Stop Yelling At Me!!!

That wasn't to you, that was to the voices in my head. They tell me to do mean things, and say mean things about people. They also yell at me for not updating my blog... oh wait, no... that's you guys. Well actually that's good. I need more of that so I stay on task. But back to the voices: See, Josh and Tim write it off as a funny sort of game where they do things in their head that is funny in a cartoony way. In my head the voices always just tell me the most offensive things to say at that moment in time, and I always have to tell them to be quiet because no one else would think that is funny. They are evil, and make me laugh.

Ok, interesting new time waster on our hands here. It is pretty addictive and also makes you feel like you're on Acid. Check out Mono, a free downloadable game where you have to shoot the colored balls and well, that's about it. But don't let that fool you, it's addictive. Only problem is that you actually have to install it, rather than play it on a website.

The holidays are going great for me, I used Christmas money to buy myself a new car alarm/remote start/power windows/set the car on fire/remote trunk thingamagig. Oh yeah, and I didn't pay NEAR what that website is charging.

Finally, someone punch this kid in the face. Please.

"So what did Santa Bring you...

yeah? Really?? wait - don't care. GET BACK TO WORK!!!"
- - Bosses Everywhere - -

So I'm back. I've got to get to work in a few minutes here but I needed to address whatever fanbase I may have left. Merry Day After Christmas!!! I hope everyone's holidays went swimmingly. I've got a few days left of retail hell coming up and then work should be nicer... I'm expecting a ton of returns and cashing in on gift cards and the like. Speaking of Cashing in on Gift cards. I'm going to work a half hour early this morning to cash in on one of mine: Remote Car Start and Keyless Entry. I don't even have power windows/doors, so a remote unlock and car start is WAY nice. I'm also drinking some delicious Black Tea made brewed from loose tea leaves (another present) and after work today I'm going to send dad the measurements in my apartment so he can install a hangboard that they made for me. (kinda like this, used for pull ups and the like to make you a better rock climber.) I got lots of other stuff too but I'm a bit rushed, besides who wants to just hear me talk about myself??

So.... What did you all get?!??!!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

Posting Resuming in full force on Monday. I've got stories!

Also, check out Norad Santa that Mom showed me. They've been tracking Santa live all night long and you can see the results and the videos.

Desperate for a Post

So I'm way late. And need to get something up. So here you go.

Amazing Pencil Carvings

The DiVinci Code Trailer

Its almost a new year... time for a new windows wallpaper!

(PS, I stole these from Diggnation... sorry)

Alright Josh and I are meeting Ro in Bloomington... Now. Going rock climbing. Later!

Dumbest Dog Ever

Normally I reserve this title for my sister's dog "Jasmine," who coincidentally also responds to the incredibly un-PC term "retard." I do not condone such improper usage of such terms, but it is a simple fact so I thought it was relevent to post. This dog however seems to be up in the running.

Also, speaking of dogs... my mom just got one for her birthday.


She's currently desperately searching for names. So far I believe she's tossing around Beatrice (Bee), Danni, Francis (Franny French) Cleo, Isabel (Izzy), and about a bagillion others. Offer up any suggestions you may have. I'm going with Rudra the Destroyer and Bringer of Death. Or Allie Angel-Eater. Or Lexie... Lexie is cute.

The REAL King of the Jungle

Alright, so here's the deal. Here is Rob's knowledge of King Kong in it's complete and utter entirety:

Giant Monkey grabs Blonde, climbs up tall building and swats at airplanes.

That's it. That's all I knew. I didn't even know how it all ended until a damn webcomic ruined it for me. I'm not really mad at the webcomic, they likened it to "ruining" Star Wars by saying that Darth Vader is Luke's Father. Or Titanic in that the ship sinks. I'll give them that, there's definately a point where you have no right to be upset about ruining an ending. But to my defense, since seeing the movie (late show of course) I have spoken to two people who knew just as little as I had. One of those people is Ro, so please don't mention ANYTHING about the movie on here, or in the comments or anything. I want to use her as a test subject for someone who doesn't know the story at all before going in and what she thinks.

All that nonsense aside, here's my official movie review:

King Kong: Go see it.

Its not probably a movie I'd buy like Batman Begins and watch it over and over, but I definately enjoyed it and think everyone else would as well. I consider it to be like a Classic Book or something that everyone just needs to experience once and they're better off for doing so. One thing I will say, the T-Rex vs King Kong fight was freaking AMAZING. That scene alone would make me go back to the theatres to rewatch with Ro. Good Movie, Peter Jackson did a good job... and now he needs to get on "The Hobbit."

Extremely Nerdy Link Warning!!!

How the New Nintendo Revolution Controller works.

Hey mom, check out the very last clip in the video. Now when you move your hands when you play mario kart, is actually what you're supposed to do. You were just ahead of your time!!

"I'm experiencing a sensation altogether new to me...

... And frankly I LOVE IT!!!"

-- Tom Servo, MST3K --


So even though I haven't gotten any real free time just yet, I can smell it. I can feel it coming. Tomorrow is my last day of Crazy, No Social Life, Rob. After i turn in my final at 6 pm tomorrow, I'll officially be done with this semester, AND I'll officially have only one job. That means when I'm not at Best Buy, I won't have ANYTHING to do. I won't have to wake up every morning and close every night. I won't have to play catch up on my sleep, and there will be some mornings I may not have to set an alarm. i cen see in my schedule for next week, there's actually a 46 hour strech of time that I don't HAVE to do anything. Its completly blowing my mind.

Last Friday, you will never guess what I did... I went out. That's right, with someone besides Scott or a Ryder boy. No offense to either party of course, and I will be spending much more time with both, but you need to understand the depth of that statement. Its the first time, since I've been here, that I've hung out with someone whom I met for the first time here in Springfield. Not only that, but some of us went to get Chinese with Ro on Sunday, and I was invited to a party on Friday of this week.

People, it's official. I'm reclaiming a social life!
And I get to see more of Ro!!!
Things are going to be good.

Its Official

Naturally Smart You're a naturally smart person. Your intelligence comes to you naturally, rather than from instruction - and you are better with applied or more real-world things... which comes in handy, here in the real world. 20% applied intelligence 60% natural intelligence

Take this quiz at Quiz Galaxy

Too bad there isn't a laziness factor in there.
Also, I should note I got this off of my sister's boyfriend's blog.
"Hi Scott!"

Children so cute your head will explode.

As much as I truely hated this fad, this video is awesome.

Also while we're on the topic of heads exploding, and seeing that mom brought up my ego in the last comment, there's this guy that I've never met who really likes to tread on my fragile ego at work. Ok, so he doesn't really do much, but it seems like anytime there's a problem with the process that him and I are involved in, he automattically blames me. And then I have to figure out what happened (this has taken place 3-4 times). This process so far as always involved me double checking my work and finding out that I didn't do anything wrong and everything was in-fact correct when he recieved it.

