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December 31, 2006

Wonder drug recipes

Less than 24 hours from now people will wake up with one thought on their minds, assuming that thinking is possible: why. Why does it hurt so bad! That pounding. Oh my goodness, is that light? Turn it off. I don't care if it's the bloody sun.

So on and so forth.

New Year's just wouldn't be the same without that special hangover -- jello shots here I come -- but what if there were a pill that could spare one's over indulgence for that nasty sustanance, and say, wake up on Monday morning all bright-eyed, etc? Cheers!

Experts say that it's never going to happen. Boo hiss.

So here's my advice. Get plenty sloshed. Don't drive drunk. Hydrate. Then swallow a couple of ibuprofen.

Happy New Year!

What is too much?

The Wizbang blog has the video of the execution and a picture of a very dead Saddam Hussein. I would link to it except that I think people have seen enough, and I certainly wouldn't want to lead anyone to a gratuitous image of a dead man. A dictator and murderer is dead. Why glorify that violence even if he deserved it? I have some respect for Wizbang, but I hate seeing images like these. Gloating never did anyone any favors.

December 29, 2006

It's over

Saddam Hussein has been executed. But wait! 2006 still isn't over.

Apple and Steve Jobs

I used to think you had a wonderful product with iTunes 7, but it won't stop skipping. My music sounds like it's on a rollercoaster, and if I can't get it to behave I'm going to scream. ::pout:: Frou Frou shouldn't sound like a garbled chipmunk!

December 26, 2006

Nuisance law in Japan

Playing music too loudly can come with a prison term in Japan. Apparently one neighbor blasted music for 29 months in an apparent bid to drive her other neighbor insane, and some injuries did occur. The judge decided to send the offending neighbor to jail, not because of the injuries but because she planned on blasting the music again to spite her neighbor.

If I had a neighbor like that I don't think she'd be well. Not after 29 months. Not after I was finished with her.

Did I just admit that I'm vengeful?

December 22, 2006

Made-to-order Babies

A few years ago I saw a movie called Gattaca. It was haunting and prolific. It posed one simple question; what would society be like if parents could genetically modify their children? This wasn't just about changing a child's gender. The modifications were so intrusive that the new child would be free from disease. Except this in turn lead to a society where the "modified" were superior to the "unmodified," and a new class emerged.

It was a great movie that makes you think. Science has opened the door to many things, and fortunately it is eradicating some diseases. But should it be used to give them?

Three percent, or four clinics surveyed, said they have provided the costly, complicated procedure to help families create children with a disability.

Some doctors have denounced the practice; others question whether it’s true. Blogs are abuzz with the news, with armchair critics saying the phenomenon, if real, is taking the concept of designer babies way too far.

“Old fear: designer babies. New fear: deformer babies,” the online magazine Slate wrote, calling it “the deliberate crippling of children.”

But the survey also has led to a debate about the definition of “normal” and inspires a glimpse into deaf and dwarf cultures where many people do not consider themselves disabled.

If families want to have disabled children, then I'm sure that there are plenty of orphanages and adoption agencies who would be willing to help. But why oh why would you want to cause a child such grief. You can't shelter them from the teasing, from the discrimination. And as much as they come to accept that they're normal, it will never stop the stares. Can you prepare them for that? It's downright selfish and cruel.

Genetics shouldn't be messed with, period.

Edit: The link has been fixed.

December 20, 2006

In Brief

The laptop is in surgery, and I'm typing from the tiniest resolution ever. I suppose I should be wearing my glasses, but right now I think I'm just happy my brother allowed me to lay hands on his Dell. That may not be the case tomorrow after he realizes that I've started messing with it. I can't help it. I'm lost without the Spanish keyboard. Besides, he rather owes me slightly. He's the reason why my laptop screen is now blank.

And I wonder why I can't delete the word 'apprehension' from my vocabulary.

December 19, 2006

Coincidence?

An amendment has been added to the rules governing the administration of the Texas Bar Exam.

An Applicant may take no more than five (5) examinations. [Amendment signed December 12, 2006] However, for good cause shown, the Board at its discretion may waive this limitation upon such conditions as the Board may prescribe.

The conditions aren't listed, so I'm assuming it could be entirely subjective as to who is and isn't allowed to retake the exam. They can think an examinee is ugly, and bar that person from taking the exam.

Maybe this is why I received this letter from the board. My disABILITY automatically disqualifies me from a 6th time, unless they thought I was going to use it as an excuse? Oh, poor me. I'm lame. You use and abuse me, but you so aren't going to beat me this time.

