Archive for October, 2005
Friday, October 28th, 2005
Trick or Treat
Stores sure do know how to reap in the benefits of Halloween. By putting their “discounted” candy displays out early (like the day after back-to-school ends), people think to themselves, ‘Hey, self, I should buy some Halloween candy now while it’s on sale. I can stock up before all the GOOD candy is gone.’
[Just for clarity’s sake, as a connoisseur of sweets (meaning I consume as much as I can), I believe that the so-called “GOOD Halloween candy” has to be at least 75% chocolate, with any variety of filler such as coconut, nougat, caramel, etc…].
So now self has mega-bags of candy sitting at home, supposedly waiting as much as 2 months for their big day, their debut into the world. This is actually the big test. If that bag remains unopened until Halloween night, you’re safe. If you open that bag early, forget about it. You’ll finish it within the week and you’ll have to buy more. If you bought it at Sam’s Club, BJ’s, or Costco, it’s the size of a grocery bag and in reality you didn’t pay a lot for it, so if you eat a few pieces you’ll still have plenty to give out. Or so you tell yourself. By the time you’ve really put a dent into it, you can console yourself by remembering what a great price it was. Again, for clarity’s sake, I’m not saying this has ever happened to me. It’s entirely possible that I concocted this whole senario merely from speculation.
In any case, the store has now succeeded in selling 2x the amount of candy actually used Halloween night. Not a bad business model. And on November 2nd, the store will be filled with all the discounted Christmas supplies (November 1st being reserved for grocery carts in the aisles filled with left-over unwanted Halloween candy like smarties or milk duds. There’s never any milky ways or m&m’s for 99cents a bag!!). There are people employed by Price Chopper and Wegman’s just sitting around thinking this stuff up! Maybe I’m in the wrong business.
2 Comments » - Posted in Uncategorized by blaine_5
Monday, October 24th, 2005
Birthdays
This weekend was the my wife’s birthday (I’m still trying to figure out what to call her, and myself, here in the blog). We celebrated with cake and ice cream on Saturday, and on Sunday my parents came down and watched the E-man while we at lunch at a restaurant and went to see “A History of Violence” with Viggo Mortensen. We’d both seen the previews where Viggo’s character kills a burglar, and we assumed that the movie deals with the aftermath of that occurrence, especially how his family deals with it. That is indeed what happens, but we never expected the twist in the movie.
I just wanted to post a picture I took this weekend of the E-man having a great time in the exersaucer. His teeth are growing like crazy! He’s such an incredibly happy baby, smiling and laughing all the time. He thinks I’m the funniest guy in the whole wide world - proof that he’s already so smart!!
2 Comments » - Posted in Uncategorized by blaine_5
Saturday, October 22nd, 2005
LSAT Score
Well, I got my LSAT score last night via email - I got a 165, the 93rd percentile. I’m really happy with it, but of course I would have liked higher.
There are lots of calculators out there (see here, here, and here). They’re based solely on GPA and LSAT scores though, so it doesn’t take into account things like the personal statement, my C.V., and accomplishments. The calculators give me about a 25% chance of getting into Cornell. Could be worse I suppose. Now begins the mad rush to get in my applications. I’m hoping to have them all in within the next two weeks.
2 Comments » - Posted in Law School by blaine_5
Thursday, October 20th, 2005
I Hate Elevators
I just got onto the elevator, and another guy got on after me. I pushed “4”, and asked him which floor he wanted. He said, “yeah, 4”, seeing that I had pushed it already. My department is the only one on the 4th floor, and it’s a very small department, meaning that I should have known who he was (Remember that Seinfeld episode?). So I felt a little guilty until he started to annoyingly slurp the last of his Dunkin Donuts coffee.
Giving my son antibiotics is the worst part of my day. Squirting this thick chalky substance inside his mouth and making his face scrunch up is torture. And now that he knows it’s coming, it’s become especially hard. Luckily, I give it to him when he’s nursing first thing in the morning and last thing at night, so his eyes are closed and I can’t see the accusations within!!
