Geek Thoughts

Being the semi-nerd that I am, I thought it would be interesting to explore technology in today's post. As the entire world knows, Apple's main deal these days is the iPod. If you have no idea what I'm talking about, read this first. Anyways, there was an article today on Excite about how other companies like Dell and Rio are slowly dropping out of the market of hard-drive music players. Apple is holding on to it's top spot in the world of mp3 players. For now.

There is something strangely familar about all this, though.

Not that I was alive or anything, but in the mid 80s when personal computers were just getting started, the market behaved a little like the music player market. There were several other small companies working on the computer (the mouse interface was actually designed by Xerox), but Apple was the first to really successfully market and get it's products out in the market. Then Microsoft came along. Everyone knows the story of how nerdy-looking Bill Gates tried to get into the market getting only laughs from the suits at IBM. It did take awhile for Microsoft to get going, but once they got the operating system (DOS, which may or may not have been "borrowed" from elsewhere) , then IBM gave them a chance, and the rest is history. Apple then really went down in the 90s. Then they released the iPod and secured their future. Hmm....it makes one think...who's going to topple Apple? It's happened before, in somewhat the same circumstances. Sure, Microsoft doesn't really need to come out with some new product (the XBOX will secure their future for a while), but it could happen. Or is Apple going to try and come out with some new next-gen gaming console? Only time will tell.
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All right, that's enough of the Geekiness. Hopefully it's all out of my system now. Moving on to the local happenings...nothing really has been going on here. I have my first test tomorrow in Russian, which should be okay. Economics continues to be especially dry.
English is the same old same old. We're reading The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, which is very well written. East Asian History is a lot of fun. Even though it's mostly lecture and notes, it's still very interesting.
Well, that's all for now...and LEAVE COMMENTS!

Super Snore/ Musings on Society

Wow that was boring. The Super Bowl wasn't that exciting. There were several horrible calls by the refs, the commercials were good few and far between (like the Emerald Nuts one about Eagle-eyed machete enthusists doing something with a short Druid...I dunno), and the halftime show was too short and those Rolling Stones are ancient.
But that's enough complaining. I went to Topeka to watch the game with some friends who live down the hall, so it was still fun. Nothing else really that exciting has been going on here, so this will be a short post. I'm finally over that stupid cold. I still do not have a roommate, which is very nice. That's about it for me...so now onto my muse of the day.
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I have been noticing recently the utter fascination with celebrities that our society has. Every time I flip through some really good channel [sic] like VH1 or E! there's something about somebody breaking up with someone else and a home video of somebody else's being released. I know I may sound really strange and totally illogical [sic again] right here, but here's the question that comes to mind:
WHO CARES?
Are we really that bored/lazy that we need to immerse ourselves in the lives of other people who usually have way too much money? Think about all the things that people who watch and read about all this mundane celebrity crap (Whoa, Britney just bought a latte!) could accomplish if they didn't waste all that time!
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All rightey, I'm done. Please leave comments!

Under the Weather and Good News

Sorry about the lack of posts. I've been sick the past few days with a cold/feverish type of thingy. I'm not sure I'm quite over it yet, but I am feeling better. Classes have been all right, and not much has happened in the way of excitement, except of course yesterday. My Russian TA was reaching up to grab the overhead screen and her shoulder dislocated itself. I don't know exactly how it happened, but we did call an ambulance and moved class to another room for the remainder of the class. She was in class today with a sling, but otherwise seems fine. Other than that, nothing really of notice has occured.
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The Good News is as follows:
I am now in the J-School! I recieved an email from a journalism advisor saying that i was accepted today. The only thing left is to maintain a 2.5GPA and go to some Orientation later in February. Yahoo! This means that next year I will start to take more journalism specific courses. Hopefully by then I will be working for the Kansan. I look forward to finally concentrating on my writing.
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Well, I believe that's about it. Oh, tonight I played my first game of Texas Hold 'Em poker, and I cleaned up (on chips. Not real money.)! I guess beginner's luck is true.
I shall post again soon.

One Week Down

Well, I've got about a week done back at KU. I had my Econ class for the first time yesterday. The professor was the most entertaining part. I think he was around 80 years old (this is his 50th year teaching at KU), short, suspender-wearing, and with a very thick French accent. It was quite humorous. That class is going to be quite easy, I believe.
The first Navs Night is tomorrow, which I am looking forward to a lot.
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There are some new pictures of my (clean-Thanks Mom!) room up on my photobucket account. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Earlier today I watched the trailer for Mission:Impossible III today, and am looking forward to it immensely. Cruise returns as Ethan Hunt. Ving Rhames returns as the AWESOME Luther Stickler, and there a few other big names on the cast list. Laurence Fishburne is on board this time, as is Keri Russell and Philip Seymour Hoffman. (For the IMDb site, click here) The trailer can be found here, but make sure you have a broadband connection.
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That's all for now! Peace out.