I just take sick pleasure in detailing exactly how I went through the trouble of checking all my work, and explaining to him as simply as possibly is that the error was on his end. Expecially since we like to think he's someone of importance in this other division. Ahh, I'll miss that data entry job... well no. I'll miss like 4 people who work there, but the "job" was boring as could be.

Bringing You New Music...

Alright, so I'm going to start running out of excuses soon for not posting. BUT THAT TIME IS NOT NOW. I've got a 10 pager due tomorrow, and have 2 take home finals to do... plus I'm still pulling both jobs. I expect another week of milking this and then I'm going to have to develop a pattern. Anyways, here's something for you: http://www.pandora.com/

Free music on the internet. You tell it a band to start with, it plays that artist and then tries to play similar. You tell it if you like or don't like the song and you can add more artists to the list for it to draw from. The 3rd artist it played for me I had never heard before, but I liked a lot (Forgotten not Forgiven, by Just Surrender). Its like Yahoo's Launch but it claims to be "smarter." Anyways, its free, you don't even need a sign in name, and it gives you something to listen to at work/home. MAN! I like the 4th song too (I Know, by None Other).

Anyways back to my paper.... For anyone who cares, it's on "Women's Rights and the Workplace" or something. Seriously... TEN pages?? How many different ways can you say "She needs to get back in the kitchen."**

And I'm out like Jessica Simpson in a spelling bee.



** Its lines like that that's going to screw me over in my political future. Eh, at least "I" think I'm funny...

Google 9/11

I know there's a ton of 9/11 stuff that's circulated the internet... slideshows, collages, montages, etc... but I actually thought this was really neat. Its set up with google maps, and it's people's pictures they took when it happened. You just click on any of the pins and that represents where someone was standing when it happened and it shows you the picture they took at that moment from that location. Blue pins are pictures, Red are stories. Here

Customer Support

CS: Hello Mother Nature, Co. - Bringing you the best in Natural Events and premier life support systems. How may we assist you today?

Me: Yeah, I have a bit of a complaint. I've recently received a product of yours that I didn't order. I would like to have it returned.

CS: I'm sorry to hear that sir, which one of our products would that have been?

Me: Snow. I woke up yesterday and there was snow all over my car and my car door was even frozen shut. Not only was it not ordered, you might want to have a word with your advertising department, I never even saw it coming. Just a few days ago I was running around without as much as a jacket on.

CS: Of course sir, I can see how that was problematic and I apologize for the inconvenience. Let me see what we can do for you... Well Mr. French, it appears that most of the snow has since disappeared anyways, we can go ahead and clean up the rest of that if you'd like.

Me: Well, yeah, that'd be great... I'd like to return the ice on the parking lots and such as well. Actually, what would be REALLY nice is if I could just return the whole package.

CS: The Entire Package Sir???

Me: Yeah, Winter as a whole. You can really just write it off this year.

CS: Umm.... hold on one moment, I'm going to have to speak with my manager... ... ... Alright Mr. French, I'm afraid we can't take back the whole season, there's too much that depends on the cycle of the seasons. But what we can do is offer a full refund.

Me: A refund? For what?? I didn't pay for anything, I told you I didn't even order it in the first place!!!

CS: Didn't even pay fo.... just a moment... yes. It says here in our records that you are deliquent on the last several seasons payments. Apparently you signed up for our services back in '87.

Me: What in the Hell are you talking about???

CS: Sir I'm going to have to ask you to watch your language. Our records indicate that you requested the entire winter package with snow... and yes... even paid extra for the "White Christmas." And our services automatically renew every year unless we specifically hear otherwise from you.

Me: This is Fu... Freaking ridiculous! You can't automatically renew and expect back pay from a 6 year old's white christmas wishes!

CS: Sir, we can and we do. Your current bill is $587.71.

Me: How do you figure!!??!?!

CS: *sigh* Winter Package is $19.99 with an extra $5.99 for the White Christmas's.... figure in tax... that's 502.71 then add $85 in late charges.

Me: This is Bullshit! I demand to speak to your supervisor!

CS: Mr. French, you're going to have to calm yourself. Our boss is a very busy man...

Me: I don't want to hear it. Transfer me over to him. What's his name?

CS: God.

Me: Good! You tell this Mr. God that Robert French is pissed and wants to have some words with him.

CS: It's just "God" sir.

Me: Whatever. Transfer me over now. The shit is about to hit the fan!

CS: You have no idea sir. Transferring now...

Old Dogs and New Tricks

So, one thing I'm sure I'll end up doing is helping on a campaign or something. Its just something you do as a political studies major. Kinda like Actors and waiting tables (Tim, have you applied at the Olive Garden yet?). But anyways, one thing I was always going to promote was the usage of new mediums for the candidates to get a really personal touch to their campaigns. For example, I really like Barack Obama after listening to his podcast. He's funny and it seems less politized, like I said: really personal feeling. Something new I found was Republican Speaker of the House Denny Hastert's Blog. Its really funny, because he's like:

"This is Denny Hastert and welcome to my blog. This is new to me. I can't say I'm much of a techie... ...I'm excited. This is the future. And it is a new way for us to get our message out."

Hey, it's enough for me to really give him a chance. I know it's his marketing people pushing him to do it to "get more in touch" with the younger generation... I know exactly how this works, nonetheless, it does make me more interested in what he has to say.

Full Time Update
So here's something that I'm waiting for the paperwork for so I can verify... Apparently Best Buy has a Higher Education Reimbursement Program of some sort. I've heard rumors of them giving like $4,000 a year. I'll keep you updated.

Linda's Husband is a Jerk

Jerk totally hung up on me. These last few days at Bunn I'm assisting with some follow up phone calls. Its awesome. Why? Because I'm calling Cahnadia. They say things funny and it makes my afternoons interesting. It's not telemarketing at all, we had issues with their coffee brewers and they sent it in for repairs, I'm just making sure they got everything back ok. Everyone I've talked to so far have been really nice, and all have funny accents. Well, they were all real nice until frickin' Linda's Husband. I was like, "Hi, is Linda there?" and the Sonovaexplicitive hung up on me. Linda, if you're reading this, you can do better. Dump him. There are a lot of fish in the sea. A lot of nicer, more socialable people. Jerk.

David Blaine REVEALED!!!

Long, but just skim through it if you can/want.
How all those street performers do their stuff...
namely: DAVID BLAINE!

FINE!

Since no one seems to CARE about my big news!!! Maybe it was too many WORDS! Here's some pretty moving pictures for you to be entertained by!

Awesome Rendition of Canon in D.
Awesome Christmas Lights Display set to music.

my genius is never fully appreciated...

Best Buy Updates

Alright a lot of little Best Buy related stuff... you ready?

