Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Boring Update and a Couple Movie Suggestions
Besides the stuff above I've also been waiting for Mickey Rourke's new film The Wrestler to come out in a theater in this area. It's a hard hitting look at the results of the lifestyle live by many wrestlers throughout the ages. Much like Mick Foley wrote in his great review of the film on Slate.com I'm surprised that what looks to be a very good film has been make about the subject of professional wrestling. Below is the trailer for the film.
Also, if you've got a Netflix account you should check out the documentary Bigger, Stronger, Faster. It came out back in May but I've only just watched it today. It takes an even handed look at the impact that steroids have had on our culture. It's told from the prospective of a guy who grew up around the same time I did, watching and enjoying the same roid fueled entertainment (think Rambo, Hulk Hogan, Jose Canseco, etc). The director adds a personal touch to the story as well since both of his brothers have taken steroids to aid their attempts at professional wrestling, football, and weightlifting careers. Here's the trailer for it.
Saturday, November 15, 2008
UFC 91: Couture v. Lesnar Main Event Predictions
I wanted to pick the whole card, but lets face it, there are really only two fights that are truly must see fights, so I’ll stick with them. Click “Read More” for lots of prognostication goodness.
First, Kenny Florian v. Joe Stevenson: Both of these guys seem to be improving every time they fight, though I think Florian has a slight edge in just about every aspect except wrestling. Combine that with Florian’s size and reach advantage and I see a decision victory going his way.
Now for the main event Randy Couture v. Brock Lesnar: The chorus of people who said they’d “never pick against Randy Couture ever again” have started doing just that…again. So much so that the line in Vegas which started close to even now has Randy as a +120 underdog.
It’s understandable to see Lesnar winning this fight. He’s probably the single most physically gifted fighter in MMA. Plus, in his victory over Heath Herring he showed that his MMA learning curve is almost superhuman. Yes, he is faster, stronger, younger, etc.
Despite all that Randy Couture will still walk out of the MGM Grand victorious. He’s the best strategist in the sport and I find it hard to believe that he hasn’t found more than a few paths to victory. Add to that the fact that Randy is also one of the best in the sport at making his opponent fight the fight that he wants them to fight.
So how will it go down? If I had to guess based off of what Randy has hinted at in his interviews I’d say he’s planning to show the world that Lesnar’s speed advantage is only in one direction. Lesnar probably is the quicker fighter going straight ahead, but given his 265+ pound frame I’m not convinced that he’s faster than Couture going side to side.
My hunch that we might see Couture test Lesnar’s lateral movement was only strengthed when he weighed in at a pretty lean 220 pounds instead of going for a bulkier 225 or 230. I look for Couture to circle a lot early on and base his striking, clinching, and takedown attempts on finding Lesnar slightly off balanced.
If Couture can take the fight into the later rounds with this strategy (or something else) then I’d surprisingly have to give the edge to the 45 year old. Randy might be pretty aged, but if Lesnar has to go back and forth for 3 or 4 rounds his size will probably begin to become something of a liability. It’s not that I doubt Brock’s cardio, it’s as good as it can be for a man of his size. It’s just that physiologically it will take more oxygen to fuel Lesnar’s 265+ pounds than it will Couture’s 220. It’s essentially the same difference we see when a defensive lineman has a long fumble return compared to when a linebacker or large running back has a long run. The larger man is completely exhausted whereas the smaller man is just beginning to get exhausted.
In summation: Randy Couture by TKO on the ground somewhere in the 4th or 5th.
Of course, it’s also entirely possible that Lesnar completely mauls Couture and makes all this text completely wrong, but I’m not betting on it.
Monday, November 10, 2008
UFC 91: Saturday, 10:00 PM
If you don't want to order it then find a restaurant near you to watch it at. Either way it'll be worth it. I'm not quite ready to write out my predictions yet, but I will say I'm liking Couture's chances of defending his belt.
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Things I Learned Today
2) That a morning spent in Jiu-Jitsu class is apparently safer than standing in line to pay for a sandwich at a newly built Subway. Part of the front of the counter fell off directly on my big toe.
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Come On Down!!!
"Police evacuated part of a Financial District high-rise Monday, after a man angry that he had been turned down to appear on a TV game show walked into a law office wearing a blinking device that he described as a bomb, authorities and witnesses said...Anthony McDaniel, facilities manager at the law office, said the man was holding a note and wearing a belt with a blinking light. McDaniel said the man indicated he was angry because he was passed over to appear on the TV game show "The Price is Right."