For the record, this is the worst written amendment I've seen in a while.

December 18, 2006

Electric home sweet home

It's dying! My sony laptop is fading into hardware hell (once I'm done with it)! I can get an hour of runtime before it shuts down, and then the waiting game begins. Fortunately, Goodwill opened up an internet cafe for the disABLED. It supposedly has all these nifty gadgets that make surfing the web ten times easier. Frankly, I think the whole purpose behind the cafe is great and about time.

December 17, 2006

no title

I tried to make rice today, and I crashed and burned. One of these days.

Of course, I could just have faulty rice.

December 16, 2006

Don't be a loser

The Texas Board of Law Examiners sent me a letter today. I was secretly hoping it was a Christmas miracle, but apparently they thought I was old enough to have senior moments, or something.

"Dear Miss V.

You failed our super-duper evil exam four times. Fail it one more time, and we'll kick you out of Texas!"

But I love Texas and its uber conservative folk...

I'm supposed to call if I have any questions, but really, I'm just wondering why they're sending this now. I didn't receive a letter in July when I almost took the exam, and I knew it was my fifth time. Everyone taking the Texas exam is aware of the five time limit. This is just funny, though rumor has it that the rules are in the process of changing...

December 14, 2006

What day is it?

Feliz Cumpleaños, Stephen.

My fellow Sagi, and cool brother should be having a wonderful birthday right about now. He agrees with me. December babies rock! We also think that it's very uncool to give one present to a December baby just because it's so close to Christmas. You don't see that happening to an April baby, do you?

Anyway, Happy Birthday bro. May this year be extra special.

December 13, 2006

Dragon movies

The trailers for the upcoming Eragon have not been flattering. Each new one makes the movie seem like a cousin to the much reviled Dungeons and Dragons movie than the Harry Potter series. I haven't read the book. The fact that I'm not really anxious to see this movie now, and now this review might spell doom for the movie. Then again FOX is notorious for messing with their franchises. X-Men 3 anyone.

Via Ain't it Cool.

December 11, 2006

Wedding Wars

Cute movie. For a while though I almost started to tape it because there were more commercials and not enough movie. I timed it! It was at times five minutes of commercials and then maybe 5 minutes of yummy Stamos. I almost killed the tv out of frustration.

I'm kinda glad I taped part 1 of The Lost Room

December 10, 2006

Because I can

So I'm trying to plan the birthday party, and I'm realizing that it's going to be a little bit harder than I expected. I may not be able to have it Tuesday because I'm discovering that some friends can't show up, but if I move it up to the weekend then I'll run into the same problem. I still have some people to invite too.

I also can't decide where to dine.

Don Quixote, La Fogata, or Red Lobster. Why Red Lobster? I'm dying for their trout. So I'm weird. I'm actually really craving fish, and not craving Mexican at all. Don Quixote has the best salmon. They have the best Spanish food, period. It's just a tad salty. Have I mentioned that I haven't been to La Fogata since maybe, oh, graduation?

Decisions, decisions, decisions! I hate them. I should go by the desert. In that case HEB wins. They have the best cake.

Anyway, because I am turning another year older. Here's my wishlist. Not that the ten people who register on my sitemeter will get me anything...

If I know you, and we're buddies. Send me an email, or leave me a comment. I have an abundance of time apparently, and I'm sending Christmas cards too.

Remember RC Pro Am

There's a Wii Revolution going on, and so far I'm not apart of it. I feel left out. Normally, this wouldn't bother me as much, but the Wii looks brilliant, and for once, I think I might actually be able to play the games thanks to the innovative remotes.

See, for the longest time I've had to sit on the side-lines. As new consoles came out, so did the new controllers, and well they were huge. It's hard to wrap your fingers across those suckers, and then most games require that you hit the A and B button simultaneously, but don't forget about the Z button which is on the bottom. Oh, and the Y and X buttons are on the sides, and they're important. If I wanted to play "Smash Brothers" I had to master all of them, and well with my hands, coordination was never my strong point.

Back then with the Super Nintendo everything was much easier. Oh, and I kicked much booty. As Chun Li I was unstoppable, and I perfected the time in which I beat "Final Fantasy 2." The games were still cool for such simple controllers. They were accessible. And as I'm writing this I'm fondly remembering Metroid and Zelda whose theme music just assaulted my brain.

I miss playing games. They're not easy to play anymore, and it isn't because they're complicated. The controllers are just so huge, so they're not manageable. So when a person like me sees the Wii, I drool. For all I know it could still be difficult, but it does look like a lot of fun.