Black Friday
Black Friday is over and I've finally recovered fully from it. Here's the deal for the day after thanksgiving sales. There are three main kinds of shoppers in this world: 1) the kind who always tries to pay the least amount of money for a particular type of product. 2) the kind who has to have the newest, flashiest and most expensive. 3) the kind who does research on what they want and tries to find the best quality for the money. If you are a #1 and have a good attitude plus a sense of adventure, the Day After is right up your alley. If you are a #2, #3, or ill-tempered stay home. The best, most expensive stuff is not on sale... we know you'll pay full price and more for it anyways. You're not going to find a good quality computer for $150. If you want to simply check email and search the internet, maybe. To an average-advanced user you just bought a $150 paperweight. And if you're ill-tempered, do the world a favor and shop online.

White Men Still Can't Jump
So I tried to hurdle a 32" big screen television on Black Friday too... I was wearing my Europe Boots and they kinda trailed a little low on the jump. I'm blaming the shoes. I managed to tuck up into a decent roll and got a good applause from the customers. The TV is fine, my butt has a wallet sized bruise, it was totally the shoes.

Best For Last
Alright, to wrap it up... I put in my two weeks at BUNN today. But Rob, why this sudden change? Well, we had a fulltimer who didn't show up for his shift at Best Buy on Black Friday. Let's just say that I'm now recieving his medical benifits. That's right, this kid is full time. I'm going to have a set number of hours a week now. I don't have to close at Best Buy every night and then wake up early every morning for BUNN. I don't have to work 60 hour weeks anymore without getting a penny of overtime pay. Things are going to start getting a LOT better for me. Just about the best thing to happen to me since Guitar Hero... almost.

I Wanna Be Sedated

Alright, another quickie while I'm stalling my last few pages of my paper. Last night was one of the most amazing moments of my life. Apparently I have a hidden talent. What talent is that, you may ask. I am a Guitar God. Who'da thought? Sure enough, I'm pretty much a natural. I can play the Ramones, ZZ Top, Ozzy, and yes... even Boston, perfectly (well, almost). All thanks to a little invention I like to call "Guitar Hero" on the Playstation 2. As an accomplished musician I can now vouch for its authenticity, Guitar Hero is just like playing a real guitar and I really am awesome. I'm thinking of going on tour. Read more about it over here on Josh's Site.

Advice when writing a paper

So if you're staying up all night working on a paper that due at 6pm today, and it's about something like say.... election reform, it's important to try and not go against your teacher's view's too much when you're just looking for an easy grade during a busy point in your life. I was writing from the position of most of articles and such I found online, that Illinois could use some reform (look at the Daley Legacy in Chicago). But while doing some homework I found this quote in a scholarly article:

"Ron Michaelson, executive director of the state Board of Elections (the state’s top election official) said “I don’t think we need fear any election contest in this state with that kind of a margin.”

The issue? Ron Michaelson is my teacher. That's the thing with being a political studies major here in Springfield... your speakers, and teachers, are straight from the trenches themselves. Ahhh... Good times. Three more pages to go.

Rob's 10 Commandments

1. Do onto others as they have done onto you.
2. Thou shalt never be over critical, mean-spirited or bitchy.
3. If thou art bitchy, don't expect me to even pretend to like you (refer to Commandment #1).
4. Being of weaker intelligence than I is not a crime, however if you're bitchy AND stupid... you're really gonna hate me (ughh... Paris Hilton).
5. Thou shall read, and comment, on Rob's Space Every Weekday.
6. If the number of times I've neglected to post (on a weekday) is more than the number of times you've neglected to comment on a post of mine... only THEN do you have justification to hold my negligence against me.
7. Thou shall not make hold predjudices against another on the basis of race, sex, class, religion or sexual orientation, violators deserved to be kicked in the teeth. (Red-Headed children are of course the exception... they have no souls.)
8. Do not ask someone for a favor and then critize how well they performed, if you wanted it done right... you know how this ends.
9. If you ever do anything to hurt Ro's feelings or any inconvenience her whatsoever, you're going to hell.
10. Thou shalt never question Rob, he is infallible.

So yeah, you are free to make suggestions for my list, or make up a commandment or two of your own for yourself. Not really as impressive as someone coming down from the mountain top or anything, but it will suffice.

As far as "Black Friday." Best Buy is going to be ridiculous. People will start lining up at 8 or 9 pm the night before. If you want one of the big ticket items (ridiculously cheap things) don't bother showing up after about 3 or 4, you will be so far back in the line it won't matter. Last year it took 38 SOLID MINUTES for people to get into the store once we opened... that means nonstop traffic, the doors did not shut and the flow of people never stalled for more than a half hour. I have to be there at 2:30 in the morning, I get a four hour break around noon, and don't get to leave until 11 pm. I'm getting 15.5 paid hours plus two half hour lunches that day. Every parking space is worth around $120,000 that day and we make more that day than we do in an average month. There will be food vendors selling to the line in the middle of the night and Best Buy and others provide free coffee, water, and donuts. And Finally, in case anyone hasn't seen it yet... here's the website who claims to have all the ads if you want to look at them a day early (sorry, could have posted this weeks ago, but never thought of it.)

Early Gift Giving

Sorry for the lack of posting. This weekend I was pretty ill, and I still wasn't feeling so hot on Monday. I couldn't think of anything interesting, and didn't want to just complain about being sick, so that's just what happened. I'm feeling better today so here's my question for you all. What's your views on early gift giving? You know, when you buy someone a christmas present WAY early and you know they could use it right now, so you feel guilty/dumb hanging onto it for another 2 months just so they can open it on the right day. Like Jamie can potentially buy me some christmas decorations for my apartment on their "Day after Thanksgiving Sale" at Meynards, but there's no point in her giving them to me ON Christmas. And I've got something for my parents that I think they'd really like to have now, but I can't seem to justify waiting until Christmas to give it.... but then they need SOMETHING to open on Christmas, right??

Tomorrow: Best Buy's Hell Day Preview: Day after Thanksgiving, 3000 customers, projected budget of $800,000. I'm scheduled 16 hours that day.

Yep, totally worth it.

So I just got back from watching the latest Harry Potter Movie. Let me tell you: Favorite one so far. And I don't say that about all of them either, I was really disappointed by the third one. Totally worth going to the midnight showing. By the way, longest day ever. I was supposed to be done at the Buy at 7:00. I stayed until 11:00. I'm exhausted. I have to be up in less than 5 hours. This sucks. Still totally worth it. Go see it, everyone.

R to'tha O to'tha B izza down with the HP. Word.

(I can't be held responsible for anything I post after 3 am.)

Wow...

Things like this just leave me speachless...

Super Hair Powers

Ever seen a kid in class and you ask yourself, "Does s/he really think that looked good this morning?" You know, those hair styles that just make you think, "What is wrong with the world today?" Well folks, thanks to Collegehumor, I found this site. And now I'm sharing it with you.

Penny Arcade: Goblet of Fire

I'm telling you, I can totally relate to these guys sometimes. Scott, how many times have you tried that very same curse on me? Eh, who am I kidding, I dressed up for the last movie.

Comic Stolen from Penny Arcade

Per Phil's Request

What is this, TRL? First Rowela was demanding Pictures, now Phil is making demands... but I am just a slave to the system. Here you go:

That's Ro flipping off Phil. I'm sure its Phil she's flipping off, and not me. I'm perfect and and never deserving of such a response. I just wish I could remember what Phil did to earn this from our sweet little Rowela.

