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Why the Olive Garden Hate?
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Adam's Spiritual Home in Flint Michigan
Thanks to Church Without Walls Ministries, at 6202 Dupont St there's a church where I can fully utilize my throwback jersey collection. Rev. Martez Warren Sr. decided to relax the dress code a little and encourage his church's members to wear their finest Mitchell & Ness in hopes of drawing in some new members.
"I felt I needed to do something to entice people to come to church, but I understood a regular service wouldn't draw them in," Warren said. "So if we can get them in church and off the streets, that's the beginning of change for our community."
This got me thinking, what would be the more awkward jersey to wear into church? Ty Cobb? O.J. Simpson? Rae Carruth? Dennis Rodman?
Saturday, September 13, 2008
Matthew 10:14
Thursday, September 11, 2008
File This Under 'Ways to Pay for Law School'
Saturday, September 06, 2008
UM v. UF Thoughts As They Happen
26-3 Final
We saw what many people expected, we're young, we're quick, and we're good enough to hang with an elite team on the road for about 3 quarters. I'm never happy with a loss, but the way these guys played should comfort anybody who was concerned about the direction Randy Shannon has this program going at the beginning of his second year.
Here's hoping that Florida stays healthy all year and makes a run for the SEC and National Titles.
UM v. UF 2008
Simply stated, today I'm feeling like the Canes are young enough, talented enough, and crazy enough to pull the major upset here. Sure, I'm picking with my heart, but what's the fun in sports if you can't hope for the improbable from time to time.
Thursday, September 04, 2008
600 People in the Stands and 1 Weirdo in Pittsburgh Watching on a Laptop
I've been to a Summer day game at Dolphins Stadium. It was back in the Summer of 2003, at the time the Marlins were well below .500 and playing the Montreal Expos. I forgot to wear a hat and sunburned my head really bad for the first and only time. This sunburn led to a wicked staph infection on my head...I still wish I had pictures of that thing. Since I don't here's a picture that'll give you an idea of how it looked. So yeah, it's okay to stay at home for the day games until they finally get that retractable stadium built downtown. Even though I'll excuse the fans for staying home I did watch the game on my laptop, which is a really weird feeling. Is it an indication that something is wrong with me that I'm paying to watch a game on my laptop that only 600 people wanted to attend in person?
Oh well, at least they've won 2 world series...
Tuesday, September 02, 2008
Loosly Related Observations Regarding Employment, Baseball Values, and Poverty
To celebrate my last day I went to a Pirates game at PNC Park. I’ve been to a decent amount of games there, so it’s about time to give the Pirates their due. For $16.25 I was able to get really good outfield box seats (price reduced to $12 thanks to an online special), a Richie Zisk bobblehead (free to every fan) and a Pirates batting helmet sunday ($4.25). Sure, the Pirates aren’t exactly the cream of the MLB crop, but all things considered they still give a great overall value for the price. Plus PNC Park is worth the price of admission by itself.
There’s something funny to me about being unemployed on Labor Day. Monday was the first time I can remember being unemployed and out of school on the national holiday devoted to the nation’s workers. Don’t fear for me or anything though, thanks to some saving and financial planning I’m fine for a little while.
I went to Burger King for dinner tonight and had an experience with the wonderful homeless community on Carson Street. On my way in and out I had to ignore a couple people begging, but that’s nothing new. What was interesting was that just as I began my meal inside a 5 foot 5 inch homeless guy decided it’d be a great idea to hover over me to intimidate me into giving up my Burger, clearly he had no idea of my commitment to keeping my own food. I’ll use this clip from the movie Falling Down to give a moderately accurate approximation of the exchange.
Unlike the clip I wouldn’t have even the guy at Burger King my old useless briefcase. So, why not give a guy food when he’s asking for it instead of money? Simple, it’s all about the way he went about it. My guy thought that by standing over me and leering he would be rewarded with food. That’s not the kind of behavior I encourage.
Instead, if you’re panhandling I will give you money or food if you can spin a tale. Not just any half hearted tough luck story though. Nope, you’ve got to get my attention and keep it. I don’t care so much whether the story is true or not, just make it good and not obviously false. Perhaps even add some song and dance elements, whatever suits your talents. Just don’t bother me to waste my time, make it worth it for me and it’ll be worth it for you.
There’s my quasi-libertarian guide to panhandling, hopefully there’s some homeless person using the internet at some public library that can make use of this approach to panhandling.
