"People assume that time is a strict progression of cause-and-effect..."

Huh. It HAS been awhile since I skulked about here. Last time I was at the end of my first term of Grad school. Last month I graduated. From undergrad. Again.
As it turns out, the masters program I was in wouldn't really have made me that much better off.  It wasn't and MBA, Teaching Mastery, or anything remotely useful. All the CJ master's would have done was allow me to check off a different box in education. Would that have helped over all? I'm not optimistic. My second undergrad is Management Info Systems.  It's not a post grad, but what I got from that course is a damn sight more useful than a slightly more in-depth version of stuff I already learned years ago.
Nothing much else going on. Internship was awesome, but they sort of screwed me (and other interns) when they decided on a restructure.  Back in the job hunt. Again. Although I'm more optimistic about my prospects now than last time.

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All we know is that we like you. We have no taste, but we like you.

After almost a year of...well, nothing, am I really about to write something that's essentially a summarization of how bored I am?

Yes. Yes I am.

A good part of today was spent watching Animaniacs. I really can't think of a better a better cartoon. Id include Pinky and the Brain, but as it started as an Animaniacs short before venturing out alone, it counts. The amount of things that were snuck into this show that went completely over the kids heads is hilarious. On the other hand, it was quite educational. If asked to list as many nations of the world as they can, Id wager a good many people in their twenties will half speak, half sing something to the tune of the 'Mexican Hat Dance'. The state/capital thing probably has a similar story.

Netflix has tons of old (Ducktales and Animaniacs are old? NO!!!) cartoons. None of which are on instant watch. That kinda blows.

There's plenty of other stuff to watch, though. I'm almost done with Battlestar Galactica, and Ive discovered that Babylon 5 IS on instant watch. Along with XFiles, Buffy, Angel, Mythbusters, Farscape, Dr. Who, MST3K, Futurama, Southpark, Firefly, and...um. Yeah.

See? No reason to be bored at all.

Except I wasn't allowed that much TV as a kid (what was it...one show a week? Mom, I know you're reading this. You tell me.), and it kind of stuck. Only thing I watch nowadays are the three or four shows on prime time, and that's it. Don't feel the need to turn the thing on and watch it all that often. Instead, Ill just hang out online all day long. That's much better.
Ive been told I have a crappy attention span when it comes to the television. This is untrue. I sat through 'Young Victoria' without doing anything else. Hah.

So, what am I doing anyway? Reading, mostly. My ipod has somewhere around 130 books on it, and there are several more on my computer awaiting (eventual) transfer. Or Im on the computer doing something or other.


Some of you may be familiar with the current video-gone-viral; the Double Rainbow, and then the Double Rainbow song. Funny video. Shows us that getting high isn't all that bad. Story over, move along to the next big thing.
Except that someone decided to make 'DOUBLE RAINBOW ALL THE WAY!' (DRATW) a catch phrase, and it caught on. Now, not only have several people that I follow on twitter started using it, but the one whose being credited for the catch phrase is retweeting the hell out of it at a rate just under spam. Not that a guy with just over a half-million followers would actually notice that I unfollowed him, but it does almost feel like Im saying 'screw you'. Almost.
No. Im not twitter obsessed. Why do you ask?
Coincidentally, My three-year twitter anniversary is a week from today. It was a very sad day when I realized that twitter had hit the mainstream. Very sad. :(

I suppose thats why I havent been here much. Most of what I have to say can easily be summed up in a single 140 character post. Or three. I don't mind dividing them up (as opposed to the twitlonger thing). I want to hit 20k tweets by my birthday.

You know, Im sure theres some rant about the Gulf Spill, or copyrights and DRM, or politics that I could stick here. Useful, informative stuff. But thats not what this is for, and I don't like writing about it.

San Diego ComiCon is coming up, and after that, PAX. I want to go to those things so bad I can almost taste it. I wish there were enough Demands to get the awesome show known as W00tstock on this side of the country. Oh well. One day, I will go and be among my own kind.

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America's Priorities

Moments ago, I received various breaking news updates from BBC and CNN on my twitter feed. BBC reported that after a 14 month hiatus for repairs, the Large Hadron Collider was restarted about an hourish ago (as of the current time of 1710 EST/2210GMT).
CNN reports about a woman who cut in line at Wal Mart (Id give the link but it's down).

What. The. FUCK?????

Can someone please explain to me how some woman cutting in line at Wally World takes precedence over the LHC?.

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Sleeeeep

Or: "Why Nothing in this post makes sense"

I'm tired. Very tired. I want nothing more than to skulk to my bed and wallow under three layers of covers for the night.

