:: Archipelapogo ::

:: 30.4.01 ::

I went to the park yesterday for another round of disc golf, and going on a sunday when it's really crowded is kind of a different experience. The course wasn't very crowded, which surprised me, but the park itself was. The inconsideration of humans never ceases to amaze me, especially when it comes to nature. There were bottles, cans, and other assorted debris throughout the park, people driving on the grass, etc. Granted, there were quite a few people that were doing things very well, putting things where they belong and all that. But once again, the savage minority screws everyone else. If anyone is reading this, I'm probably preaching to the choir, but please, keep our parks clean!
:: Scott [+] ::
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Seek and ye shall recieve, Ryan. I scanned in some pics and finally got some stuff up in the friends section of my webpage. To go directly to these pics, click here. If you've never been to my webpage, you haven't lived. Check the whole thing out here.
:: Scott [+] ::
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A side note to brag about myself real quick. I went bowling friday night and got four strikes in a row (a "four-bagger" apparently) in the first four frames of my second game. I got a nine in the fifth, and I think that gave me like a 117 in the fourth frame. I, of course, choked and wound up with a 165 overall, but hey, it was good while it lasted.
:: Scott [+] ::
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Turn tv off week is over. It was a good week, but to be honest, I'm really looking forward to the simpsons tonight. It's amazing, though, the way that the afternoons (which is when i do most of my watching) seemed so much longer, and i had the opportunity to accomplish things. I think I spent most of my time on the internet anyway, which may not be too much better, but I played some disc golf, exercised, read, and other fun stuff like that. I'm glad I did it, and will definitely give it another go when April comes around next year.
:: Scott [+] ::
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I'm going out again today, for the third time in the last two weeks, to play disc-golf at Cameron Park. They've got a really nice course, with some very tough holes. Anyone who's interested in disc golf, or wants to find a course near them should check out the Pro Disc Golf Association website. It's a lot of fun, a good way to get outside and walk around, and some good stress relief.
:: Scott [+] ::
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Since Napster is closing down soon (maybe) or going to start charging or whatever is going on, I'm offering up a list of the songs that I've downloaded and gotten some good listening out of. Here it goes::::
***Radiohead - OK Computer - yes, the whole album. It's very very good. I didn't care for Kid A, their latest one, at all. Maybe i just didn't get it, i don't know. regardless, ok computer is great, and, yes, I will buy it when i have money again.
***At the Drive-In - pretty much anything i can get my hands on. I bought their latest album, Relationship of Command, and really dug it, so I decided to download some of their older stuff. Before I knew it, i had like 16 other songs, and they all rock!
***The Urge - "jump right in" - just a feel good song, until you listen to the lyrics
***Brother Inferior - "bending over backwards", "one for the resistence", and "tomorrow's lament" - straight up political hardcore straight from tulsa. it's damn tough to find anything by these guys on cd, though, as most of thier output is on 7"s.
***Volume 10 (mack 10 and ice cube) - "pistol grip pump" - after ratm covered it, i downloaded the original, and it's freaking cool!
***Digable Planets - "where I'm from" - cool, smooth, fun, hip-hop.....
There's more, but these are the songs i've listened to a lot lately. Any recommendations? Let me know by clicking this here "discuss" link!
:: Scott [+] ::
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The Baylor Lariat reported today that the university is bringing former Attorney General Janet Reno to Waco this fall for a speech. I'm not real sure how i feel about this, but if i were still going to be down here, I'd probably go. The most interesting aspect of this is the controversy about the Branch Davidians and if there will be any reaction to her presence. We'll see what happens. This is just one of the many people that Baylor brings in for speeches. Since I've been here, they've also had Maggie Thatcher, Archbishop Desmond Tutu of South Africa, the McLaughlin group, Steve Forbes, and the college republicans brought in Oliver North. I missed Ralph Nader by a year (I think he came in '96).
:: Scott [+] ::
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I've added a counter, thanks to the link that Ryan sent. He had some serious ranting on his log from yesterday. Check it out. I'm probably going to get depressed at how few people are reading this, so to the people that are: Please, come often so i don't get discouraged. I'm probably going to have to e-mail some people to encourage traffic.
:: Scott [+] ::
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Happy secretaries' day to all those out there. I've got much respect for secretaries (or "administrative assistants" as they're called here) and I'm glad they do what they do. I just wonder how this holiday came about. I'm thinking that either the secretaries of the world are often overlooked for their work and dedication, or Hallmark needed a reason to sell cards in the middle of April. Either way is no good. The respect should come year round. Where's Garbage Men day? Janitors? Farmers? These are all good people that also deserve respect. So give your trashman a card next time you see him (or tape it to the can or something. be creative!) And keep in mind the oft-overlooked jobs of society that you don't want to do, but someone has to.
:: Scott [+] ::
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However, the state legislature of texas did something very good in my mind yesterday. They passed a hate-crime bill. I can argue both sides of this, and do it fairly well. But the passage of this bill gives me much more comfort than the rejection of it would. It still has to pass state senate, but hey, how often do i get to report positive news about texas, or the government, or both? Trying to stay positive.....
:: Scott [+] ::
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Was anyone else more than a little disappointed by the Supreme Court decision yesterday? This is NOT a good thing. Yes, the woman did not have her children buckled up, which is a horrible thing. However, to basically give officers the ability to arrest people for almost anything (speeding?) is absurd. This is one of those time that i really wish we had good public transportation in the states. I've got many reasons for this, and this just gave me another one.
:: Scott [+] ::