Sunday, August 24, 2008
Used Book Stores Rock
In the philosophy section and ran across a deductive logic book with a cartoon on the cover and newspaper comic strips interspersed throughout the pages. Here's a little tip, if you're in the market for a philosophy book and you see one that makes frequent use of comics to get its points across it's probably a good book, at least my experience.
In addition to the comics I recognized one of the author's names, Howard Pospesel. He's a professor at the University of Miami. Since the book was only $3 I decided to pick it up on a whim. After I got home I got even more value for my $3. I was flipping through it and found the original recite for the book from when it was bought from the pitt bookstore. The recite is dated 1/21/1981 and the price was $9.70.
I also picked up a great book on the Gracie family of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu fame. It's titled The Gracie Way and I've had my eye on it for a while. When I got home and started flipping through it I saw some large marks on the first few pages, turns out the marks were the autographs of Kid Peligro (the author), Rodrigo Gracie (one of the Gracie clan), and Royce Gracie (one of the greatest mixed martial artists of all time).
In honor of this good fortune I've decided to post one of the my favorite fights of all time; Royce Gracie v. Art Jimmerson. I don't love this fight because it's a great fight, I love it because it's one of the funniest and most awkward fights to ever happen. Jimmerson is a boxer who decided to wear ONE boxing glove...and (15 year old SPOILER ALERT!) taps out just because Royce mounts him. To my knowledge he's the only guy in UFC history to tap out to a mount. Truly the definition of an epic fail.
Monday, August 11, 2008
This is why I Decided Against Renaming Myself “Awesome Jesus Superchrist”
Yes, that's right, his real name is Almighty Suprmebeing Allah. You'd think that once he turned his name into a billboard for his God he'd think twice before taking part in reckless driving, disobeying an officers signal, interfering with an officer, criminal attempt/sale of cocaine and criminal attempt/possession of cocaine.
Sunday, August 10, 2008
Basketball Can't Get Much Better for Me
Speaking of D-Wade, he looks like he's finally getting back to his Finals MVP form of a couple years ago. Lightning quick, fearless drives to the hole, I'm quite pleased.
It's nearing halftime and we're only up by 3, but that's mostly because the Chinese perimeter players have been on fire from three point range. Should be good viewing in every game they play.
Okay, I just saw D-Wade throw a sick alley-oop to Lebron James. Time for less typing and more watching.
Friday, August 08, 2008
Finally Back
1) Studying for and taking the bar exam. It was a long and annoying process. No matter what the results are I doubt I’ll be taking it again for a really long time.
2) Moving. It’s never fun, especially when you’ve got to pay $76 to throw away your garbage at a landfill. However, I did get a few good pictures and a good story out of it all.
The next morning I made the picture of me in the landfill my Facebook profile
picture with the accompanying tongue-in-cheek status “Adam Samons took the bar on Tuesday and Wednesday and took the job at the landfill on Thursday.” Since then I’ve had 6 friends ask me whether I’ve really taken a job at a landfill. I’m not sure exactly what that says about me, but I’m strangely comfortable with it.
3) Working. I’m still enjoying my job. On top of that I’ve come across some cute and creepy pictures during my work hours. First, take a look at this thank you image from one of the Allegheny county web sites. I can’t remember which one it is, but when you log off it shows you this
Next up, one day this week a coworker noted the front page of CNN.com was running a story about 100,000 unknown gorillas being found. I love the picture that accompanied the story.
I know that that the little gorilla there is probably just yawning or something, but in my mind I chose to believe that the look on his face is his joyous reaction to himself and 999,999 of his closest gorilla friends finally being found.
So that's about it for me, it's nice to be back in the real world and away from law school, the bar, and everything that encompasses.
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Advice for the Aptly Nicknamed "Rampage" Jackson
I’m not a lawyer yet or anything, but I would like to give Quinton some advice: Next time you wind up doing a hit and run, don’t do it in a truck with a larger than life-size picture of yourself on it.
Felonies like hit and run aren't funny, but this picture sure is
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
July 5th = Sophie's Choice for Adam
I've done my fair share of hyping Rampage Jackson on this blog, for instance here, over here too, and a little bit in this post too. So today I realized that I needed to balance out the MMA love and introduce you guys to the man that Rampage will fight on July 5th, the one man tied with Rampage as my favorite currently active mixed martial artist. Behold; Forrest Griffin
There are few things in this world funnier than a highly intelligent, college educated, former police officer turned MMA fighter who acts barely sane all the time just to entertain himself.
Also, that video was filmed in the lobby of the Xtreme Couture gym in Las Vegas where I trained for a week back in May. Seeing it made me really miss that place...sigh.
