), now you too can decipher the governmental gobbledegook and have a better understanding of what the government means when they say stuff like "Yankee White" and "Xn." If you don't know what they mean, under government-speak, you're an "outsider."
And finally, the US military's guide to terorism in the 21st century. It's the complete and comprehensive military textbook on this subject. If you ever wanted to know what weapons terrorists will likely possess or how terrorist groups are organized, you'll find it here.
Links(Note, these are large PDF files)
The Lexicon of Government Informational Policy
http://www.fas.org/sgp/library/maret.pdf
"A Military Guide to Terrorism in the Twenty-First Century," version 3.0, 15 August 2005
http://www.fas.org/irp/threat/terrorism/index.html
Have you ever seen spy movies or TV shows? Stuff like Alias, the James Bond series, La Femme Nikita (a really cool TV show that used to be on USA Network), and the Bourne series. Remember all those cool codewords they used? Well, now you can figure out and translate what the government is really saying.
Thanks to the Federation of American Scientists (FAS), now you too can decipher the governmental gobbledegook and have a better understanding of what the government means when they say stuff like "Yankee White" and "Xn." If you don't know what they mean, under government-speak, you're an "outsider."
And finally, the US military's guide to terorism in the 21st century. It's the complete and comprehensive military textbook on this subject. If you ever wanted to know what weapons terrorists will likely possess or how terrorist groups are organized, you'll find it here.
Links(Note, these are large PDF files)
The Lexicon of Government Informational Policy
http://www.fas.org/sgp/library/maret.pdf
"A Military Guide to Terrorism in the Twenty-First Century," version 3.0, 15 August 2005
http://www.fas.org/irp/threat/terrorism/index.html
And Yet Another Installment
It's another installment in the continuing Gray Hall story. I worked on this section last night and finished it this morning. As MacGyver said, "Another day...another set of possibilities." I guess I'm a sucker for mornings. What did I write about today?
To sum up, the main character is at a party. He expounds on mental pictures of people. He also explains his obsession with doing things the "right way." It's much better and much more entertaining when you actually read the post.
So I like writing. It's a lot more fun than doing other stuff like reading a bunch of statutes involving corporations or perfection rules in secured transactions or...you get the point. Just typing that kinda made me tired.
Right now, I'm thinking NaNoWriMo is fun. Maybe I'll think of this experience differently when I can't think of anything to write. It's possible, but there are enough strange people and crazy things that happen in law school. Plenty of fodder to poke fun at.
That's all.
To sum up, the main character is at a party. He expounds on mental pictures of people. He also explains his obsession with doing things the "right way." It's much better and much more entertaining when you actually read the post.
So I like writing. It's a lot more fun than doing other stuff like reading a bunch of statutes involving corporations or perfection rules in secured transactions or...you get the point. Just typing that kinda made me tired.
Right now, I'm thinking NaNoWriMo is fun. Maybe I'll think of this experience differently when I can't think of anything to write. It's possible, but there are enough strange people and crazy things that happen in law school. Plenty of fodder to poke fun at.
That's all.
Wednesday, November 02, 2005
The Saga Continues
It's another update to the NaNoWriMo 2005 Entry. It's a continuation of Chapter One. To sum it up nicely, this entry makes fun of Constitutional Law and the main character has an IM conversation with an old friend from high school.
I found this post very easy to write. I mentally composed most of it last night and somehow remembered most of it this morning. The outline I wrote for this section was the following:
1. Make fun of Constitutional Law in as many ways as possible
2. Make fun of law school casebooks
3. IM conversation with friend
4. End chapter
I think I might have a talent for writing prodigious amounts of stuff in short amounts of time. This speed-novel writing thing could be a hidden talent. Then again, law school students learn how to write a bunch of stuff in short amounts of time.
That's all for now.
I found this post very easy to write. I mentally composed most of it last night and somehow remembered most of it this morning. The outline I wrote for this section was the following:
1. Make fun of Constitutional Law in as many ways as possible
2. Make fun of law school casebooks
3. IM conversation with friend
4. End chapter
I think I might have a talent for writing prodigious amounts of stuff in short amounts of time. This speed-novel writing thing could be a hidden talent. Then again, law school students learn how to write a bunch of stuff in short amounts of time.
That's all for now.
Tuesday, November 01, 2005
Update to NaNoWriMo Site
The first installment of my NaNoWriMo 2005 Entry has now been posted. The second installment should be up some time tomorrow, I think. Hopefully. Enjoy. Spread the word.
That's all for now.
That's all for now.
Monday, October 31, 2005
Halloween and NaNoWriMo
Greetings and welcome back to The Un-Zone, the house located at the end of the street that your parents tell you not to visit. You know, that house the neighborhood kids make the creepy stories about involving the crazy old guy and the underground laboratory. Well, not that weird, but close enough.
