After many aborted posts, this time I’m going to actually put something up on the website.
Hall of Fame Voting
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I can’t argue too much with Paul Molitor and Dennis Eckersley being in the hall, but the BBWAA seems to be pretty stingy the last few decades with their voting. There are at least five other guys that are currently on the ballot that I think deserve to be in the hall: Ryan Sandberg, Bruce Sutter, Rich Gossage, Jim Rice, and Andre Dawson. Lee Smith just doesn’t do it for me, and I know he’s the all time save leader, but I don’t see that record lasting too long. He was never great, he just spent a long time being good….and if that was the criteria for being in the Hall of Fame, Rusty Staub’s autograph would be worth a lot more.
I really like the Baseball Hall of Fame. I’ve been there twice. Cooperstown is a great town. The museum itself is great. I love the controversy surrounding the HoF elections. While there are some players in the hall that shouldn’t be there, the baseball hall of fame is much more prestigous than the hall for any other sport.
I enjoy following baseball more than I enjoy watching baseball. If they didn’t have stats, I could probably care less about it.
Apple
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I want to like Apple. I watch every speech Steve Jobs gives online. I respect the company and root for them, but I don’t think I can bring myself to get a Mac. There are two reasons: 1) cost, 2) the UI isn’t as good as windows. I know its a cliche to say how great the Mac UI is, but honestly, while it had its start as the superior GUI, it never really improved. With Windows, I can look at my desktop and see what applications are running. I can’t with a Mac. You can shut a window, but the app can still be running. You need a drop down menu to see what is running. Also, the menu bar is common to every window, which really annoys me. I want each window to have its own menu bar. All the Linux GUI’s I’ve seen act more like Windows than the Mac OS, and I think there is a reason for it. For all I know, there might be a setting that lets you do that in OSX, but I dont’ know about it.
….that and the mouse with one button. While I know you can get a multi-button mouse for the Mac, if they solved the menu issue, I’d be very tempted to get a Mac. Very.
I don’t think I’m alone in this. Its the one GUI issue that really sets the Mac apart, and maybe that is why they keep it, but I think it hurts them in sales. If they put an option in the OS to make it a little more Windows-esque while keeping the general Mac-ness of it all, I think a lot of barries might fall.
But that’s just me.
Back to School
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I’ve applied to the University of Minnesota. I’m not applying for Graduate School, but to get another undergrad degree. Most probably in Physics.
Why?
Why not. Getting a physics degree was something I always wanted to do and honestly, getting a second undergrad degree is really easy once you got your first one because you dont’ need to do all the dumb requirments for graduation. I wont be attending school full time, but it should keep me busy.
I’m actually looking forward to taking a class again. There is a certain freedom in knowing your just doing it because you want to. It’s not neecessary for my career, I don’t need to do it to get a diploma. I can just do it for the sake of learning….which probably means I’ll get really good grades.
Extemp
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Extemp is starting and I think as a whole we are going to do much much better this year. We have more people, a good head start, and talent. If any AV extempers are reading this, go to another website and print articles for the file. Move.
Diet
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I’ve stalled on the diet. I’m still on it and I haven’t gained anything, but the weight loss hasn’t been smooth. I’ve hit a point where my weight doesn’t move, then one day it will go down by a few pounds. I’m not too worried because I knew this would happen, but I’d still like to see it move some more.
Philip Glass
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I got the new soundtrack he did for The Fog of War. I’m listening to it now (after having immediately ripped it after I opened the package). Its not his best stuff, but its not bad either.
I’ve also been starting to listen to a lot of Arvo Part. More on him some other time.