Here's another Forrest video, this time it's one of the official promotional videos for the Forrest v. Rampage fight on July 5th
Sunday, June 22, 2008
Much Respect to this Kid: 2nd Edition
It reminds me of the time I went to the library and checked out the Official NBA Encyclopedia before a trip to Mississippi. I read the entire thing, including the career stats of every player who had ever played an NBA game up to that point. I still don't think I retained as much as this kid though.
Thursday, June 19, 2008
I Was Right
Some of the person's points were good, but yesterday I got confirmation that my overarching thesis is still correct: pittsburgh, like all other cold weather cities, will always have potholes, but that still doesn't excuse the city for being completely inept at using the taxes they collect to improve the situation. I claim victory in this debate thanks to this story from KDKA: Pothole Patching Problem Halts Road Work.
Here's the knockout blow from the article: "They say the mix that is intended to prevent potholes is instead causing them."
Also watch the video on the right side of the page about the story, the visuals of the potholes are great.
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Great Article on the Job Prospects of My Friends and I
"Vichet Chan, who received his law degree from Catholic University in Washington, D.C., in 2007 has been looking for work ever since. He recently moved back in with his parents in West Virginia to save money. He owes about $250 a month in interest on student loans. If he gets a job, he will lose his hardship deferral and will owe about $1,000 a month.
''The thing is companies want experience from young lawyers, but it's hard to get the experience,'' Chan said.
One symptom of the surplus is the rise of so-called ''contract attorneys'' -- essentially temps with JDs (the doctor of law degree). They work for roughly $20- to $40-an-hour on often monotonous tasks, like reviewing documents, that law firms outsource. A blog called Temporary Attorney even chronicles the mind-numbing assignments, verbal abuse and poor working conditions that include cockroach-infested, un-air-conditioned rooms with blocked exits and no breaks allowed."
The outlook isn't completely horrible though, according to the head of Charlotte School of Law Gene Clark:
"While the market for traditional lawyering jobs is mixed, he says, it's strong in other fields for people -- law-enforcement officers, entrepreneurs -- with legal skills."
So, anybody want to buy a T-shirt?
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Finally!
From M.L. Carr running the team, to the Garden closing (at the hands of my beloved Orlando Magic no less), to Red Auerbach passing away, times haven't been all that good. Well, none of that matters now, seeing this great team play made it all worth it.
I feel especially good for Paul Pierce. He's been the only bright spot in recent Celtics history. After spending so much time stranded on mediocre or bad Celtics teams he finally got a chance to shine and took full advantage of it, bringing home the Finals MVP Award.
Also, a special congrats goes out to Doc Rivers. He's done a great job coaching both of my favorite teams. In fact, he was the coach for 2 of my favorite NBA seasons of all time, this year obviously, and the 1999 "Heart and Hustle" Orlando Magic. In addition to all that Angelina can tell you he's a great tipper since she served him at the Winter Park Starbucks during his entire stint in Orlando.
Monday, June 16, 2008
A Little Late, But Here’s My Own Unique Tim Russert Tribute
Back when graduation from Valencia was nearing I figured out that UM was the place I should go after graduation. This was a surprise to everyone, including myself, considering I had spend the better part of two decades planning to go to the University of Florida. After explaining how UM was a much better place for me to study philosophy there was only one challenge remaining and it was a big one: How to explain to mom and dad that UM’s $28,000 tuition could actually be affordable compared to UF’s much lower in-state public school tuition?
I had worked the numbers out for myself over and over, but for some reason it didn’t seem like I could convince anyone else that UM would cost less after applying the financial aid they would give. So, I thought long and hard about how to explain such a convoluted equation in a simple, straightforward, understandable way. And then it came to me…
AN ERASABLE MARKER BOARD!
The rest, as they say, is history.
Thanks for the idea Tim, I loved every minute of being at UM.
Thursday, June 05, 2008
My Choice to Play B.A. in the A-Team Movie: Rampage!
This Guy Gets It, READ THIS ARTICLE
I'm going to spend the rest of the night printing out copies of the article and handing them out to everybody walking down the sidewalk.
Tuesday, June 03, 2008
Most Fun I've Had...Ever?
This image is going on my business card after the bar. The text of my card will read:
Adam “The Brawl’n Barrister” Samons ESQ
He’ll Fight For You…Literally.