Granted, thats not happening for at least another hour or so. Need to get this thing done for class tomorrow.

On the other hand, if I didnt have to finish it, I guarantee you Id be be wide awake right now. Oh well. At least I havent spiraled to the point where Im crashing at four in the morning and waking up around lunch. Yet. Finals are still another month off, though.

I think I need a new chair. My upper back and shoulders are killing me. In the spirit of Halloween, if anyone asks, Ive decided to tell them that Im growing wings as a part of my costume. They might be done in time. Seriously. It hurts right where theyd be if I had them.

I just lit some rope incense. Slightly more focused now. I really enjoy being able to burn the stuff now as much as I want. Fortunately, there are a lot of places up here that sell it. I also have a handy order form for a place that I got loads from at Renn Faire.

Does anyone get netflix? Ill probably get it soon, but my big question relates to that thing about 'current TV episodes'. How current? How long does it take for an episode to be available on netflix after the original airdate? While getting the service in the next couple months is a given, and I will also possibly get the roku box to hook up to my TV. Depending on the answer to the above question, I may end up canceling cable. Seriously, I only watch three shows weekly. The other two I watch online later due to class. Castle and How I Met Your Mother are both available online as well. The only problem at the moment is Big Bang Theory. Thats not online anywhere yet.
Seriously, is cable really worth it for three shows and the occasional football game or movie when Im not busy? Not particularly. Netflix is 9 bucks and I can make a roku pay for itself in no time.

Posted at 12:18 is a lie. It is now 1:48.

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Move Along

So it goes.

Finally.

After applying to Graduate programs at Western Carolina and Appalachian State Universities, I got in both. After some thought (okay, actually not all that much...), Ill be moving up to Boone for the next couple of years. Spent this past weekend up there doing a brief orientation and apartment/house hunting. Found a place not far from campus with an AppalCart stop at the end of the street. Routes go across campus and all the way through Boone. And its free. This means I have decided not to get on campus parking registration. There's really no need to.

We had looked at a total of four places. Being so close to start of term, there weren't that many places available...not to mention there's a housing shortage anyway. Methinks we got lucky.
My favorite place was really nice, but it was also a good bit away from campus. Almost out in the middle of nowhere, and I could look out my window and have deer grazing a mere ten feet away. At least, they were there when we viewed the house.
Oh well.

The decision to go with App over Western wasn't exactly all that hard. My Bachelors is in Criminal Justice from WCU. Being the idiot I was, I didn't have a minor. I should have, but I didn't. I recall recently wandering WCU's website for something when noticed that they developed a Forensic Science program (focused as a minor) about a year after I left. That was one of those facepalm moments. I find the topic somewhat fascinating, and I don't even watch CSI (I can count the times Ive seen NY and Vegas on one hand, combined...and Miami is just complete utter shit). My math is only decent, and I haven't really done much with science since high school chemistry/biology.

Have I mentioned that I'm a walking contradiction?

Okay, back on topic. The minor thing wasn't really that relevant. My BS was in Criminal Justice, so it would make sense that my Masters would be in something similar. Of course I would look to my Alma Mater first. If I had gone that route, Id be getting an MPA (Masters in Public Affairs) with a focus in Criminal Justice. That was...okay, but how much of that material was going to be on whatever PA was and how much was going to be on the CJ part? So, I started poking elsewhere. I actually applied to UNC Charlotte a few years ago. Didnt get in. Oh well.
Appalachian State also had a Masters program for Criminology and Criminal Justice, so I applied there too.
Long story short (wait..really?), applied to both, picked App.

For those of you who don't know, App and Western are Rivals. Ive gotten plenty of jibes from my Western friends and classmates about it and I expect a good bit from the App people. Especially when they see the WCU alumni license plate frame on the back of my car or the window stickers that I never got around to putting on the back of my window (they've been sitting on the back dash since I graduated). Ill put an App sticker up too.

The only thing I have to say about the Rivalry is that my loyalties lie with whoever happens to be the home team during the Battle for the Old Mountain Jug. As its an odd year, its at App.

Otherwise, I support both teams Equally.

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I hate beans. This could be a problem if I ever go vegan. Or Vegetarian. Or...uhm, yeah.