This is Ro making a funny face. I figured since I was already putting up a picture of her giving the finger, why stop there. She's probably going to break up with me now, but come on, it's a good funny face.













This is one Ro actually wanted me to put up, she said that girl who's photo I linked to (Monday when talking about the chimney) sucked and her picture was much better. In case you can't tell, at this moment Ro isn't hanging on to anything with her hands, nor is she relying on the rope. Shes staying put purely with her legs right now.


So there, that's our picture post for the day. Why all the pictures of Ro? Well because Ro's not in a real good habit of using her new digital camera, so Phil and I took 90% of the pictures that day. And it's way more fun to take pictures of Ro (and Phil took a few of himself, as well as his own finger.)

Harry Potter Countdown!!!

Guess where I'll be at 12:01 on the 18th?? Scott, you with me? Josh? Anyone?



Oh yeah, and Tim, this one's for you... sicko.

Climbing Pics

At the request of Miss Rowela...





and courtsey of Miss Rowela as well.

Passcode

You know how Afterschool specials say that young children and their parents should have secret phrases or something for when mommy has to send someone else to pick them up after school? My kid's secret phrase is going to be: "Hey little kid, do you want some candy."

Awesome Weekend

So, Phil came up this weekend... early. I can always count on Phil to wake up at an ungodly early time and want to do something. So he was at my place by 7:30 and we were at Ro's building at 9:10. After a quick breakfast at Bob Evans, we hit the climbing gym. I don't know how Phil felt about it, but man... the thing about climbing is that if you don't do it all the time, you never use those muscles any other time and you suck when you do it sparatically. But I had an awesome time reguardless. And Ro did an incredible job as well.

She not only made it all the way to the top (70 feet), multiple times, but she did some hard climbs. She did a 5.9 (with some help) and a 5.10 chimney. Just so you know, the scale works like this: a 5.6 is the easiest and has a TON of large holds you can put both hands and feet on, and a 5.12+ is as hard as it gets in a gym. So a 5.9 is really good and a 5.10 is phenominal. Now I said it was a 5.10 chimney, meaning there was walls on both sides of her... chimneys are a bit easier because if you get stuck, you can just shimmy up the walls like a ninja a few feet to get past the hard part. And since Ro is asian... the ninja stuff comes naturally.

One final note.... it's finally starting to happen. Phil is getting his own blog. Although he hasn't posted yet, we can still leave him some comments of encouragement... here.

Politics: Revolutions

So a few weeks ago in class, I realized something. I was trying to pinpoint why I had slipped into politics in the first place. And... it was Bush. War on Terror, Katrina Response, Iraq, all that aside, some presidents are known for "unifying the nation," and Bush will quite possibly be known for segregating the nation. It never really hit me until I was looking at local election stuff. Know why I'm looking forward to this governor race? Because I actually have a choice. I didn't feel like there was any choice in the last presidential election. 90% of the country was either voting pro-bush or anti-bush. I've allied myself with the democrats (the anti-bush). But here's the thing. I don't think I'm as strongly democrat as I've thought, you just get swept up in it all and become one or the other.

My views on some "hot button" issues definitely go against the "conservative right" For example, I'm heavy into equality and always have. I do not put up with ignorant people or 'ists (racists, sexists, etc.) And in that same vein I am totally for gay rights. I believe there should be a separation of church and state (and schools) in one sense... BUT they shouldn't impose atheism on us either.

The thing of it is, there's A LOT more to politics than Guns, Gays and God. I'm not going to vote straight Democrat, and I'm open to an alternative to Blagojevich. He's made a few bad decisions (regarding the budget for example) but he's not entirely bad. I'm trying to figure out if Topinka is quirky or crazy. And either way if she's a better choice to be governor. I'm definitely open and looking forward to what's coming. And I think it'd be cool if we could talk about some of the local stuff here. As long as we remember that neither are "evil" and wholely corrupt, and keep a good head on our shoulders, there's no reason why we shouldn't be able to talk about local stuff. right?

I HAVE INTERNET!!!

So I've finally got internet at my apartment. That takes a load off... let me tell you, I've never felt more usless than these last few days. So what was the first thing I did when I got online? Sign up for next semester's classes? Blog? Take care of finances? Look up random crap? no... I dealt with this guy...

Somehow he got my name and messaged me the INSTANT I signed onto AIM. Google was nice enough to save the conversation for me so you can all enjoy. The ...'s mean I didn't respond for a few minutes.

Wizard9250: hey
xISUx: woah, who is this?
Wizard9250: first do you go to a church
xISUx: Hmmm... I'm calling shenanigans. Identification before personal info
Wizard9250: well tell me first. i just want to be on the safe side
. . . .
Wizard9250: HEY
Wizard9250: What are you doing
xISUx: Currently I'm "Not playing games with creepy people who IM me and don't tell me who they are." I expect it to be an ongoing theme here.
. . . .
Wizard9250: hi
xISUx: you ready to tell me who you are?
Wizard9250: first you
. . . .
Wizard9250: fine i am Siby Samuel
Wizard9250: you ?
xISUx: what the hell... then how, Mr Samuel, did you get my screenname?
Wizard9250: i have my ways
xISUx: And I have little time to waste as is, and an itchy block button that really wants to be scratched...
Wizard9250: wait who are you
xISUx: Rob.
Wizard9250: rob who
Wizard9250: wait let me guess
Wizard9250: Robert lie
. . . .
Wizard9250: do you go to a church
xISUx: Listen, I’m a busy person, and we clearly don’t know each other. So I’m afraid you’re going to have to pester someone else.
Wizard9250: i know you dont you remember me
Wizard9250: from 2nd grade then i had to move
xISUx: what teacher
Wizard9250: how am i supposed to remember
xISUx: but you remember me from second grade? What school?
Wizard9250: fine dont believe me
Wizard9250: it was a week after i fell on my head and went to the ER
xISUx: nope, don't believe you

Wizard9250 has been blocked.

Feel free to harass him at will.

Man, I LOVE BUYING STUFF!!! Seriously, I’ve got a problem. The best part was going into Linens and Things and saying: Damn, I need ALL this stuff. It’s great. So far the items I’ve bought for my new apartment can be grouped into 3 basic categories:

Necessary Stuff:

• Microwave. My microwave is, as they say in Alton, "Da' Biz-omb." It has a toaster built in.
• Kitchen Trashcan. Stainless Steel... matches my microwave and other various kitchen accessories. Plus it has this inner-can thing that makes the bag pull tight and seemless... impossible to explain, take my word for it.
• High Speed Internet. No Phone Line. No TV. Just internet.

Stuff I Wanted:

• Spice Rack. Yeah, so I use a lot of asian spices and such so I'll be ditching some of this crap and replacing it with my own. Goodbye Cumin, Hello Sesame Seeds and Seaweed!
• Matching Soap Dispenser, Trashcan, Bath Mat, Shower Curtain, Toilet Seat Cover, Toothbrush Holder. I have to match... and black is a good color on me.