I made myself two promises before I went to the gym. 1) No touristy fan boy pictures with the fighters if I’m inside the gym. 2) If I break promise #1 at least don’t do that stupid clinched fist pose in the pictures. Here you can see me breaking both of these promises to myself, but who cares, it’s Randy freaking Couture.
Here were the staples of my diet while in Vegas: G2 to drink, grapefruit, bananas, Nutri-Grain bars, and some sort of microwaveable taco bell rice and beans thing.
Me with the most exciting fighter around today, Clay Guida. I met him at the gym the day before, but I was still keeping my promises to myself at the time. I took this when I stumbled upon an appearance he was doing at a Champs Sports. He’s a nice guy, doesn’t do the clinched fist pose in his pictures, and he somewhat resembles the Geiko caveman, what’s not to love? He’s so cool he can have his eyes closed and still be the coolest guy in the picture.
Me with Matt Hamill. I’m pretty sure he’s the baddest def man on the face of the planet. Also, the UFC lists him at 6’1, but unless he’s wearing platform shoes in this picture he’s more like 6’4.
These two brothers are the future of MMA: 7 year old Carlos Ruffo and 5 year old Giovani Ruffo. Their ground and standup techniques are both startlingly good. One day I’ll be able to say I rolled with them a couple of times way back when at a Jiu-Jitsu seminar on my graduation day. I think I’d change my anti-child stance if I knew my kids would be as fun loving and well behaved as these pint sized killing machines.
I was too into the fights on Saturday night to remember to take a couple pictures. The important thing is that this man, BJ Penn, won.
I didn’t spend all my time at the gym…well I would have, but it was closed on Sunday so I headed out to Red Rock Canyon. It was beautiful and these cell phone camera pictures do it no justice.
After Red Rock Canyon and a nap I headed out for a night on the town with these two guys that I was rooming with at the hostel. I’m pretty sure that they had names, but I never knew them. I only know them as “The Austrian Guy” and “The Guy from Switzerland.”
All the instructors at Xtreme Couture are world class, but this guy, professional fighter and Jiu-Jitsu instructor Dennis Davis was the best of the best
Boxing coach Ron Frazier was a close second behind Dennis, but you wouldn’t know it from this video.
Here's a picture of the front of the gym. It's also a picture of my next vacation destination, whenever that might be.
Stuff I'm Watching While I'm not at Work or Doing Bar Prep
The cool thing about living in a town at a time like this is the inexplicable exchanges you have with strangers about hockey. I just stepped outside to put something in the mail and my next door neighbors were out on their porch and greeted me with "lets go Pens!" This exchange wasn't quite as weird as the one I had a couple of weeks ago when a guy dialed the wrong number and got me on my cell phone. After explaining that I wasn't the guy named Joe that he was looking for he ended the call with "oh, okay, sorry about that. But go Pens anyway right?!"
On top of all this we've got something I've been waiting on for a long time starting on Thursday: Lakers. Celtics. NBA Finals. Brian's got his team, I've got mine, should be fun.
Monday, May 19, 2008
Bar Review, Bankruptcy, and Brawling
1st) I’ve started studying for the bar and the pile of books I’m trying to tear through is quite intimidating. It’s 11 and a half inches high by 11 inches wide and that width number isn’t even counting the top three books which are 14 inches wide. I highly doubt this process is going to be fun.
2nd) Work is going well, but a little frantic since I have a vacation starting in the middle of this week. I don’t like to blog about work since it’s really not wise to discuss much in the way of legal goings on. But for those of you who are curious I can assure you that this is not the way you declare bankruptcy, even though I wish it were at times:
3rd) I think I’m ready to train at Randy Couture’s gym this week. I’m still overweight, but my cardiovascular conditioning is pretty good since I’ve been running three miles every other day and doing my boxing and Muay Thai kickboxing workout routines as usual. I’m really looking forward to the Jiu-Jitsu classes and just hoping to be able to keep up with the classes in other martial arts that I’ve only practiced on my own.
Sunday, May 18, 2008
Hopefully this is Not How My Vacation Will End Up
If you're wondering what kinds of gambling stories I'm talking about just check out these interviews with Chuck on the Dan Lebatard Show. Charles talks about losing $100,000 on the Super Bowl, and here he discusses losing $2,500,000 in a six hour period.
I’m going to Vegas in a few days. I plan to spend a large portion of my time training at Randy Couture’s gym, but if I do wonder into a casino and find myself at the same blackjack table as Charles I’ll be sure to sit in the chair right after his and do the exact opposite of what he does.