December 9, 2006

Argh!

In the middle of question #8 of the property section my laptop shutdown. Thankfully the software kept my spot, but this is killing me. That and property and I aren't best buds. I'm still over 50 percent. I just wanted to be more.

December 8, 2006

Firefly the MMORPG

First, there was Everquest. Then there was World of Warcraft. Now comes Firefly. This recent announcement probably won't make me play the game, but the possibilities the world will present will be endless. Imagine reenacting the Alliance v. Independence war, or actual being a companion. There would be no Mal Reynolds, so it could never be the same. It would be something though.

December 7, 2006

300

The final 300 trailer is out. I think I drooled. And it wasn't because of Gerard Butler.

December 6, 2006

Not a football post...

I'm not even sure if my football posts are that popular.

Football.

It's such a small and troublesome word. When I'm with my extended family I have to say American football because the real thing is an entirely different sport. It's just as much fun too. I think my family and I become rabid when watching it. We're scary.

My brother, B, loves all things German, so of course he knows all about the football clubs (futból now) in dear ole Deutschland. When his favorite team made it to the semis, there was much joy coming from his room. My mother and my cousin could bring down the walls. If the match is America v. Chivas, bloody hell, run for your life. There will be screaming. There will be doors slamming. There might even be an insult. Loyalty exists towards these teams, and god forbid they lose.

My family members will call family members in Mexico to gloat if a team won.

See, this is why I'm the way that I am. It's genetic.

December 5, 2006

Last year

In two weeks I'll be entering a final year.

I'm hoping it will be a year of final moments. Not bad moments, but good moments. Time to pass the big ugly. Time to find that dream job. Time to find the one and only (being single sucks). Time to write. Time for new adventures. Time for just being new.

I feel like I've spent the last five years stuck in a rut, but the one thing I have known is that I don't give up. Maybe it's because I was born this way. It wasn't easy. It was sad at times. But I knew I wanted to be a lawyer. And damn it, I will be. And I'll get there before I'm 30!

It's just a bit weird that I'm almost there.

His kids did it, why can't I?

The Warner Music CEO just admitted that his children have illegally downloaded music. When asked how he dealt with this issue, it was painfully obvious that no lawsuits would be pending. How could a father sue his poor children?

[The CEO] admitted that he was "fairly certain" that one or more of his seven children had downloaded music without the permission of the copyright owner, which Reuters referred to as stealing.

Despite the alleged infringers' proximity to the major label head and his direct awareness of it without the use of ISP subpoenas, somehow no lawsuits were deemed necessary, although Bronfman said that his kids had "suffered the consequences."

I think the victims need to sue. The CEO just confessed, and something tells me that those so-called "consequences" just don't add up to the millions Warner's sues its other targets.

December 4, 2006

Bar exam update

I had a very good day today. I've never had a good day when it comes to doing practice MBE questions, but for once that changed. Today. I started on Con Law. I picked 15 questions, and I only missed 2. One should have been obvious, but the other one I can let go.

2! I always miss like 5 or 6 or 7. But not today.

Tomorrow when I start on Contracts, I'm expecting a bloodbath. And even if it isn't, today was good.

December 3, 2006

Recap

I'm off to give a Spanish lesson, but before I do that I think I need to say a eulogy.

Here lie the Trojans. There will be no National Championship for you this year. Ouch! 13-9 loss. Better luck next year.

I feel better now.

December 2, 2006

USC v. UCLA

USC is struggling. In the third quarter they are barely leading by two. I just can't believe I'm watching another game with the Trojans, yet in the interest of bowl eligibility, a Trojan loss could be advantageous for the Irish. Of course any loss by USC is good news for me.

December 1, 2006

And finally

I'm in the realm of gadgets. Not the kind where you go "ohh" and "ahh" after something nifty shows up on tv. No. I should have been born a techno guru, except I suck at physics, but I love inventing things.

Here's the thing. I opened up my laptop again this time and discovered the second fan. Technically, I knew there was a second one. It was just hiding from me. The keyboard knew I would mess with it, so it hid it. So, after a delightful google search, I dismantled much of my laptop, but I was still too much of a coward to remove the fans. I just cleaned them a bit, accidently dropped and rescued some screws, and my laptop still overheats!

Today I did some more problem-solving. Now my laptop is elevated off the desk courtesy of four lovely bottle tops. The temperature reading is still climbing. I'm going to have to cough up a cooling fan, and this upsets me because I've spent days unable to fix this myself. Grr argh.