Just Plain Ridiculous:

• New Mouse and Keyboard. Yay for Best Buy Discounts! My keyboard glows blue and my mouse is freakin' sweet.
• Shredder. I've already shredded a full bag full of stuff. NO ONE is getting my important information... or weekly newspaper adds, or phonebooks...

Doing Grown Up Things.

Sorry for the lack of posting but I DON’T HAVE INTERNET!!!!!

Ok, so I moved into my new place and everything worked out pretty well. I even had a dinner party with Mom, Dad, Grandma, Grandpa, Jamie, her boyfriend, Ro and myself. This whole moving process is exhausting, I slept like a rock last night. But today I’ve got a full agenda as well:

1) Cingular. My cell phone bill and service has been screwed up since June. I’ve gone to speak with sales reps, dozens of times, each time I was told it would all get straightened out. I’ve had numerous problems and its time to give them an ultimatum.

2) Insight Cable. Getting my internet back. Scott and I’s wireless solution isn’t working too well. Mainly it’s going to require me to dump even more money into it than I’d like for an unstable internet connection.

3) City Light and Power. Apparently I’ve got to put the electric bill in my name… lame.

4) Bank. Union Planters has changed to Regions Bank… Gotta get new checks and make sure my online payments are still working.

5) Bed, Bath and Beyond. I need shower curtains.

6) Best Buy. I need a battery for my clock.

To all the Ladies…

Listen, you’re all wonderful people, and some of you are even attractive enough for me, but I’m already spoken for. It’s going to be hard, but you’re going to have to let me go. Whether we’ve already met and you’re currently trying to go through life pretending that you can be happy with someone else, or you’re one of the poor souls who haven’t yet glimpsed my greatness, be comforted because ignorance is bliss. Be happy while you can, with what you can. There’s only one of me, and although I would love to, the damnable rules that society imposes on us prevents me from sharing the glory that is Rob with all of you. Be comforted in knowing that you will be in my thoughts, and remember, settling isn’t so bad.

So yeah, Emily totally wants me. Not Pretty Emily (although she wants me too), and not Stupid Emily or Mean Emily, but Steak’n Shake Emily. Her eyes spoke volumes and it was a book that was hard to put down. (I don’t even think that last sentence applies, but I was so proud of myself for coming up with it, it’s staying there.) Here’s my ridiculous, yet brief, Steak’n Shake Story:

So I had just turned in my paper for class last night, and was driving home when I realized I was starving. Not eating apparently does that to you. I was actually talking to Pretty Emily on my cellphone at the time, I was sleepy, hungry and distracted. I pulled in to the SnS parking lot and saw the line for the drive through and got right in. After waiting on the two cars in front of me, I pulled up to the window. Herein lies the problem, I pulled up to the “window”. This was one of those stupid drive-throughs where you have to drive all the way around the building 300 degrees to get in line, almost like the building was supposed to be facing a different direction. I pulled up and that’s when the tragedy began.

Emily saw me and it was love at first sight (for her). I gave her a dashing smile and we had some witty banter about how much of a tool I was, and then I drove around to place my order at the speakerbox (with Emily). After doing things properly I drove up to Emily again and got my food. After leaving I told Pretty Emily the story and explained that it must be something in the name, because Emily’s find me irresistible. She agreed.

Upon getting home, I discovered that I didn’t have my shake. Then after explaining the whole thing to Scott, he decided he wanted a shake as well, so we drove back. By this point Emily couldn’t bear the thought of having to see me again just to have her heart broken as I drove away so someone else answered the speaker box this time. We got my shake and scotts without incident, but Emily did peek around the corner to catch one final glimpse… I think I saw a tear in her eye.

Its hard being me.

Sign Where?

So I get tired of typing, "I'm busy as hell right now" so until further notice, I would just like you to pretend I started off every post with it, and be patient when the posting comes sporadically. Major news update! I signed on a new apartment! For speed and efficiency I'm going the bulleted route:

• I didn't really have my mind made up to sign that morning, it just kind of happened. I had her look over my application to make sure everything was in order, she told me I didn't sign here and then gave me another form to sign for a background check, and then another to sign for financial verification, and another and another and... I had an apartment.

• The apartment is awesome, and I was pretty sure it would be the one I was going with. Its just one of those deals where I was hesitant to make "the big decision."

• I can see Scotts apartment from my window.

• Mom's friends are all offering me all their old furniture, so I have lots to pick from.

• The apartment complex managers STILL don't know that I've been staying with Scott all this time, and now I'm moving into one of their other buildings.

Quotes of the day:

• Mom on Scott and I knowing each other well talking to the managers (who don't know we live together): "Well yeah, since Rob and Scott have been li... errr... hanging out a lot lately, they've gotten to know each other pretty well."

• Mom on Running Criminal Background checks at work: "Yeah I do the sex offenders all the time in Jerseyville."

• This wasn't actually said, but as we were walking to the room, the manager shushed Scott, saying he was being too loud in the hall. Scott and I both know that the person who lived across from that room was deaf... it was painful for us not to make a crack.

• Scott finally mentioned (not quite in passing) about how the females above us are loud and then went straight into how their friend pee'd in our hallway. The manager said: "That's an eviction." And will now be looking for an excuse to boot them.

Mid term

*Maybe is not an option

DO YOU
LIKE ME??

circle*

YES NO

Topic of the day: Underage Voting
Subtopic of the day: You’re helping me with my paper

So I’ve got two papers due next week. My paper for Monday is going to be on “one of the 4 proposed amendments to the new 1970 constitution.” One of those was to lower the voting age to 18. This motion actually failed here in Illinois after a heated debate, but was all for nothing because in ’71 the change was made nationally. I want to hear from those of you who remember anything about this, or if you don’t remember and want to look stuff up for me, I’m not going to complain. It’ll be 10 pages, so anything relative to the topic can help. Reasons for, reasons against, etc.

Also, there’s a small movement currently to get the voting age dropped to 16. Reasoning being that 16 year olds are working and paying taxes (taxation without representation) and its in conjunction with increasing civic education in Highschool. Blah blah blah, that’s not important and not what my paper is about. I’m talking about the move to 18 year olds in the 70’s. Geeze I don’t want to have to go to the library and look at microfilm.

(I had an image for this, but the upload wasn't working...)

Super-Geekage

So there was a book sale at UIS the other day… get this, it was on the HONOR SYSTEM! There was a jar on a chair and it said: $1 Tapes, $2 CDs, $3 Software and $3 Books. Craziness! I picked up a few books for myself and grabbed enough money for lunch the next day as well.

But speaking of books, I’m currently on “The Science of Superheroes.” Tim, you need to pick this one up. It’s a science book but uses superhero scenarios to bring up the different topics. They figure out the mass of Krypton based on how high Superman could initially leap in the comics (1/8 mile). They show a nearly scientifically plausible way to create a 8 foot tall, muscle-bound, roid-raging, scientist who when he loses control actually glows green. And they show how most of Spidey’s superpowers aren’t related to spiders at all, but how he would have still been an awesome character if they had held more true to the arachnids. Excellent book… if you’re a nerd… and I am.