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
AdamSamons.com Saves You Money
So there you have it. When you're really hungry for Wendy's chili do yourself a favor and order two small chilli's instead of a large. If you were wondering, yes, one major motivation for doing this post was so I'd have an excuse to stockpile some chili for today's lunch and dinner.
After writing out this post I realize that I should probably be studying for the bar right now. But I guess if the law thing doesn't work out I may have a career as a low budget consumer advocate.
Thursday, May 08, 2008
My Vote is as Good as Cast
Tuesday, May 06, 2008
So How Does It Feel?
Monday, May 05, 2008
May 5th 2008
Saturday, April 26, 2008
This Blogging Stuff Can Be Useful Too
Monday, April 14, 2008
It Just Became About Money, So For Me It Just Got Personal
Other random observations:
-It felt really good walking into barco this morning knowing that it was the last week of classes I'll ever have to take here.
-This morning when I tried to sign onto a school computer I used my work logon ID and password. It feels good to know the working in the law part of my life appears to be overtaking the law school part of my life.
Tuesday, April 08, 2008
Wisdom from a Friend's Facebook Profile
Monday, April 07, 2008
The Joys of a Broken Down Laptop
What makes this setup even more bizarre is where the federal supplement I’m using came from. It was one of the props I bought from the set of the old NBC show Ed once it was cancelled. So, a fictional bowling alley lawyer helped me take my notes in real life law school this morning.
Lastly, I feel my habit of purchasing memorabilia has been somewhat vindicated. I’m not like other people who just put their knick knacks up on a wall, oh no, my memorabilia to work. Luckily for me my laptop is still under warranty, so I guess I'll finally have to get it fixed.
Friday, March 21, 2008
Bedside Blogging
1) If I have to take any medicine, prescription or over the counter, to make myself feel better.
2) If I miss any regularly scheduled event such as school or work because of my illness.
My dilemma is how I should write these two clauses out if they were some sort of statute; Should they be inclusive or exclusive?
Inclusive:
Adam Samons shall be deemed to be sick if he
1) Has to take any medicine, prescription or over the counter, to make himself feel better.
And
2) Misses any regularly scheduled event such as school, work, or a social outing because of his illness.
Under this definition I’m not sick yet, but I will be if I miss my dinner plans tomorrow.
Exclusive:
1) Has to take any medicine, prescription or over the counter, to make himself feel better.
Or
2) Misses any regularly scheduled event such as school, work, or a social outing because of his illness.
Under this definition I’m already sick.
I guess I really don’t know how I feel. Perhaps the fact I had the energy to lay here and ramble on about this minutia should be considered in the analysis too.
On the bright side I do have a great excuse to just lay around and watch the NCAA Tournament all weekend.
Monday, March 17, 2008
One Way to Pay for Law School I Guess
Today I read an interesting little story about an island where money (allegedly) washes ashore every day. The downside, at least for me, is that cocaine also washes ashore. It's stories this this that convince me lawyers aren't anywhere near as bad as their reputation would have you believe. If most lawyers truly lived up to the lawyer jokes then you can rest assured that they'd be living on this island. Here are some details on the island from the link:
"Bluefields is an island off the coast of Nicaragua located directly between the cocaine labs of Colombia and the 300 million noses of the United States.
Everyday, cocaine smugglers using very small, very fast boats try and shoot undetected to the States, but when the Coast Guard swoops in, the traffickers toss the cocaine and cash overboard, both to eliminate evidence and lighten their load in an escape attempt...
...Everyday, the 50 thousand inhabitants of Bluefields comb the beach searching for the “White Lobster.” On average, they find 35 kilos of cocaine a day along with tens of thousands of cold wet cash."
Saturday, March 15, 2008
Another Great Get Fuzzy Comic
Saturday, March 08, 2008
Tough Times for the Cast of Road House
With that out of the way I’d just like to note a couple sad stories in the news recently. It’s been a really tough week for the cast of what I feel is the Citizen Kane of bad movies, the film Road House.
First I heard that Patrick Swayze had pancreatic cancer and then tonight on a UFC message board I read that Jeff Healey, the blind guitarist in the movie, had died at age 41 from cancer.
I suppose that I’ll probably consider these unfortunate events a reason to watch the movie again as a tribute sometime tomorrow.
Monday, February 18, 2008
The Last Straw For Pittsburgh: I think I’m going to send the city the bill for my tire.
I’ve made it really clear that I’ve been less than thrilled with living in pittsburgh for the last 3 years or so, well tonight my frustration with this place hit an all time high and surprisingly it has nothing to do with anything at the law school.
