Ragged Edge Magazine has a new layout. It rather looks like the old one, but the way the articles are displayed is much better, and guess what? They've updated! It looks like they're using Movabletype, and very efficiently at that. Here's just hoping they keep the spammers at bay.

I have a lot of stress in my life right now. Contributing to that stress is the small fact that bar results come out next week. Ah!
I've actually been freaking out slightly because of Wilma. See, Fred yelled ... Ok, that was bad, but I'm an odd ball, and I can't help myself.
My brother, B., is currently attending college in Miami, and I haven't been able to communicate with him since Ms. Wilma. He's been able to contact the parental units, and thankfully, we know he's alright. The college is providing the students food and electricity, but there is no gas and much of Miami has no electricity. It's all very disorganized, and well, my brother was very happy that nothing happened to his car. I can't blame him. He's had that car for years. I'm just thankful nothing happened to him because the last time we chatted online he sounded nervous. He wanted to know about "this beast."
This has just been one wild summer.

Harriet Miers has withdrawn her nomination for the Supreme Court.
Just this morning on GMA another strong conservative group came out against Miers because a speech of hers seemed to imply she was in favor of a woman's right to choose. Now this. I guess it's surprising. It's more of a blow to the Bush administration that will possibly be facing indictments for two of its top officials.
So how about my choice now for nominee?

If Walmart's memos were laws, they'd be struck down for being overly broad. In the most recent one, the board has a series of suggestions geared at curtailing healthcare spending:

Among the recommendations are hiring more part-time workers and discouraging unhealthy people from working at Wal-Mart.
In the memorandum, M. Susan Chambers, Wal-Mart's executive vice president for benefits, also recommends reducing 401(k) contributions and wooing younger, and presumably healthier, workers by offering education benefits. The memo voices concern that workers with seven years' seniority earn more than workers with one year's seniority, but are no more productive.
To discourage unhealthy job applicants, Ms. Chambers suggests that Wal-Mart arrange for "all jobs to include some physical activity (e.g., all cashiers do some cart-gathering)."

I wonder where this leaves the disABLED since by "healthier" it can be presumed that many of us might be excluded. We don't look healthy even though we are. It's the wheelchair you see. Sometimes those legs don't work, and well, the rest is history.
I see trouble for Walmart.

Youngest brother was here for the weekend. He came down to celebrate with a friend's 21st and of course to see yours truly. We actually had a nice time though I always feel bad whenever anyone has to use San Antonio's public transportation with me. The poor boy was almost thrown across the bus on one occasion. He looked at me and asked me how I did this every day.
Highlights: Notre Dame said hello and goodbye to the mormons fairly quickly. We arrived in time to see the rest of the fourth quarter after I griped at a parental unit for not calling to give me updates. She was supposed to call, and I thought they were losing!
My little bro can cook! It's a family thing. I now posses the best spinach salad recipe. It's all mine. Bwah ha ha!!
Um, yeah...

For the past few weeks Burger King has had this commercial for their new breakfast sandwich. It's this huge calorie filled fest of a thing that when I look at it I can't help but wonder about how many arteries it might clog up. Then there's the king. It's a man in funky looking king mask. The kind they still make for dead presidents when some body wants to commit a robbery. Creepy. If Burger King wants to sell unhealthy then I'm guessing that they're doing a great job, and Congress is helping.
The House of Representatives passed the "Cheeseburger Bill." Now parents can't hold fast foods accountable for their children's obesity and neither can adults.

The legislation's backers say matters of personal responsibility don't belong in the courts.
"As one judge put it, if a person knows or should know that eating copious orders of super-sized McDonald's products is unhealthy and could result in weight gain, it is not the place of the law to protect them from their own excesses," said Rep. James Sensenbrenner, R-Wisconsin, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee.

If people are more obese does a lawsuit shave off the pounds, or avoiding the drive thru?

If this blog has been heavy on the fluff then I don't apologize because its purpose has been to be well rounded, and lately my focus has been football. However, stay tuned. Bar angst is bound to rear its ugly head ever so soon. If I sit and think about it, now might even be perfect. Now is not a good time.
The truth of the matter is my silences come and go with my moods, and then there's this small nagging question stuck in the back of my head. If I pass and find an awesome job, what happens to all of this? A few months ago I would have said it's all or nothing. Today?
Last month I started teaching Spanish. I used to include my blog and personal website in my signature in emails. It's a signature I've used for over a year, so I didn't think anything of it. I already had two students and was about to meet a third; then out of the blue the third sends me an email saying that he was sorry, but that he wasn't going to be using my services because after having read an entry on my blog, he disagreed with my views. He therefore no longer wished to meet. The content of the entry really isn't important. What surprised me was that he didn't give me a chance. He assumed I would bring my opinions and views to a Spanish lesson, and it was just so startling.
Naive much?
Needless to say the links are gone, but I feel as if a part of my integrity is gone with it. Believe it or not many of the posts on this site do have some effort behind them. I do enjoy the snark, and I revel in my opinions because I believe beyond everything else that it is important to be able to think on your own. Followers, on the other hand, are just that, lambs with no purpose other than to be raised, groomed, fed, and bled.
If and when I pass the bar I still intend for this blog to be around. It might have to become more serious. It might have to go incognito. I just know it's my place. Whether I talk about Irish football or anime, or my undying love of all things Whedon/Veronica Mars and the law. I just can't decide on one thing.

And so the humiliation begins...The Backer has changed his colors to red due in part to a bet he made with The Irish Trojan. Since the Irish lost, the site is now known as "Traddies" and quotes the USC alma mater. At least for a week.
Ouch!
It will be one very long week, but what a brilliant bet. Methinks this should be a tradition. Next year maybe Brendan will rename his blog for a change?

My stomach is growling, and gee look at the time! Now I know why.
The Nine Inch Nails concert was Sunday night, and it was amazing. No. Really. Nice disABLED seating for yours truely's viewing pleasure. I always run the risk that they might put me in a section that's either too far away, or up close and personal, which is great, except when people stand up, which they typically do, I can no longer see. It happened at the Aerosmith concert in the JACC. I was not happy then. Here, well I had no clue Mr. Reznor had such nice muscles. And such stamina!
There was also a NIN virgin. Poor NIN virgin. Methinks that was her last concert.
Oh, and to the people smoking weed four rows down, I hate you. That stuff can really mess with one's allergies!

But it was a great game. It really was. Edge of my seat the whole time, and hey. At least we didn't lose by like a gazillion points. Though the last call by the ref, hmm makes me want to agree with the student section. But maybe that's my lack of knowledge of football and undying devotion to my alma mater.
Sorry The Backer. This next week will truely suck. Here's hopeing someone else will knock USC from #1 even though we were so close!!