I wasn’t going to talk anymore about F.E.A.R. but by my boys at Penny Arcade made a comic strip and it’s SO true. At one point I had a failed attempt to sneak in through my bedroom window to scare Scott when I knew he was playing the game. Sadly I made too much noise and he caught me before I had set foot inside the room. But its not his fault, the game's creepy as hell. Another time I came home and this dialogue transpired between Scott and I, apparently he didn't want to play it alone anymore (which I wouldn't want to do either):

Scott: “Good, Thank God you’re home.”
Me: “FEAR?”
Scott: “Terrifying.”

Bringing everyone up to speed.

Here’s a picture I like:

Its Ro playing F.E.A.R. She’s a gamer and I’m very proud of her. Know why Ro’s awesome? ‘cause when most girls would say “I hate that game,” it would probably be because they thought it was stupid, or too gory, or a waste of time. But do you know why Ro said “I hate that game”? Because she was mad that clone soldier got up after taking metal spike in the head and started shooting at her again. She was not pleased with that guy. For future reference, when Ro shoots you in the head with a spike, she expects you to stay dead. The truth of the matter is that she really did like the game, even if she could do without a lot of the really scary parts. (Seriously, when did children become so frightening?)

I got the midterm done and turned it in on time. 13 freakin’ pages. Ridiculous. I have another 2 papers due next week… starting on those tomorrow night. As for today I’m going to be catching up on some sleep and possibly checking out an apartment today. I have to go to work at The Buy at 4:00, so yeah… it never ends.

I get to have a meeting with my supervisor today at Best Buy, we’ll see about getting a full time position there so I can have a set schedule and stop working two jobs. This fluctuating between 25-60 hours a week sucks… a lot.

Guh...

I hate Midterms.

On page 6.... and have only finished 1 of 3 sections so far. I'm expecting 12-15 pages total it looks like. Due at 6. Crap.

What to buy at The Buy

Alright, so Christmas season is coming and I thought I'd start letting you know what Rob's found at Best Buy this week worth mentioning. For example: BATMAN BEGINS just came out on Tuesday. Great Movie. Everyone buy it. Its like $15 and you get two free cokes with it. Also, if you have a gamer in the family (and a nice computer.... really nice computer) F.E.A.R. came out Tuesday as well. Greatest First Person Shooter I've ever played. And its as gory and scarry as they come. NOT for small children, or older computers (the game would easily destroy either.)

Rob's made up Word of the Day:
W.W.B.D. = What Would Batman Do?
Jesus was a great man, and if everyone followed WWJD the world would be a better place. Problem is everyone doesn't follow that paradigm, so we must adapt. At times we must overcompensate because of others, and its these times I think we should really ask ourselves, What would Batman do?

Anyways, still really busy... trying to work things out here at work. They gave me some extra projects that don't make any sense, so I'm going to have to make something up.

My Midterm

Do I expect anyone to read all of this? Not really. But I do think I'll start assembling a crack team of researchers to get started on this while I'm at work. Seriously, this is ridiculous:

Question #1

Excluding Governor Blagojevich, answer the following with respect to each of the other five constitutional officers in Illinois:

a. Who are they, and what are their political backgrounds?

b. Given their career in the public sector to date, is each one representative of an individualistic, moralistic or traditionalistic political culture? Explain fully.

c. To what extent do the functions of each office allow the office holder to initiate public policy of any importance?

d. With respect to (c), identify one important public policy measure that each has initiated, or at least proposed, during his/her current term.

e. Analyze the political futures of each, offering your own assessment as to the likelihood of success in each instance.

Question #2

With respect to our 1970 Illinois Constitution, answer the following:

a. In your opinion, what are the three most important changes/improvements contained in the document when compared to the 1870 Constitution? Explain fully.

b. In 2008, the voters of Illinois will be asked whether a new constitutional convention should be convened. At this point, what would be your response? Explain fully.

Question #3

Professor Bill Savage from Northwestern University said the following:

“The Chicago way is corruption which favors political insiders, keeps money flowing into bank accounts, and maintains the status quo.”

On the other hand, former Mayor Jane Byrne said that with respect to politics, there really isn’t a Chicago way. There is just a big city way, and Chicago politics is no different from any other big city. Byrne said,

“The real problem with the idea of a Chicago way is you can’t always tell if it’s real or an illusion.”

After reading Mike Royko’s book, what would Royko say? Would he agree with Savage or Byrne? Support your answer with specific references from BOSS.

Dad's Speech

The nice thing about doing political studies in Springfield is that you're "right where the action is." Two internships are required, and I get placed somewhere here in the capital. And when we need a speaker, they're all right here. Last week we had Governor Edgar come and talk to us in his first public appearance since announcing he would not run against Blagojevich this term. We're having this lady come in from some Ethical Reform of Campaign Finance Thingy in a few weeks. But what was MOST important was our speaker last night. We had none other than the esteemed, Tom Ryder speak to our class about the state legislature. Tom Ryder served in the State House of Representatives for a bazillion years, and is now a lobbyist here in Springfield. He also is my surrogate father.

That's right. Josh and Tim's dad came and spoke with our class. I wish I had enough time to review Dad like I should, but I'm a very busy person today/this week. But here's the quick run down:

• Our state is divided up into several different districts, split up in a number of different yet individually important ways: Representative Districts, County Lines, Senatorial Districts and most importantly Cardinals/Cubs/White Sox Lines.
• My teacher only does 75% of his actual job because he has speakers come in to do it for him.
• Everything in life and politics can be referenced to Television Shows. We discussed NUMB3RS and CSI. If he was able to work in Smallville or The Daily Show that would have been some serious bonus points.
• Speaking of bonus points, in his list of new mediums for communication these days, he referenced blogs. So I think that more than makes up for the TV show slip.

Anyways, that's all I have time for today. I've got a incredibly hectic week. Scheduled for 30+ hours at best buy, 20+ at BUNN, I just received a Take-Home Essay Midterm last night, and I know I'm getting a new paper assignment tomorrow in class that will be due next week. Did I ever mention that I'm a busy person? Oh, and I got my grade back on my paper on the "Illinois Education Association" and Special Interest Groups: A- (which I am very happy with).

Generic Title Here

Sooo... I've got some ideas in the works for fun things to share, but none developed yet. Also I feel like this next week may be... "bad." I'm scheduled everyday at the Buy (except for Mon/Wed when I have class). And I have a sinking feeling that I'm getting at least one take-home midterm in my classes this week. I had some gripes about work, and some issues with Apple concerning their new iPod video. But I don't feel like getting into them. Instead I'm just going to share a few tidbits with you.