Many of you have probably filed your taxes already, I haven’t yet, but will soon. I didn’t make much money in 2006, so last year when I filed I wasn’t charged any federal taxes, neither was I charged state taxes, but somehow the city of pittsburgh thought that it was such a privilege to live here that I should pay them $143.
I have no problem paying taxes, I love my county and think it deserves my financial support. Also, the state of PA has some nice areas that I wouldn’t mind financially supporting via taxes. But the idea that pittsburgh deserves money from me is crazy. If I could see one single area where they are investing this money to make my live here better then I would be perfectly fine with it, but as it stands the infrastructure of this place is falling apart despite the fact they will tax any activity you may want to do here. I’ve lived in much bigger cities which took care of their roads and other governmental responsibilities really well without any state or local taxes. So, this conundrum is what leads me to tell you my story from tonight.
Tonight I went out to watch wrestling at a local restaurant. As I drove there I swerved to avoid a traffic cone tuned over in the street. I was able to avoid the traffic cone, but still hit what I assume it was put there to help me avoid, a massive pot hole. I wasn’t driving all that fast, certainly less than 35 miles an hour, but as I continued to drive I could tell that my tire had been cut by the impact. Interestingly, just Friday I had heard on the morning news of another area where a pot hole had caused 8 flat tires in an hour. Obviously I wasn’t happy about the situation, but I was able to find an emergency pull off before I wound up riding on my rim. I changed the tire and wondered why the city hadn’t spent any of my $143 from last year filling any of their pot holes.
So, I make it to my destination on my spare and enjoy the show. As I head home I feel another bump, this time going less than 25 miles an hour, and surprise, surprise, I suddenly feel that I’m driving on a flat tire again. This time there wasn’t even a cone, even though I was on the same street. That’s right, pittsburgh’s roads are so bad that I got a flat tire from different pot holes on both my way to and from my destination.
It’s not like these pot holes are a rarity, the roads here feel like you’re driving on a gigantic asphalt piece of Swiss cheese. Also, there are quite a few man hole cover like things that aren’t level with the road. Get this, they constructed these things, made them not level with the road, and on top of that put them directly on the part of the road where your tire runs, not in the center of the road like anyone with a brain would have done. These things aren't bad enought to pop a tire, but are bad enough to really annoy you while you drive.
So, as a result of this insanity I have officially eliminated any possibility of staying in pittsburgh when my lease run out. Whatever small chance there was of me staying is now gone. I know some will say “but what if you get a great high paying job offer out of the blue that’s in pittsburgh?” To them I say this; get a stop watch and time me making world record speed as I run from this place no matter what.
Sunday, February 17, 2008
The Dunk Contest Is Back!
Friday, February 15, 2008
Cool Story on Rambo 4
Sunday, February 03, 2008
Something tells me this book won't be hitting the shelves on February 11th
This just in, um, it's not coming out. I was wrong on my prediction earlier, but I don't care. Congratulations to the New York Giants and even more importantly to the 1972 Dolphins, still
THE ONLY UNDEFEATED TEAM IN NFL HISTORY
Super Bowl Thoughts
- The Giants can win this game and it may well be close. The Pats have shown in a few games that even though they're undefeated they can be vulnerable. With all that said, the Pats will win. I'm not rooting for them, but they're a machine, a machine that just wins football games.
- I don't know if I'll enjoy the game, but I know I will enjoy Tom Petty at halftime.
- I'm watching Puppy Bowl IV right now and I've got to tell you, I would love it if Animal Planet changed their programming to the Puppy Bowl 24/7/365. I could watch it all day, it's like getting all the benefits of owning a cute precocious puppy without any of the actual work. If only they wouldn't show such depressing animal adoption commercials during the commercial breaks everything would be perfect.
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Weekend Plans
Sunday, January 27, 2008
Magic 96 - Celtics 93
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
I Get Results (by having impeccable timing)
Today I went to the site again and lo and behold they had done as I asked and removed the hillman library story. Click the link and try it yourself, pitt actually looks like the kind of school you'd like to attend now; big money donations, successful teams, etc.
Sure, this is almost certainly the result of good timing rather than somebody in power actually reading my humble little blog, but I'll take all the credit anyway.
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
I Know The Real Reason
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All: There will be no heat in the building tomorrow, Tuesday, January 15th from 8:30AM to 3:00PM. This outage is considered EMERGENCY STSTUS! Please remember to dress accordingly.