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Wednesday, October 19th, 2005
Sneezy the Activity Dragon
The E-man is feeling so much better - no coughing, and he’s sleeping a lot more during the night as well (whew!!). This morning I was eating breakfast at the coffee table, and Sarah was getting ready for work, so the E-man was playing in his Graco pack-n-play, which we keep in the living room and use as a downstairs changing station and play area when neither Mom or Dad can hold him. We also keep a large stuffed dragon, Sneezy the Activity Dragon, in the bassinet with him. Now, I couldn’t see him when I was sitting there eating breakfast, but I did see this little hand slowly reach up and grab Sneezy’s head. The little hand then proceeded to pull Sneezy’s snout down into tasting range. It was so cute watching him manipulate this huge stuffed dragon with one tiny little hand.
Does anyone else ever use Wikipedia? For those who aren’t familiar with it, Wikipedia is an online encyclopedia, except the information is submitted by readers and can be edited by anyone. Inherent in that description is the disclaimer that the information in Wikipedia is only as good as the person who submitted it. If the page doesn’t list references or places to look for more information, I avoid it like the plague. I recently submitted two articles, one about the Battle of Big Sandy, and one about Daniel Appling (a soldier in the same Battle). I researched this little known battle for a graduate history course back in 1998, and I’m always disappointed by how this decisive victory is glossed over in history books. I thought it would be nice to see this information online, and maybe more people will come to hear of it.
I was discussing this with my wife, who is a high school science teacher, and she remarked about how some of her students tried using Wikipedia as a reference for research projects!! I think it’s a great starting point for students, but I don’t believe it should be used as a primary reference.
2 Comments » - Posted in Uncategorized by blaine_5
Tuesday, October 18th, 2005
Pop vs. Soda
Yesterday I had 32 visitors to the blog! Thanks to everyone who checked it out.
I was reading an article here at Wired about a website called CommonCensus.org, where people enter their own perceptions of their region. For instance, where I live, the city that influences me most is of course Syracuse. But there has to be a boundary between the spheres of influence of say, Albany and Syracuse. And between Albany and New York City. This particluar boundary of influence is interesting because it would be the perceived boundary between “Downstate” and “Upstate” New York.
The same article mentioned another website that I found even more interesting - Pop vs. Soda. It wasn’t until college that I first heard the term “pop” used for soda. I heard it from a friend who grew up in Oregon - which by the way is Ore-a-gun, not Ore-a-gone. This survey has asked over 200,000 people what they call carbonated soft drinks, and that information has been plotted onto a map of the United States. You can also look up statistical data for every county in all 50 states. I was REALLY surprised at the results! The entire western tip of New York State uses the term Pop, and that extends all the way to the west coast. And the south uses the term Coke for all soft drinks! Only New England and the Southwest use the term Soda. Anyway, you should check it out, it’s really interesting! What do you call carbonated soft drinks? When did you first learn that people had other names for it?
2 Comments » - Posted in Uncategorized by blaine_5
Monday, October 17th, 2005
Lake Placid
We had such a great time at Lake Placid. Although it wasn’t a great year for foliage (muted colors and lots of leaf drop), we relaxed and walked around Main Street, did some shopping. There’s a great hat store there, and we bought the E-man a cute little hat for fun. Here’s a picture of him in it:
Here are a few more pictures from our trip.
He slept almost 3 hours both ways, so the trip was perfect. We loaded up the iPod before we left, and had a great time listening to music and looking at the mountains. We ate breakfast at our favorite restaurant in Placid, the Black Bear, and dinner at the Luna Loca, a mexican restuarant we ate at on our honeymoon 3 years ago. It was a very relaxing trip.
