Random Thoughts I

I am on midnight shifts right now, number 2 of 7. This is usually the worst time in the series of mids mainly because of the lack of sleep. However, it does allow quite a few random musings to float in and out of the grey matter of my brain. Some of them might even be worthy of mentioning to you...

• The upcoming Texas vs Texas Tech game is being hyped up beyond all proportions in this town. So much so that a local T.V. station has had a countdown out since 144 hours to kickoff. All I can say is that it is fitting that the first part of next week (Sunday - Tuesday) will be windy in this town. If Tech loses, the windy conditions will be a result of the thousands of students who just had their National Championship dreams and school pride popped like a balloon. If they do indeed win, that is air being pulled into the ever inflating egos of the most avid Red Raider fans.

• I find it amazing that Wal Mart gasoline in this town has fallen almost every day by a couple of pennies while all the Fina Stations are still charging gas 30 cents higher than Wal Mart just because of the company brand. How the HECK are the Fina stations staying in business?

• Heard this on the radio driving home this morning: The young people who are the most fervent supporters of Senator Obama were not alive the last time a true liberal occupied the White House. Scary...

• Could another name for a tire factory be a tread mill?

• I was amazed that Mythbusters proved you could rappel down a four story wall using single-ply toilet paper (testing myths of escaping from jail using bedsheets tied together, hair clippings, and toilet paper). Maybe I should carry a nine-pack of Charmin around when rock climbing for all the "just in case" moments...

• And last but not least: your pun for the day.
  
  
  Jesus and his disciples were walking around one day when Jesus said, "The Kingdom of Heaven is like 3x² + 8x - 9." The disciples looked very puzzled and finally asked Peter, "What on earth does Jesus mean???" Peter said, "Don't worry. It is just another one of his parabolas."

A quick tidbit for you...

I've tried to keep out of the political arena just because of my unnamed employer and out of respect for the viewpoints of friends and family. However, working in a land of agriculture and keeping up on how things are going in that arena of life has led me to this article and it got my blood pressure up. Hard to believe that the candidate in question thinks that an illegal vote should be honored. Makes you wonder what he'll do in the real election...

P.S. Don't forget to read the actual signed letter at the bottom of the article!

I caved...

After almost a full year and many changes, including a new job, new home, and new climate (I've received over 10 inches of rain in the last two months alone and 8 of those inches fell in 24 hours!), I finally caved in. I weighed the costs versus the enjoyment as well as the capabilities compared to other systems and decided the time was right.

I got one of these:
Yes, I finally joined the plethora of people who have a Nintendo Wii. My sisters both got one shortly after Christmas of '07 and the C's got one shortly after they hit the market so I was no stranger to the enjoyment value these things bring. Perhaps I was also living out a childhood dream that my parents (smartly and thankfully) wouldn't let us fulfill; owning a first-generation NES (you know, the console that up-up-down-down-left-right-left-right-B-A-start would give you 30 lives in Contra?). Besides, I needed SOMETHING to do on those nights I'm staying up to prepare for my rounds of graveyard shifts...I can't play guitar for 8 hours without losing a finger or two to blisters!

The competition I had was the PS3 and the XBOX 360, both of which I gave serious consideration. I have a PS2 and purchasing the PS3 would have allowed me to have 1080p BluRay DVD capability AND still be able to play my old PS2 games. The XBOX 360 had much more consideration as I would have loved to play the Halo games against friends up in Amarillo and I fell in love with Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Vegas II right before I moved down here. However, in the end it was the fact that I would have to physically move to play some games on the Wii that sold me in the end. There is something about actually having to swing the controller to hit the tennis, golf, and baseballs as well as being able to play many of the original favorites that hooked me on video games in my early childhood (Super Mario Bros., Contra, Legend of Zelda, and MegaMan to name a few). After having experienced on-line play in Smash Brothers Brawl and MarioKart, I felt it was too good of a system to pass up since this would finally allow me a chance to whup up on my friends back in the Top o' Texas (and eventually my sisters if they would hurry up and get their Wii systems on the internet hint hint).

In a month or so I will hopefully have enough $$ saved up to go and purchase a Wii Fit so I can get ready for ski season (and will hopefully not have to keep dealing with sore arms from all the swinging playing tennis and boxing). Having already tasted what the Fit is capable of, it is one of those things that I think will help improve the lateral stability in my legs. In other words, I'll sacrifice some fun and games in order to get my knees and thighs ready for the hope of hitting the ski slopes this winter. Those that have played will understand. Those who haven't...welllll...as soon as I get one you will have to give it a try for yourself!