Today is Halloween. Personally, I'm not a big fan of Halloween. For me, it's just another day in the year. When I was a kid, I had lots of fun dressing up in a costume and getting a bunch of candy. Now, it's like, whatever. I think that some people take this holiday way too seriously. You know, those people who will wear a costume to class or work. Those who will accost you for not having the proper Halloween spirit if you're not dressed up like they are. One would think that these people consider Halloween a religious holiday and wearing a costume is akin to religious vestments in order to commune with the Halloween gods.
While walking to Burge Union and walking back to Green Hall, I saw several people wearing costumes. Cat ears, a Renaissance Faire costume involving corsets, a pirate, and other assorted motley garb. I'm very sure they were enjoying themselves wearing their costume on campus.
The most interesting person I met wearing a costume was an attractive girl dressed up a black cat. It was early in the morning, just as I arrived on campus. I walked to the Burge Union to pick up newspapers and to check my e-mail, as the computers were on. Inside, I notice a girl wearing a cat costume, complete with the ears and tail. Obviously, this person enjoys Halloween.
The following is the conversation I had with her (All true without exaggeration):
Me: That's a nice cat costume you have on.
Cat Girl: Thanks. Where's your costume?
Me: I don't feel like wearing a costume.
Cat Girl: You HAVE to wear a costume. It's Halloween.
Me: Um...I do?
Cat Girl: Yes. You have to.
Me: Oh, in that case, I'm dressed up as a cat lover. In fact, I'm looking for a cat right now. You'd fit the bill. I'd make you purr.
Cat Girl: I was joking. Now that was good. Was that meant to be a pickup line?
Me: No, not really.
Cat Girl: Nice to meet you. I hope to see you later.
And with that, she left. I don't know her name or phone number. I was dumb enough not to ask for her name. Isn't THAT stupid? Oh well. I guess Halloween isn't too bad after all. It's all in the day of a life of a KU Law School student...
**********
In other news, NaNoWriMo begins tomorrow. The insanity starts in about eight hours. I have most of my story outline done (70%) and I'm too lazy to try and complete it. When I reach the point where I have no plot outline, I'll go and wing it.
The website for the NaNoWriMo entry is listed in the sidebar. I'll be using this site as a way to let you know when I've updated the story. I might post other stuff.
That's all for now.
Today is Halloween. Personally, I'm not a big fan of Halloween. For me, it's just another day in the year. When I was a kid, I had lots of fun dressing up in a costume and getting a bunch of candy. Now, it's like, whatever. I think that some people take this holiday way too seriously. You know, those people who will wear a costume to class or work. Those who will accost you for not having the proper Halloween spirit if you're not dressed up like they are. One would think that these people consider Halloween a religious holiday and wearing a costume is akin to religious vestments in order to commune with the Halloween gods.
While walking to Burge Union and walking back to Green Hall, I saw several people wearing costumes. Cat ears, a Renaissance Faire costume involving corsets, a pirate, and other assorted motley garb. I'm very sure they were enjoying themselves wearing their costume on campus.
The most interesting person I met wearing a costume was an attractive girl dressed up a black cat. It was early in the morning, just as I arrived on campus. I walked to the Burge Union to pick up newspapers and to check my e-mail, as the computers were on. Inside, I notice a girl wearing a cat costume, complete with the ears and tail. Obviously, this person enjoys Halloween.
The following is the conversation I had with her (All true without exaggeration):
Me: That's a nice cat costume you have on.
Cat Girl: Thanks. Where's your costume?
Me: I don't feel like wearing a costume.
Cat Girl: You HAVE to wear a costume. It's Halloween.
Me: Um...I do?
Cat Girl: Yes. You have to.
Me: Oh, in that case, I'm dressed up as a cat lover. In fact, I'm looking for a cat right now. You'd fit the bill. I'd make you purr.
Cat Girl: I was joking.
Me: No, not really.
Cat Girl: Nice to meet you. I hope to see you later.
And with that, she left. I don't know her name or phone number. I was dumb enough not to ask for her name. Isn't THAT stupid? Oh well. I guess Halloween isn't too bad after all. It's all in the day of a life of a KU Law School student...
**********
In other news, NaNoWriMo begins tomorrow. The insanity starts in about eight hours. I have most of my story outline done (70%) and I'm too lazy to try and complete it. When I reach the point where I have no plot outline, I'll go and wing it.
The website for the NaNoWriMo entry is listed in the sidebar. I'll be using this site as a way to let you know when I've updated the story. I might post other stuff.
That's all for now.