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Denise, my girlfriend, keeps trying to get me to go to Honduras with her, b/c she's from there. Maxim convinced me. They put a little article in about the Bay Islands, off the coast, where the scuba is good, and everything else is well, cheap. "The Honduran lempira is literally like Monopoly money -- go ahead and buy a few hotels. Or just tear the shit into pieces and use it for fishing bait." It's not that bad. It's about 15 lemps to the dollar, so figure that out for yourself. Hey, that's better than Yen, isn't it?
:: Scott [+] ::
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I do want to wish everyone a happy, albeit belated, earth day. now go tell pres bush to go hell b/c his environmental policy sucks.
:: Scott [+] ::
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I finished The Death of Ivan Ilyich by Leo Tolstoy the other day. Thanks for the hook-up Ryan. It's a good, short (about 70 pages) read with similar themes to both The Fall by Camus and Johnny Got His Gun by Dalton Trumbo. Definitely a good, introspective read. Want to know more? just e-mail me.
:: Scott [+] ::
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Hey people - hope you're enjoying the first day of turn tv off week! Sad news to report. One of the founding fathers of punk, Joey Ramone, died today after losing a battle with lymphoma. Joey (the lead singer of the legendary Ramones, for those that are unenlightened) was the really tall skinny, howard stern looking ramone. So, in tribute, go out, sniff some glue, beat on the brat, and then sedate yourselves. (sidebar: I love the way that the article says that the Ramone's ``'do-it-yourself,' garage-rock influence still echoes today in bands like Green Day and the Offspring." Yes, the kings of DIY, the people that provide soundtracks for video games and the final episode of Seinfeld. lol....sorry, I had to!)
:: Scott [+] ::
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Don't forget, turn tv off week starts tomorrow. Everyone should at least try to participate. I'm not going to smash my tv or anything, but it's going to be unplugged as soon as i wake up tomorrow morning. I encourage you all to participate.
:: Scott [+] ::
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Anyone ever read Boondocks? It's a great little comic that neither the tulsa world nor the Waco tribune carry. It's a shame. Check it out!
:: Scott [+] ::
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I like it when good people win. This is a very good thing
:: Scott [+] ::
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For anyone who's interested, I found my Econometrics (eco 4347) term paper on Dr. Taylor's website.... (link directly to the paper by clicking here). It concerns comparing the amount of people living below the poverty line, as established by the US Census Bureau, and compares that figure to the serious crime rate (act commited per 1000 citizens). It was an interesting paper. It's a little long, but if you just read the abstract, introduction, and the conclusion, you can get a good feel for it. If some of the writing sucks, it's b/c it was like 7:30 in the morning and I hadn't finished yet. You need adobe acrobat reader to look at it. If you don't have it, you can download it here for free. Enjoy!
:: Scott [+] ::
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Right on....sorry i haven't posted for a while, but i had a busy easter going to tulsa, ft. worth, and norman. drove a lot! anyways, as you can probably tell, I finally got the discuss button on my blog via blogvoices. Please, feel free to click on the one for any of the articles, past or present, to post your comments. Just remember, it's public and anyone can read it. You all have a nice day now, and thanks for visiting!
:: Scott [+] ::
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Probably (hopefully) this is the last time I'm going to write about the cat-killing baylor sportos. They're back on the team. Apparantly, two weeks of suspension from the team is enough punishment. (according to city or county law, the maximum penalty for cruelty to animals is a $4000 fine and up to a year in prison). No, they shouldn't be punished this much. It probably was an isolated incident. However, to let them back on the team (one of them has already pitched an inning in play) is just embarassing. there's only 5 weeks left in the season, and to put these guys in play shows further hyping up of athletes in society over someone else's civil rights. I'm not going to say much more, b/c I don't feel it's worth it, but I just wanted to let you all know. click here for the story....
:: Scott [+] ::
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In Cincinnati, a policeman shot and killed an unarmed man that was running away from him (see story here). This man had 14 bench warrants out for his arrest for traffic and moving violations (driving without a license, not wearing a seat belt, etc.). The cop said he did it because he was in fear of his life. How can you be in fear of your life from someone who is running away from you? I respect cops, and what they do, b/c i sure wouldn't want to do it. but this is ridiculous. A normal citizen can be charged for shooting someone on their own property if they are running away, even if they've threatened your life. Because this officer either freaked out or something, a 19 year old man is dead. This is wrong.
:: Scott [+] ::
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Anyone play games on yahoo? It's free, easy, and fun! they've got poker, spades, bridge, and odd version of Scrabble, and whole bunch of other stuff. My personal favorite right now is JT's Blocks. It's just an odd little block game, but damn if I'm not hooked on it. It's easy to register, and you can chat as you play (or read the dumb peoples' chatting). I usually play in the Sherblock Holmes room. My screenname on there is Profbooty48, so if you give it a shot, keep an eye out for me! Try it by clicking here!
:: Scott [+] ::
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If you've got a little while to surf around on the net and don't know what to do, check out the NoZe brotherhood official homepage. Unless you go to baylor or know someone who does, you've probably not heard of the noze brothers. They're an underground organization who does pranks around campus and puts out some great satirical writing. I'd definitely check out their archives. You may not understand some of the more baylor oriented material, but you should still get some entertainment out of it. I must warn you, though, it's not all politically correct (especially the message board). Please read cautiously and only if you have an open mind AND a sense of humor (more importantly the sense of humor).
:: Scott [+] ::
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Yet another wonderful, classic comment from the Call the Editor section of the Tulsa World. Does this guy have any clue what he's talking about?