Word of the Day: Sophomore

A sophomore is a second-year student. Etymologically, the word means 'wise fool'; consequently sophomoric means "pretentious, bombastic, inflated in style or manner; immature, crude, superficial" (according to the Oxford English Dictionary). Coming from the Greek sophos, meaning "wise", and moros meaning "foolish".

And some links:

For those of you who shop on eBay, there's a new trend to rip people off you should be aware of. People are selling, just the boxes now on eBay, to popular, expensive devices. For example check out this Playstation 2 box that sold for $200. The ad clearly states it's simply the box, but when people are in a hurry and looking through a lot of items, they don't alway read the print.

Secondly, in time for the Holiday Season. Creepy Halloween related Medical Diseases! (both links courtsey of Collegehumor.com)

Blockbuster's Terror Chart

I had a Blockbuster experience, but there’s really no reason to go into it. It would mainly be me complaining about how they have this new policy that if they don’t mention Blockbuster Online to you, you get a free movie rental. The actual effect was that he tried to force Blockbuster Online down every customer’s throat one at a time in line. I felt like I was at Best Buy. Anyways, during my LONG wait in line I noticed this:

It’s the ruler on the exit door and appears to double as Blockbuster’s own terror level indicator. If someone is trying to steal something and they’re in the green (or in Ro’s case, below) they’re safe to stop/tackle. If their height puts them in the midrange, its employee discretion. And if someone is in the Red zone, that means “You don’t get paid enough for that. Its just a movie for heaven’s sake.” Is it sad that my Fabricated Blockbuster’s Terror Level Indicator makes far more sense to me than America’s?

Where else do you think we should have terror indicators? Or if you don’t have anything to say on that, you can relate how awesome I am. Either or.

P.S. Your word of the day is:

• Iraqnophobia: paralyzing fear of Iraq or the people of middle-eastern decent (or any non-whites); Overwhelming fear of Terrorism

I didn't make these...

So yeah, like I said... I didn't make this one, but wish I had. Its so very true. And it's about best buy. Just click on it to enlarge it.

Now this next one is most funny to Best Buy Employees, but I'll explain it real quick. Best Buy has names for the different kinds of people. A "Ray" is a guy who's a family man. More than likely has 2.4 children and a wife who holds the check book. He'll be the one who wants to buy the technology, say it's for the kids, but will need approval from his wife. So we're supposed to identify this person and talk to him about it, but make sure we focus on and sell it to the wife. A "Barry" is the high roller. He's got the best of everything and very possibly won't want any service plan. He pays top dollar so expects a product that will last him. Nail that guy with all the expensive accessories. "Buzz" is a 18-25 year old who likes his toys, I think I'm a Buzz.

So yeah, that's that. Did I mention that I worked 6pm - 2am at Best Buy on Sunday? It was our annual inventory night or some crap like that. We had to follow these guys around the store and watch them as they zapped every item, every CD, every computer accessory, every bag of M&Ms in the store. Very exciting. And I had to work the next morning at BUNN... lame.

Comics from:
Ctrl-Alt-Del
Cheap Ass Gamer

I love my iPod.

Alright, so I hope everyone here is ready to be technologically enlightened. Don’t be scared, this isn’t going to be painful or difficult. Today class, we’re going to discuss briefly about Podcasts. I’m pretty certain that there’s a podcast out there for everyone. But first off, for those of you who don’t know or don’t know much about them, we should clarify. A podcast is an audio program that can be freely downloaded off the internet and its content can be just about anything you can imagine (we’ll cover that next).

Its probably the easiest if you have an iPod, or MP3 player of some sort and the iTunes program on your computer. If you have a podcast you like you can subscribe to it through iTunes and it will automatically download them to your computer when new episodes are available. You can then listen to them anytime on your MP3 player, or if you don’t have an MP3 player, burn them to CD and listen to them in your car, or at work.

They really make long drives or mindless jobs (ahem… American Water People) much easier to deal with. Your first step is to download iTunes, then I would recommend downloading the Podfinder Podcast. That is just a program that comes out once a week and showcases about 15 podcasts in a half hour. It also explains how to easily subscribe to the shows it features while listening. Seriously, if you’re bored, try this at home and just see if anything you hear on the Podfinder Podcast peaks your interest. And here's a massive directory of podcasts.

Just for some examples:

• Religious Podcasts: Catholics, Buddhists, Muslims… you’ve got them all. From sermons to just the world from that point of view.
• Harry Potter Podcasts: debates over possible plot twists, new movies, or obscure references. You can also replace Harry Potter, with about anything (Gilmore Girls, Star Wars, NYPD Blue.)
• CopCast: Speaking of NYPD Blue, how about hearing from a cops perspective, recorded at a police station, get funny cop stories or horror stories, or the latest buzz in the law enforcement scene.
• Blind Podcasts: there’s several, an audio blog from a person with a vision-impairment, or what the latest developments in the science and study of all things vision related, surgery to accessibility.
• TechyCasts: I live off these: Diggnation and This Week in Tech
• Cancer Cast: If you, or someone you know is suffering from cancer this show put the facts to you in plain English. Gives you advice, tells you the proper questions to ask, and offers support.
• Anything from NPR: They’ve got all their shows available. I listen to their archive of science and health reports.
• Learning Foreign Languages: Get a weekly or sometimes daily Russian/Spanish/English lesson and make that trip to Italy you’ve always wanted a little easier for you (I’m looking at you Kim)

I know that a few of us listen to them already, how about sharing anything I missed. And if you have any questions, feel free to ask.

P.S. Grade (A)my Woman, I’m really glad you spoke up. I’m always super excited to hear that people actually read this besides my Mom and my Roommate.

Book Shopping

Hooray for all the comments. See, that's all I need every now and again; sometimes my ego drops below that supernatural level and I just need a little reinforcement to keep it up in the stratisphere. I also added some new blogs on the side. Best friend Josh (who I went to Europe with) now has his own blog. Hey Phil, looks like you're the only one left... we demand you get a blog... now. Also I linked to Anne, Ro's sister (who unlike Ro, doesn't leave her blog unupdated for 3 months). And Finally we have Nida, a fellow RA from ISU and my favoritest Paki. Oh yeah, I listed Jake too... but I hate him, so I don't care if you go there or not. The only reason he gets a spot is because he is the one that broke the infamous Jerseyville Porn Star Story.

This weekend I went to Barnes and Noble. I found a few books that caught my eye enough to take pictures. What is the world coming too?


Ok this just may be my own mis-understanding.... but aren't Freemasons one of those elitist, secret societies? Like the Skulls? Or the Mouseketeers? Chapter 18, Our secret handshake and meeting places. Chapter 23, Who's who in the freemasons guild, and what governments they control.

Here's an idea, instead of 1001 movies you must watch before you die, how about you get off your butt and get some exercise before your heart collapses under the weight of the mounting chlorestrol that has accumulated while you've been a worthless couch potatoe for the last 4 years trying to hit all 1001 movies.

That's it, its official; she's got her own religion. I propose a public burning in the town square.