On Wednesday, my wife took him to the doctor because he had a fever and was coughing. Turns out he had sinusitis and bronchiolitis. He’s been on antibiotics and getting nebulizer treatments, poor guy. The doctor says that this is a normal progression, from virus to bacterial infection, and that this will probably be the way he responds to colds. I’m very glad it didn’t go to his ears, considering all the trouble I had with my ears, but I hope it doesn’t make him so sick everytime. Otherwise, this will be a long winter!!
Last night, as we were getting into bed, we found the top of a tooth just popping through the gums, his lower right tooth. Our little guy is getting teeth. Strangely, I see this as a much bigger change than his recent milestones, such as laughing, or rolling over (which has made diapering so much easier, haha), or eating foods. I guess in my mind there’s a big barrier between babies without teeth and babies with teeth, and he’s now crossed that line. Tomorrow he’ll be 24 weeks, almost half a year old. Everyone has been right, it does go quickly.
3 Comments » - Posted in Travel by blaine_5
Wednesday, October 12th, 2005
What is Web 2.0?
Since I’ve joined the BlogWorld, I’ve seen the term “Web 2.0” used quite a bit without actually understanding what it means. It sounds a bit like a new type of Internet, a new way to navigate and interact with the Web, which can be misleading. Web 2.0 is not a completely new way to access websites or blogs - Web 2.0 does not have set boundaries in which a site is only Web 1.0 or Web 2.0. Rather, instead of disparate websites isolated out in cyberspace, the new face of the Internet is coagulation of data and websites. One of the most interesting aspects of Web 2.0 seems to be that instead of trying to access and assemble information alone, uses are encouraged to work together, to interact and create together. Web 2.0 is about community, about bringing users and their vast knowledge together for the benefit of all.
You don’t have to buy a new computer or switch your ISP to become part of Web 2.0. You can do something as simple as using an aggregator to subscribe to blogs or websites you find interesting. You can share your photos on Flickr. You can make your bookmarks public with a del.icio.us account so that others can quickly find the best of the web. You can blog and share your knowledge, experiences, and abilities with others.
Here’s the Wikipedia entry for Web 2.0.
Here’s a great site I subscribe to for tracking Web 2.0.
Since I’m not an expert in this field, I would appreciate any corrections or additions anyone might like to add!!
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Thursday, October 6th, 2005
A Roll of the Eyes
The Eman is finally over his cold. His mom missed work on Monday to take him to the doctor’s office. Unfortunately, the doctor’s mother had just died, so it was a nurse practitioner instead. After looking him over and declaring his illness as nasal congestion, she gave my wife a few suggestions and sent her home. I guess she just about rolled her eyes a few times, too, as if to suggest that bringing him in was a total waste of time.
In reality, I’m sure he wasn’t sick enough to bring to the doctor, but it was his very first illness, and it was our first time with a sick baby. Just going in helped my wife feel a lot better, despite the nurse’s reaction. Everyone has bad days, I suppose.
This weekend, my wife’s Mother and Mother’s Boyfriend are coming down to visit. They live about 2.5 hours away and haven’t been down in months. On Saturday, my wife’s two sisters are also going to be there, so it’ll be a packed house! On Sunday and Monday we’re going to drive up to Lake Placid with the Eman to spend a little time relaxing. Our 3 year anniversary is October 12th, and we spent our honeymoon in Lake Placid. We really love it there, but most of all we love the atmosphere of the Adirondacks in the fall. It’s so crisp and colorful, we’re really excited about going. I’ll try to post a few pictures when I get back!
1 Comment » - Posted in Uncategorized by blaine_5
Sunday, October 2nd, 2005
Sunrise
The E-man is coming down with his very first illness, a cold, and although he still feels great, he had trouble sleeping, so we were up early. I looked out and saw this incredible sunrise, and thought I’d share it.
6:23AM
7:00AM
7:10AM
Well, yesterday I took the LSAT here in Syracuse. Except for the very first section, Reading Comprehension, everything went really well. The Logic Games were all simple and straightforward, and I had 3 Logical Reasoning sections (1 experimental), my favorite section. Now just three weeks until I receive the score and I can start applying!