Conversation: EMERGENCY OUTAGE NOTICESubject: EMERGENCY OUTAGE NOTICE
HILLMAN LIBRARY, LAWRENCE HALL, BARCO LAW BUILDING STEAM
BUILDING: HILLMAN LIBRARY, LAWRENCE HALL, BARCO LAW BUILDING
OUTAGE TYPE: STEAM
JOB NUMBER: A0038
START DATE(S): Tuesday, January 15, 2008
FINISH DATE(S): Tuesday, January 15, 2008
START TIME: 08:30 AM
FINISH TIME: 03:00 PM
DURATION: 6.5 HOURS
REASON FOR OUTAGE: STEAM LEAK ON 8" STRAINER IN BASEMENT OF HILLMAN LIBRARY
**********************
I guess it is important that we fix steam leaks in the basement of hillman library, but if the school is able to email us about it in the middle of the day yesterday why couldn't they fix it late last night, when nobody would be in these buildings? Maybe that new first floor entrance I blogged about is so expensive the school can't keep the rest of the building working properly.
Honestly, I think there's a greater plan afoot here. By having no heat in the law school on a day when the temperature is 25 degrees outside pitt is simply preparing many of us for our futures as unemployed law school graduates. Learning how to fight off the cold with no money may wind up being one of the few practical things I've learned here.
(In the interest of full disclosure I must admit that it's 12:50 right now and I've been at the law school since 9:00 a.m. and the building has been its normal temperature. Also, my account says pitt processed my refund early this morning, so I'll probably have my money by the end of the week. Despite all this I still couldn't pass up the opportunity to write about something as ridiculous as a school without heat for a day when it's 25 degrees outside)
Monday, January 07, 2008
Since My Loan Money Probably Won't Be In For A While
Here's a fun game. Think of a University and see what their web site's front page says they are up to.
University of Florida: Features profiles of promising students, Heisman Trophy winners, renowned faculty, etc.
University of Miami: Student run companies doing stuff, new hospitals, library acquisitions, studies in Hispanic health.
Duquesne: Athletics, student life, etc.
FIU: High faculty rankings and new artwork being added.
Also check out Florida State and Carnegie Mellon just for good measure.
Usually the schools display things that make you think "hey, I'd like to go there," don't they? At the very least you don't really see anything that makes them look stupid.
Next give pitt a shot; hit refresh a few times to see a few of the images they rotate on their front page.
Chances are you saw this image at least once;
(Click on this picture if you didn't see this image or can't read it)
Notice the caption under the picture of the library;
"Hillman Library's first floor entrance has reopened after 23 years."
It sounds like the school is celebrating getting a door fixed. I clicked the article and found out that they even had a ribbon cutting ceremony for this grand achievement. The article also explains that "the 1st-floor entrance was closed in 1984 because Hillman officials determined it had become too expensive to staff circulation desks on both the 1st and ground floors."
Look, I'm all for fiscal responsibility, but promoting the fact your University couldn't afford to keep an entrance to their library open for 23 years doesn't exactly put the school's best foot forward. This school does a lot of great things in the medical field, they should find something like that and put it up there, or just take this image and story down and don't worry about replacing it.
American Gladiators, My New Favorite way to Waste an Hour
I liked Hulk Hogan and Layla Ali as the hosts. Just about all the Gladiators are entertaining to watch. On the men's side "Wolf" and "Justice" were the clear standouts.
As for the female gladiators I like "Crush", mostly because I knew about her before the show ever started. Her real name is Gina Carano and she's the best female mixed martial artist in the world. If your curious about her fighting career you can find plenty of video on YouTube.
Lastly, I've found a competitor to root for, at least on the women's side. Her name is Venus Ramos and she won in an amazing comeback tonight. More important than that is the fact she went to UM. That's right, even with American Gladiators it's all about The U.
I even found this cool UM tribute video on her Myspace profile:
Wednesday, January 02, 2008
Much Respect to this Kid
However I've finally found a kid that proves I'm not the only one who's a little obsessive about clothing and such. Pictured to the left is 11 year old David Witthoft. He has worn that Brett Farve jersey in the picture every day for the last 4 years. I don't just respect this kids dedication, I envy it. I should really should have done that with a Marino jersey back in my younger days.
Tuesday, January 01, 2008
Hopeful Signs for 2008
Secondly, All Things Considered ran a piece on celebrations starting for the Abe Lincoln Bicentennial. Even though Abe was born in 1809 I can't think of any reason we shouldn't start now and make it a 2 year celebration.
Here's the link where you can listen to yesterday's story from All Things Considered and see how awesomely Adamcentric 2008 should be.