Sunday, October 30, 2005
Lady Luck is My Friday Night Date
"You might forget your manners
You might refuse to stay
And so the best that I can do is pray
Luck be a lady tonight
Luck be a lady tonight
Luck if you've ever been a lady to begin with
Luck be a lady tonight"
-"Luck Be a Lady," Frank Sinatra
Greetings and welcome to The Un-Zone, the official site for all things Un. Yes, I have used this line before, but I like it. If you've got any good suggestions, send them in.
I'm still single. But on Friday night, I had a hot date. It was Lady Luck. No...Lady Luck is not a code name for some hooker or something, but that fickle thing called fortune. That lady luck. When you think about it, however, Lady Luck would make for a decent name for an exotic dancer or something of that nature. I digress. I do that quite a bit.
I'm not much of a gambling type of guy. It's too risky for my tastes. I'll play the occasional game of poker for fun and a game or two of blackjack. For me, I'm more into the mathematical aspects of gambling, the analysis part of these games of chance. Calculating odds. Figuring out who has what cards. That sort of stuff.
So, given these proclivities, it makes perfect sense that I should go to a social event with a gambling theme. Absolutely perfect sense. Logically, given that I am at such a social event, I should happen to do very well with such games of chance as craps and blackjack, but have lousy luck with poker. In some respects, I kinda wish it was actual money I was winning, as I could have make quite a bit...but anyways, that is not the point of this blog. Describing my streak of good luck is the point of this post.
The day begins with craps, the venerable game of rolling a pair of dice and hoping certain sums appear on the face of said dice. An interesting sidenote, dice are called "probability cubes" by the politically correct writers of some math books, as "dice" connotate negative images of gambling, whereas "probability cubes" are neutral in such respects. I digress.
It's my turn to roll and I go on a decent winning streak. I keep hitting the point I set on the come roll and I'm feeling good. My luck runs out after winning several games. As luck would have it, I hit a seven when I should have been aiming for a six. Hey, you can't argue. Lady Luck is fickle.
Time for the Texas Hold-Em tournament. I promptly get cleaned out. I don't get the cards I need and for some pervertedly twisted reason, when I fold, had I stayed in, I would have won big. For instance, I have a 10 of clubs and a 2 of spades. The cards on the flop are a 10 of diamonds, a 10 of spades and a 2 of hearts. I could have had a freaking full house. The turn card...a 10 of clubs. A freaking four of a kind. No way in hell a person could have beat me had I held onto my cards. The final insult: the river card was a 2 of clubs. Yep, a freaking four of a kind and a three of a kind. I'm still hitting myself. I should have just stayed in that hand. But that's how luck works. It's fickle and it flitters from person to person. It bounces and turns like the little ball on a roulette wheel.
An interesting sidenote. At one of the tables, John Smolen and several others break into "You've Lost That Loving Feeling" sung by the Isley Brothers. I guess they were recreating the scene in Top Gun. That one where Tom Cruise and a bunch of Top Gun students sing at a bar.
After getting shafted in poker, it's time to play blackjack. But first, time to wander around. Talked to some people...calculated some odds. I play at one table and win a few hands...as in six or seven hands. It's getting boring. So I quit and walk around some more. Talked to some more people. Saw a guy carrying a pink drink who dressed up like Fred Phelps, the crazy Kansas minister who protests funerals and is virulently anti-homosexual. When you see him, you doubt intelligent design. If this intelligent designer was that clever, why did he let that flaw into the system. One could possibly wonder if Fred Phelps is a genetic throwback to a lower lifeform. Then again, I don't think the lower lifeforms would take credit as being one of his ancestors. Quite an interesting choice of costume and drink...
I stop at a blackjack table and Kyle(The Kansas Law Student, see link on right sidebar), is dealing. He took over for someone. I'm not sure why, but it was nice of him to do so. I sit down and I proceed to win. I don't know, but the feeling was weird. I think the gut instinct of knowing when to hit or when to stay or when to double down just took over. I was right on nearly every one of my calls. Except for that one time I decided to hit and went over. Three consectutive blackjacks and a long string of 21s. Quite nice.
It's getting late. Time to go home but enough time for one more hand. I dump a bulging baggie full of chips (bulging baggie sounds funny. Almost sounds like a drug dealer term or something you would read in a court case involving drugs) on the table. I comment to the guy sitting to my right (who was drunk and pretty annoying) that it would be funny if I got another blackjack.
I didn't get a blackjack, but I did win again. Kyle, when I left, mentioned something about taking me to a casino the next time he visits one. Saying Lady Luck was on my side would be an understatement.
And so, that ends the story of my weekend. I think just reading your post will increase your good fortune by quite a bit. So, if you read this post and make a killing at the casino, please e-mail me your story and I'll give instructions on how to send a nominal cut from your winnings. It's just a small favor. Just kidding. You can keep all of it. Uncle Sam, however, will want a lot more that I will.
That's all for now.
That's all for now.