Don't buy McVeigh's book, burn it. I find it hard to believe any American citizen would even stoop low enough to buy that book on Timothy McVeigh. To me that is an act of communism and the person that wrote it is a communist. I say burn those books before they ever hit the counter.

Sigh.


:: Scott [+] ::
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A vary happy Dia Del Oso to you all! for those that don't know, it's the day of celebration at the school where we don't have class and there's all kinds of crap put on around campus. inflated things and all that jazz. I saw a hypnotist and the black fraternities and sororities step show, which is always cool. then, there was a fireworks display at night, which was a first. It wasn't spectacular, but i always love fireworks.

In other news, i finally found the link i've been searching for! Click here!
:: Scott [+] ::
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I would like to say a big congratulations and thank you to Senators John McCain (R-AZ) and Russ Feingold (D-WI) for the passing through the Senate of a campaign finance reform bill. (see story here). The measure would ban soft money given to political parties by unions, corporations, and individuals. The Republicrats took a combined $500 million in such funds over the last two years (goo!). The most money an individual can give that is not 'soft money' (i have no idea what the difference is when it comes to individual funds, do you?) is also going to be raised from $1000 to $2000. This is big for people that practice what they preach when it comes to soft money (Ralph Nader!) that took only as much as $1000 in contributions from individuals, and no soft money whatsoever, seriously putting them at a disadvantage. The bill still has to make it through the House of Reps and then be signed into law by pres bush. We'll see what happens to it. But this is the first time a bill of this sort has been passed by the senate since the Nixon era. Progress is good. Even if this bill goes nowhere from here, it gives us individual citizens a small glimmer of hope for the future. Opponents of the bill say it's unconstitutional, citing first amendment violations, but I can't figure out or find specifically how. Kind of funny to see conservatives "hiding behind the first amendment" for a change. There is a relatively humorous quote in the article by Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) saying "The underlying theory is that there is too much money in politics, in spite of the fact that last year Americans spent more on potato chips than they did on politics." I'm guessing (emphasis on guessing) that this "fact" is composed by summing the amount of non-soft money given by individuals and comparing. I seriously doubt it takes into account soft money. And who in their right mind would deny that there's too much money in politics? When you have dozens of huge corporations donating tons of money to both major party campaigns just to cover their asses, there's something seriously wrong. What do you think? Let me know by sending an e-mail!
:: Scott [+] ::
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Hey party people. Long time no blog, eh? I had a very long, but very fun weekend. A group of us went to Ft. Worth to Billy Bob's, the largest country and western bar in the world. It was a trip, but it was a lot of fun. There's actually people out there that iron their jeans to the point that there's a crease in the back! How strange. Then we spent Saturday in dallas, and if you live there or are going to visit, may i please highly recommend Ghengis Grill. It's mongolian bbq (hell yeah, ryan!) where it's all you can eat and you fill your bowl with noodles, meat, veggies and sauce. Then, they grill it for you on a huge circular grill. It was really good, although i suggest going for lunch and saving four bucks. Anyways, it was a good good weekend.

In other news, Ryan started his own weblog that preaches peace, love, and posterity. Check it out now, dammit!
:: Scott [+] ::
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