A handful of the people I follow on Twitter are from California. As it turns out, most of that set are vegans in some form another. This is cool. This probably means theyre healthier than I am.
...Maybe. I overheard someone scoff at that and mention chocolate was on the 'okay' list. They were a fan of Lindt

I know a few around here, too. Had classes with some, which wouldnt normally be anything major, except it was a music class and we toured. The class was usually no bigger than 12ish people any given semester, and about half were vegans. A couple of the others were meat/potato type people, and then you had a few like me, who didnt care so long as they could find something on the menu that was halfway decent. It wasnt unheard of for the first two groups to get into arguments about where to stop for dinner. Especially since we were often in or near Asheville NC, which has often been considered the "San Francisco of the East Coast", and has plenty of Vegan-friendly eateries. So, yeah. We hit a few of them up. We also hit a steakhouse once or twice as well...just to be fair. Normally, I was nice and got something that wouldnt throw the others off too much, as my usual Outback faire is something most would have a cow (er, no pun intended) over. Though, once I did order it anyway out of spite because a couple of them had done something to piss me off. Oddly enough, the one that was made most uncomfortable was a classmate that had labeled herself a 'recovering Vegetarian', and had gotten a well done ribeye, or something. I did feel bad for her, as she wasnt the cause of my ire.

I used to think about trying it...just to see if I could do it.

I dont think I can. Maybe a half-assed version (isnt there a 'no red meat' variety or something?), but not full on.

Im (usually) not that much of a picky eater, but as luck would have it, I pretty much dislike what apparently makes up a good percentage of vegetarian foods. Mostly beans. I hate beans. I think there were a total of three things on a very vast menu that did not include beans. I think I ended up with chips and pico di gallo salsa. On the bright side, it was very good. Humus? Maybe. Itd be an aquired taste, and if I recall correctly I wasnt a fan of the consistency. Tofu was a by-the-dish thing. Most of the time, I didnt care for it. Others, it was okay. The tico burrito and low country rollups from a place called Laughing Seed Cafe in Asheville looks good.

Also, after looking at these menus, Im going to admit that I dont have a damn clue what the heck tempeh is, and am googleing it in another tab. It looks like its going to be another 'wont know til I try it' things.

Theres the fact that I really could care less that Mickey Ds uses beef extract for fries. Sorry about that.

When I started this post, I was looking back at my diet. While it could be better (psh. lot better), Ive found that theres not much in the way of red meat on there that I like. I think Im mostly limited to burgers and steaks in that regard, and Italian sausage (though I honestly dont care for meat at all in Italian food). None of which come along all that much. Not a fan of stuff like pot roast or meat loaf and such. I think this had occurred to me before. I donate platelets on a regular basis (or try to), and Ive gotten turned away more than once due to my iron count being too low. They ask me how much red meat I eat, and in hindsight, Im always surprised that the answers 'not all that much'.

Okay, so maybe if I really, really tried, I might be able to get away with it. But not here. I looked up Charlotte Vegetarian/vegan places, and theres not much. Mostly Indian places with lots of things I cant pronounce and lentil. Lentil is too close to beans for my liking.
Like I said...Asheville's the SF of the East. They have lots of places that look interesting. Its also no secret to anyone that I want to move back west to the mountains. Its a win-win thing.

Itll still be the beans that kills me, though.

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Bowling is a vicious game,

By now, we all know that the scoring system at my center, AMF Accuscore Advantage, is older than dirt and needs to be replaced. Its not on the agenda any time soon.

Just because the upper brass wont give us working updated bowling equipment doesnt mean they can slack on other stuff. Like speakers and audio gear for instance. Something that would have a left/right speaker fade or a separate volume adjustment for each speaker would be an awesome awesome plus.

Itd keep league nights with multiple leagues running much smoother. One league wants its just under blasting, and the other associates an acceptable volume with elevator/Dr. Office muzak. Neither are willing to compromise. Yes, we DO keep it at a mid-range volume and refuse to move it either way. But that doesnt stop them from bitching...because they LOVE this song and wanna dance, or hate this other one and to turn it down, or insisting that we raised/lowered it to placate the other league...Just another night at the alley.

Theres this one guy a lane or two over who hits single pin conversions in a way that sounds like the ball is hitting the sweep. Its driving me up the bloody wall.

Theres nothing like an awesome game/set being blown to bits by coming within a single open frame of an 'accomplishment'. This time it was an open away from 200, which isnt a big deal anymore. It used to be. I cant tell you how many 198-99s I got before I finally hit 200 for the first time years ago. The last time this really annoyed me was last year, a damn pin away from a first 600 set. Only needed 9, rolled 8, and so on and so forth.

Still havent hit it yet. Meh.

Speaking of, my league is having an awesome night in general. The center makes a congratulatory announcement anytime someone rolls a 200 or above, and we've been getting a LOT of them tonight.
There's a reason our leagues handicap is 90% of 220, instead of 80% of 200, which is used by most bowling leagues.

We totally dont suck at this game.

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