You might refuse to stay
And so the best that I can do is pray
Luck be a lady tonight
Luck be a lady tonight
Luck if you've ever been a lady to begin with
Luck be a lady tonight"
-"Luck Be a Lady," Frank Sinatra
Greetings and welcome to The Un-Zone, the official site for all things Un. Yes, I have used this line before, but I like it. If you've got any good suggestions, send them in.
I'm still single. But on Friday night, I had a hot date. It was Lady Luck. No...Lady Luck is not a code name for some hooker or something, but that fickle thing called fortune. That lady luck. When you think about it, however, Lady Luck would make for a decent name for an exotic dancer or something of that nature. I digress. I do that quite a bit.
I'm not much of a gambling type of guy. It's too risky for my tastes. I'll play the occasional game of poker for fun and a game or two of blackjack. For me, I'm more into the mathematical aspects of gambling, the analysis part of these games of chance. Calculating odds. Figuring out who has what cards. That sort of stuff.
So, given these proclivities, it makes perfect sense that I should go to a social event with a gambling theme. Absolutely perfect sense. Logically, given that I am at such a social event, I should happen to do very well with such games of chance as craps and blackjack, but have lousy luck with poker. In some respects, I kinda wish it was actual money I was winning, as I could have make quite a bit...but anyways, that is not the point of this blog. Describing my streak of good luck is the point of this post.
The day begins with craps, the venerable game of rolling a pair of dice and hoping certain sums appear on the face of said dice. An interesting sidenote, dice are called "probability cubes" by the politically correct writers of some math books, as "dice" connotate negative images of gambling, whereas "probability cubes" are neutral in such respects. I digress.
It's my turn to roll and I go on a decent winning streak. I keep hitting the point I set on the come roll and I'm feeling good. My luck runs out after winning several games. As luck would have it, I hit a seven when I should have been aiming for a six. Hey, you can't argue. Lady Luck is fickle.
Time for the Texas Hold-Em tournament. I promptly get cleaned out. I don't get the cards I need and for some pervertedly twisted reason, when I fold, had I stayed in, I would have won big. For instance, I have a 10 of clubs and a 2 of spades. The cards on the flop are a 10 of diamonds, a 10 of spades and a 2 of hearts. I could have had a freaking full house. The turn card...a 10 of clubs. A freaking four of a kind. No way in hell a person could have beat me had I held onto my cards. The final insult: the river card was a 2 of clubs. Yep, a freaking four of a kind and a three of a kind. I'm still hitting myself. I should have just stayed in that hand. But that's how luck works. It's fickle and it flitters from person to person. It bounces and turns like the little ball on a roulette wheel.
An interesting sidenote. At one of the tables, John Smolen and several others break into "You've Lost That Loving Feeling" sung by the Isley Brothers. I guess they were recreating the scene in Top Gun. That one where Tom Cruise and a bunch of Top Gun students sing at a bar.
After getting shafted in poker, it's time to play blackjack. But first, time to wander around. Talked to some people...calculated some odds. I play at one table and win a few hands...as in six or seven hands. It's getting boring. So I quit and walk around some more. Talked to some more people. Saw a guy carrying a pink drink who dressed up like Fred Phelps, the crazy Kansas minister who protests funerals and is virulently anti-homosexual. When you see him, you doubt intelligent design. If this intelligent designer was that clever, why did he let that flaw into the system. One could possibly wonder if Fred Phelps is a genetic throwback to a lower lifeform. Then again, I don't think the lower lifeforms would take credit as being one of his ancestors. Quite an interesting choice of costume and drink...
I stop at a blackjack table and Kyle(The Kansas Law Student, see link on right sidebar), is dealing. He took over for someone. I'm not sure why, but it was nice of him to do so. I sit down and I proceed to win. I don't know, but the feeling was weird. I think the gut instinct of knowing when to hit or when to stay or when to double down just took over. I was right on nearly every one of my calls. Except for that one time I decided to hit and went over. Three consectutive blackjacks and a long string of 21s. Quite nice.
It's getting late. Time to go home but enough time for one more hand. I dump a bulging baggie full of chips (bulging baggie sounds funny. Almost sounds like a drug dealer term or something you would read in a court case involving drugs) on the table. I comment to the guy sitting to my right (who was drunk and pretty annoying) that it would be funny if I got another blackjack.
I didn't get a blackjack, but I did win again. Kyle, when I left, mentioned something about taking me to a casino the next time he visits one. Saying Lady Luck was on my side would be an understatement.
And so, that ends the story of my weekend. I think just reading your post will increase your good fortune by quite a bit. So, if you read this post and make a killing at the casino, please e-mail me your story and I'll give instructions on how to send a nominal cut from your winnings. It's just a small favor. Just kidding. You can keep all of it. Uncle Sam, however, will want a lot more that I will.
That's all for now.
That's all for now.
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