Tuesdays with Muerte

I don't mean to be cocky, but I knew this day would come. I took the GRE. I completed the required application. I threw out my desired response to the Universe. And after an eternity of waiting, the answer FINALLY came back. I'm in. Utah State was the only school I wanted to go to, ergo, the only school I applied to. Some of my friends and family counseled me to apply to a number of schools, and call them up to have your name stick in their minds, and not to be over-confident. My response was, and will always be: " If it suppose to happen, It will ." I realize that this is a very daring motto to live by. Later today, I will finish this post and explain why I have chosen to live by this philosophy and the holes that I have already found in it. Later that day... Major holes in my philosophy: Man I was feeling conceded this morning!  I kept claiming that the universe had decided for me and yet, at the same time, I gave myself credit for being awe...

10 Easy Steps : 1. Unfold, the pants. 2. Unbutton and unzip, the pants. 3. Grip waist by the seam while simultaneously checking pockets for objects. 4. Lift less-dominant leg at the knee. (Don't fall over.) 5. Slide less-dominant leg into respective pant leg. 6. Repeat steps 4 and 5 with the dominant leg. 7. Lift pant at the waist seam until the crotch of the pants fit snugly against your body. 8. Button/snap/close, the pants. 9. Zip up, the pants. 10. Make final adjustments to the fit. (e.g. shove hands into pockets to create space between the crotch of the pants and your body.) *Or you could just do this . . . BTW, Daniel Boone hated coon-skin caps. It's true; I read it on the internet.

Intro Since May 5, 1992, marking the release of the first-person-shooter, WOLFENSTEIN 3D , academics have argued the effects of video games on the development of youth. For the last 20 years, arsenals of evidence have mounted on both sides of the debate. Here are some examples of typical arguments from each side: Pro-Video Games The basic Pro-argument is based on testimonials video gamers make themselves. These gamers insist that gaming improves hand-eye coordination, problem-solving skills, teamwork (online play) and the ability to think abstractly. They further insist that playing violent video games has no "real-life" effect on them. Some studies have shown temporary rises in "fight-or-flight" aggression, but no apparent long-term effects. Further study will be required for conclusive evidence. Video game violence has become an increasingly sensitive issue in the past 10 years. Numerous video game studies were funded after the 1999 Columbine HS s...

A truer assessment, I've never heard.

1. Don’t say you don’t have enough time. You have exactly the same number of hours per day that were given to Helen Keller, Pasteur, Michelangelo, Mother Teresa, Leonardo da Vinci, Thomas Jefferson, and Albert Einstein. ~ H. Jackson Brown 2. The bad news is time flies. The good news is you’re the pilot. ~ Michael Altshuler 3. Time is the coin of your life. It is the only coin you have, and only you can determine how it will be spent. Be careful lest you let other people spend it for you. ~ Carl Sandburg 4. I am definitely going to take a course on time management… just as soon as I can work it into my schedule. ~ Louis E. Boone 5. In truth, people can generally make time for what they choose to do; it is not really the time but the will that is lacking. ~ Sir John Lubbock 6. Those who make the worse use of their time are the first to complain of its shortness. ~ Jean De La Bruyere 7. The great dividing line between success and failure can be expressed in five words: “I did not have tim...

Book Review - What I's gots to say about da novel : Apparently, after writing Tuesdays with Morrie , Albom still had more to say about death. Here are the 5 lessons I took away from Eddie's Ghosts of "Unresolved-Issues" Past: 1. Everyone's lives intersect and affect every other one, even if we don't realize it. We ought to live, aware of what effect our smallest actions can have on others. 2. Sacrifice is a part of life that we should not be angry about or regret or resent. Take hope in knowing that every time we feel like we are giving something up, someone else is benefiting from it. 3. Anger is a burden that only bares down on one's own back. Lighten your load. Forgive. 4. When we lose the ones we love, that love is not lost. That love can survive in memory. No one who has loved need ever feel lonely. 5. Purpose can be found in, what is thought to be, the most menial or wasted life. Purpose and joy is discovered as we love those in our realm of ...