"PIRATTITUDE! So you wanna be a Pirate? Here's How!" Probably the greatest book I'd ever seen in my entire life. Unless someone releases NINJAITUDE, in which case... well you get the idea.

Comic Space 2.0

I sure hope you're not expecting a whole new post today after all my work last night. I expect a bagillion comments after all my hard work. I expect praises and gifts. I mean, this took me hours... and I have another paper due on Monday. Do you see what I sacrifice for you?!!??

click to enlarge

A Three Post Day!

• Alright, below is an open letter to one of my loving fans who recently left some feedback reguarding Tuesday's Post.
• This Post here is simply a heads up. No big deal.
• And coming later tonight is a REALLY special treat. I don't know what drove me to do what I'm about to, but its got a lot of potential. So start getting excited.

I feel like I should give you some content. I only slept 2 hours yesterday (10 am - 12 pm) and it was quite rough. But the paper's done and turned in. I had to go to class last night, which was a bit rough (6-9pm) on as little sleep as I had. But then to top it off, my genius roommate talked me into going to the movies last night to see Serenity. I hate him sometimes. Don't get me wrong it was a great movie, but I was going on VERY little sleep. I'm glad I went, but I still hate him. Seriously, just try playing Burnout with that kid. Its a racing game, and no matter the outcome, no matter how badly he lost, he'll talk about how he "kicked your ass in drift." Even in Burnout 4, when they no longer give your Drifted Distance at the end of the race, he makes it up. For those who may be missing the point, Drift is when you lose traction on your turns and has no real impact on the game or the winning of the game. But he yells about it everytime reguardless.

Oh and speaking of beating Scott at games. Current chess score: 6-0

An Open Letter

Dear Mr McJake,

You should count yourself lucky that the powers that be over here at Rob's Space 2.0 have decided to take time out of their busy schedule to address your concerns. at 10:06 am on October 4, 2005 the following comment was received :

Jakey McJake said...

Thanks for your list of websites that EVERYONE ALREADY KNOWS ABOUT. I'm so lucky to have your internet commentary to teach me things I never could have possibly figured out...unless I actually used the internet.

But it's the thought that counts, I suppose. Pervert.

First, I need to start with your name. Frankly, and as I believe we here at Rob's Space 2.0 have indicated previously, it Sucky McSucks. We try our best here to provide actual content for our readers, unlike some people who create and devote an entire podcast to let his peers know that a 13 year old boy had been banned from the forums.

Mr McJake, there are other people who read Rob's Space who are less computer/internet savvy than others (pronounce savvy: "ob-sess'-ed"). And I like to sometimes share things that might help them, just as I sometimes discuss inside jokes that only Scott, Tim and Ro might be a part of. So now, instead of your insults affecting me, it is probably more likely that they were poorly received by my readers. I hope you feel like a big man now.

I can just assume that you missed the point that I was trying to share web fundamentals and not trying to bring groundbreaking new material forward. You also seemed to miss the open invitation where I wanted to have others bring their own basic, frequently visited sites to the group. So, even when you had your own grievances about the content, as well as an open invitation to add your own, you did nothing to actually improve your misperceived state of things. Wait a minute. Complaining about misunderstood situations... Elitist attitude... taking no actual action yourself... You're a libertarian, aren't you? This conversation is over.

Commies Burn in Hell,

Rob's Space 2.0

No post for today.

Today is a Paper Due Day. No time to post. No time to sleep. No time to work, crap.... no it's 7:30 in the morning, guess I'll just go to work early today and bail out WAY early. Maybe I can finish my paper and sleep before class. Would you care for an excerpt from my paper? My brain hurts, I couldn't keep it up throughout the whole paper. I know that those first two paragraphs are exactly what he wanted, but my writting style quickly degrades as my graduate-student-writing-mode endurance fails me. eh, I got to say... I'm impressed I was able to spit out as much of that as I did. You really don't have to read what I'm attaching here, it's incredibly scholarly (aka impossible to read). Just thought you should see what grad school is like. Stupid sleep.

Institutions are a ubiquitous, often overlooked presence in the world. Their influence is felt at all strata of society, from world leaders at the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) to a local Junior High Yearbook Staff, we require hierarchy and a system that provides allowances and restrictions. Left to his or her own devices, and resisting an established structure, humans will almost inevitably descend into a state of chaos and inefficiency. Rare is the case that a leader will not emerge from a group and become the focal point of organization and action. Thus, once such a structure is set, a pattern followed, and a social hierarchy understood, an institution is born.

Institutions are a social framework, often created and maintained by the very same people who must adhere to it. In his article “Institutions, Institutional Change, and Economic Performance,” Douglass North defines institutions as “humanly devised constraints that structure human interaction,” which have either been formed purposefully or have gradually developed over time. It is the institution that allows or restricts certain actions by the various members of the group. Each person must work within the constraints he is given and failure to abide by the rules results in a penalty, not only to himself, but in effect, the team as a whole. The institution often values some rules more than others, resulting in varied repercussions for different violations. It can then be assumed that some rule breaking is expected, and therefore considered a legitimate strategy for obtaining one’s goals, provided that severity of the punishment does not outweigh the potential for benefit.

I’m a Peeping Tom

But I don’t mean to be. Sometimes I just can’t help it. Seriously, when you’re just walking around at night and there’s these windows just glaring at you, it peaks my curiosity. I don’t stare, I don’t even break stride, but my eyes always drift up to those bright, open windows.

I took note of this last night when I was taking out the garbage. You have to walk to the dumpster which has apartments all around, I don’t even remember there being a street light out there…. Just shiny beacons of window light in the pitch blackness, what else are you supposed to look at?!? I'm not looking or hoping for anything in particular, windows are just there!

I just know that one of these times, some girl is going to be changing clothes and it’s going to totally catch me off guard. And in my second of shock, before what’s happening can even register, THAT’s when she’s going to turn around and see me standing out there. “I was GOING to avert my eyes!” is what I’ll tell the cops. “We don’t take kindly to perverts in these here parts” is what they’ll reply to me… and then comes the pistol whip. There goes my career, my dignity, my life… It doesn’t help that I have so much black in my wardrobe as is.

Anyways, my second part of my being nosey post is I want to know what sites you frequent. And I’m not talking to Tim or Scott here, I pretty much know what sites they frequent, but they’ll tell us anyways I’m sure. So I’d like to see in your window… your browsing window that is. (Woah. That was painful. I apologize for that statement/pun. It wasn’t even intentional, it just came out.)

Here are my top 5 sites that every person should know about:

1. www.google.com (Google Search, Google News and Google Images) utilize and worship. Click the button at the top right and personalize it if you’d like.
2. www.wikipedia.org Online encyclopedia covering everything from Governor Blagojevich to where the metal in Wolverine’s claws came from.
3. www.imdb.com Internet Movie DataBase. Anything you ever want to know about a movie, or actor, start here.
4. www.fark.com Ridiculous news. Updated about every hour.
5. www.digg.com Like Fark, but better, and about technology. For the tech-savvy or those who would like to be.