Digital Civilization

There comes a time in a man's semi-well constructed life in which he must seek for extra credit in order to ease his stressing soul. Tonight, I attended a seminar/class thing in order to do just that on "Digital Civilization", which I had no idea what to expect apart from the fact that it would NOT be about video games.
Imagine my surprise and delight when they had a very distracting display on the projector that showed the entire auditorium your anonymous comments and questions while the speakers presented their various programs and experiences. All you had to do was text it, and it showed up for 100+ people to see while the speaker was oblivious to it, like a constant public twitter feed.
People were afraid at first... the comments were all the same. "I want to take this class", and "wow, that's cool...." and one brave soul posted, "I wonder how long it will take before someone proposes on this." Then I decided to introduce a little anarchy.
"Mormons are wierd"
After the reactions to that one died down, and the hard nosed participants voiced there dismay at the lack of focus (and by voiced I mean typed a few motherly words of rebuke behind the safety of a cell-phone keyboard), I wasn't quite done...
"These mashed potatoes are so creamy"
I only got three responses for that one, but a lot more comments on how the randumbness of people was distracting. Hey, they're choosing to be distracted.
Finally, I advertised this blog, saying "There's a guy who does a blog that's great for bored people at regularguylife.blogspot.com" so if anyone heeds that promotion, then I consider myself... incriminated.
All in all, the Digital Civilization was still a neat-o presentation, being an amalgamation of methods is which we utilize technology to enhance students' experiences. I got that much out of it, despite that fascinating toy that proved to be even more fun than Y-Chat rooms from the 90's.
Ope, it's 11:11. Cross your fingers for passing grades!

Why 'Homework' Is Not a Good Excuse for Anything

"Hey Sally, wanna go out this weekend?"
"I can't. I'm just swamped with homework."
"Well... *&$@# you!"

This was not a real conversation, I assure you. But maybe it got somebody thinking...
The other night I had to turn down an opportunity to do something on account of writing a paper--on account of homework. As hypocritical as this sounds, I am an exception to the rule that I am about to argue for in the following blurb. Why? Because I had a virus back in the summertime which wiped my computer clean so I no longer have Microsoft Word and I have to go to campus to write or edit papers and print them off. It's not a fun situation at all, especially for an English major. Since the library is only open for so long, I have to respect its hours and it puts me in a tight corner sometimes due to my own procrastination.

As for you, it's all a matter of priorities. If you want to make time for something (or someone) then you will make time. Homework is flexible in the fact that it can be done ANYTIME YOU'RE HOME! That means you could stay up til five in the morning doing the overkill study that college students are surprisingly prone to do. So when you tell a guy that you can't go out with him on account of an over-abundance of homework, what you're really saying is, "You're not important enough to me to find the time." Sure, dates may take a while, but if you simply informed him of your situation, however dire it may be, I'm sure he would be accommodating--he could change the plans to take up only, say, an hour of your time. And it could be a meal, so you could take out whatever time you had planned on cooking your Veggie Burgers or salads or whatever you girls eat. You don't need to spend two hours getting ready for this one... the man just wants to spend some time with you, to enjoy your company, and to know that maybe there is some interest on your part.
The moral is: You can manage your time to find room for somebody, but only if they're important enough to you. Homework? Not an issue... the real issue is your own priorities. Now, it's not a bad thing to have homework higher on your priority list than dating (is it?), just understand that if I ever get that excuse from you, you'd have been better off telling me you were busy shampooing your llama.

Disclaimer: Anyone reading this probably gets the impression that I've recently been turned down as some silly female opted for homework over a chunk of manliness she probably couldn't handle anyways. You would be incorrect to assume such. It's been a few months now since I've got that excuse from anyone. This is only something that's been on my mind, what with finals and everything.

Why I'm Excited to Graduate

Let me tell you a parable: there once were two men, and one said, "I go a shopping," and the other said, "Buy me some milk, or on the morrow, I shall have yours." So the man went and bought milk for himself and the other man, knowing that his threat was indeed valid (for it had happened previously many times). And the man was a malk-oholic, so he bought 2% for himself and 1% for the other, for he drank not skim, and he mused to himself, "Should I run out first, and surely I shall for I am a malk-aholic, I can then drink the 1% that I bought for the other man." Yet the other man was wroth with him for not buying skim, saying it was not his favorite. And the malk-aholic vowed from that day forward to do the other man no favors.

Ok, it's not a parable. It's a true story. And when I say that I'm excited to graduate, it's not so much from BYU as it is from the bachelor pad. I'm sick of dude roommates. A permanent chica roommate surely ain't a smooth ride either, but at least then there will only be two people making the kitchen messy, and I'll only have to clean up after two people every other day.
So if there are any particularly desperate females reading this post, just give this number a call: 832-472-2204. I can't guarantee that you'll be the supremely lucky one, but you're almost guaranteed a shot at it.

Then again, maybe there's a cave somewhere with my name on it. I could take a paper out of the wizard of Ajziou's book ad just go full hermit... ha, I just referenced my own work!

Dream Sports Journal Corner

So I read Lindsey's Facebook status about her childrens' night terrors. Strange... I still have night terrors. In fact, I had one last night. It's always the same yet progressively worse--there I am, having a good time, and then I remember that my teeth are rotting away, and I find that there are now three teeth on my bridge and they keep falling out. Poor Waylon... he never was happy in his home. Then my bottom teeth start to rot and fall out. All a man can do in such a situation is cry, and then awake in the morning in a cold sweat, checking with your tongue that they're all still there, and let the vivid sensation of despair slowly ebb over a few hours before I can return to normal activity.

Phil Jackson joined the bandwagon for saying that the Rockets' championships were tainted by the absence of Michael Jordan. Can you say "Sour grapes"?! Wow, for a while I kind of respected the simian man for his humor and lightheartedness with the media, being a minorly respectable person on one of the nation's most disrespectable teams. No more. Now the zen master can keep his title, but only if zen means surrounding yourself with the biggest egos in basketball to bring you championships.
And as for all you morons who want to downplay the Rocket's championships because Jordan decided to go baseball those years or whatever, guess what... You don't know if it would have turned out any different. Jordan didn't play, and the Bulls didn't win. The Rockets did. And that first championship over the Knicks in 94 was done with but one superstar on the team and a bunch of role players. Who else can claim that, besides maybe the Pistons? Phil Jackson certainly can't with any of his teams.

If I were to agree with your assumption, Phil, (and we all know what happens when we assume) that the Rockets would have lost should Jordan have played, and the wins were indeed tainted... then perhaps your game seven victory against the Rockets in the 2009 playoffs was tainted because Yao didn't play that game... and perhaps your ensuing championship was also tainted because Kevin Garnett was out for that post-season, as well as Jameer Nelson for the Orlando Magic. I mean, maybe they can't be compared to Michael Jordan, but you just never know what sort of difference they could have made. You just never know... and there's no way you could ever know.