Question to the University

This post serves as a forum for asking the University of Kansas a question:
Who are you selling student email addresses to?
Let me explain myself. Every day I recieve three to five spam emails, ranging from bogus stock offerings to "enlargement" pills. If students recieve "free" email service and storage space, why must the university sell addresses? Imagine someone being gone on winter break for a month and not accessing the internet during that time (skiing trip or something like that). The number of spam emails that would pour in would destroy the available storage space and the student would not be able to recieve official university emails, including those about bills.
I will be sending the university a link and asking them to reply. Hopefully they won't ignore me.

Back in the Swing of Things II

First day done! My english class seems pretty...odd. The class description was pretty ambigous, and so was the actual class today. I guess we're just reading a bunch and discussing it. That's pretty much it. The professor seems pretty cool...he's one of those old guys who have been here forever and can pretty much get away with anything, and that's always good. Navs starts up again this next Thursday, and I get to play my guitar for church on Sunday, so it's good to get back in the swing of things in that respect.
So far, so good! I have a feeling that this semester will be a little better.
But please keep up the prayers, they already have helped immensly.
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Everything you could possibly want to know about me.

Back in the Swing of Things

Hello all. Well, the first day of classes is almost done, and I already have homework (big surprise). My East Asian history class looks really interesting, and I get to return two books I bought but don't need. Good start.
Russian looks like the same old thing, but with a new red book (oooo!).

I have my English 2o5 class in about an hour, so I'll update about that when I get a chance. It's amazingly cold here (mid-30s) and raining, so that makes for a fun first day of walking around campus again.

So far, so good!

Back in Kansas Part II

Back again, and this time for a while. Unfortunately, my schedule is such that I am not able to come home until I'm done in May. Spring Break isn't possible, because my family is picking me up on the way down to Texas. So...another 4 month stint here. Hopefully, it won't be as bad as the last start here. I know people, and *drumroll please* Justin has moved out. The days of a crappy roommate are hopefully over. I talked to Shmuel and he said that I will be getting a new roommate. I must therefore ask all of you to pray that my new assignment will be better. Thank you all for your prayers too.
I will try to update more often now. Again, thanks for your prayers.

Winners!

Oy, today seems to be a day for winners. Of course, sarcasm will be present in this post.

First off, KARE11, the NBC channel out of the cities, has been taken off the cable feed. Why? Because they want to CHARGE for their feed. This is a FCC-regulated, over-the-airwaves, publically-owned airspace channel. Why the HECK do they think they can charge for it? Something about other channels being able to charge, but those aren't networks. Argh. If they want to explain it, I open the forum. I will be sending the lovely folks from KARE11 my link.

Also, a tragic turn of events in West Virginia. The mine accident has shown that the press needs to GET IT'S STUPID FACTS RIGHT. Late last night it was all over the news. "12 miners saved!" Oops....this morning, the news was covered with an "Oh yeah....oops...they're actually dead." This is almost like the famous Truman election incident. Oops for the media. I don't know the exact facts, but the media is responsible. I think that the miscommunication started in the mining town actually, but the media was responsible for spreading the false annoucement. Maybe that will be something i can change in the industry.
Maybe.

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas Everyone!
I finally got the wireless internet in my grandpa's house to work, so I figured I should update this.
My week at home has been a great one. I've hung out with Kayla a few times, and just generally sat around and had fun not having homework!
Christmas has been good so far. And I doubt that anything will happen to ruin it. I don't like keeping a running tab of gifts, but i will say that I got some great cologne from Kayla. I smell so manly. I still have one to go, but I won't bore you all with the details.
Seeing that it's Christmas, it's time for a reflective post here. I think it's interesting that the attitude changes around this time of year. Suddenly, Christians aren't so bad. Perhaps the world thinks they shouldn't make us mad cuz we might take it away. Maybe it's just cuz i don't watch as much TV at home, or I'm not as "connected" to the world news, but I have noticed a definite decline in anti-Christian statements. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that I'm a cynic, I'm just observing.
Don't forget the reason for the season. We are celebrating the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ. He was God. He left heaven, the place we all look forward to, to come to earth to save mankind. We can't forget that at all.