In what must be the ultimate exercise in omphaloskepsis [Thanks to Eve, I know this word means: navel-gazing], an Austrian scientist has solved the mystery of belly button lint. After three years of research, Georg Steinhauser, a British chemist, has discovered a type of body hair that traps stray pieces of lint and draws them into the navel. Dr Steinhauser made his discovery after studying 503 pieces of lint from his own belly button. Chemical analysis revealed the pieces of fluff were not made up of only cotton from clothing. Wrapped up in the lint were also flecks of dead skin, fat, sweat and dust. Dr Steinhauser's observations showed that 'small pieces of fluff first form in the hair and then end up in the navel at the end of the day'. (Not my belly button; I found this pic on flicker.) Writing in the journal Medical Hypotheses , he said the scaly structure of the hair enhances the 'abrasion of minuscule fibers from the shirt' and directs the lint towards the b...

Two hospitals in Staffordshire, England have decided to remove the dispensers from their wards, with the NHS so concerned about the thefts they have issued a Patient Safety Alert to all hospitals and clinics across the UK. The cleanser, which has been in the NHS for more than four years and is used to tackle hospital-acquired infections such as MRSA, contains 75 per cent proof alcohol, nearly twice the strength of whiskey. The gel is supposedly undrinkable thanks to the foul tasting chemical additive bitrex but paramedics who have treated patients found with the dispensers say addicts will simply "drink through" the taste. Last year reports suggested patients were stealing the £10-a-litre gel and mixing it with orange juice or cola to create powerful cocktails. The National Patient Safety Agency's cleanyourhands initiative suggested the handrub should only be used "within the immediate contact area that a patient is being treated." Despite an increased warning ...

To assuage the loss of my beta fish, Little G , I decide to go to Jungle Jay's Pet Store and buy 11 new feeder fish, and a giant bowl to put them all in. I had such a difficult time recovering from Killer's death that I thought if I went over-kill on the distractions, I wouldn't have time to go through the grieving process. So far, it's working. This is Thing 1 and Thing 2 . They are in my room. They are pretty much identical except for a little white mark on the bottom of one of them that looks like a one. This is a shot of the bowl sitting on top of my dresser. It is about a 2 liter vase filled with about 4" of rocks and has two shoots of bamboo in there too. This is Brain . He's got a large noggin, accentuated by a big orange mark on the top of his head. This is BP (Bits and Pieces) . He is 3x smaller than the rest of the fish. He gets his name by the way he acquires food. He lets larger fish, like Brain, crush the food flakes and he swims around th...

What is a Bushism ? According to Wikipedia, the term Bushism is a "neologism that refers to a number of unconventional words, phrases, pronunciations, malapropisms, and semantic or linguistics errors that have occurred in and defined the public speaking of former United States President George W. Bush." Top Ten Bushisms 10) "Families is where our nation finds hope, where wings take dream." —LaCrosse, Wis., Oct. 18, 2000 9) "I know how hard it is for you to put food on your family." —Greater Nashua, N.H., Jan. 27, 2000 8) "I hear there's rumors on the Internets that we're going to have a draft." —second presidential debate, St. Louis, Mo., Oct. 8, 2004 7) "I know the human being and fish can coexist peacefully." —Saginaw, Mich., Sept. 29, 2000 6) "You work three jobs? … Uniquely American, isn't it? I mean, that is fantastic that you're doing that." —to a divorced mother of three, Omaha, Nebraska, Feb. 4, 2...

Today, I made a new friend who is 27 and wears a diaper; he also happens to be one of the most spiritually in-tune individuals I've ever met. His name is Mark Erickson. The story begins two days ago when I receive this text from my aunt who lives in Centerville, UT. "Hi Bryan, could you come up on Sunday? There is a handicap man in my ward who wants to meet you. He is your age. You can come for dinner too." Honestly, I was most interesting in the dinner part--Char always puts on an amazing spread. But I was also very open and curious to meeting with this handicap, mystery man. Saturday arrived I went to bed plenty early (10pm) in order to feel refreshed for the following morning's adventure. Naturally, my body freaked out and I woke up at 1am feeling spunky and ready for the new day. I convinced my mind to relax and fall back into REM by picturing a cage of three canaries. I released one of the birds and mentally followed it on a free-flowing journey t...