Creation. Life. Interwebs.

New Year's Resolution

2009-01-04T14:23:00.000-08:00

Football season is coming to an end and with that a feeling of uneasiness takes hold. What am I to do now with my free time?

I realize that many Americans are dealing with this issue, but you see I feel as though I am a special case study. I moved away from everything I know back in August, and up until now, football is what has kept me from feeling so blank. By this time next week, I will have no rooting interest and more importantly no plans for traveling to see any games. This means more time here, where my home has been for almost six months now, except now I can’t avoid the fact that Saturday and Sunday will not be self scheduled for a 12:30 and 3:30 reunion to my old life. It is like getting use to being home after a cruise, there is no itinerary placed under your door in the morning telling you what the day holds, I, like a returned passenger with a hangover, am now forced to fill my weekends with activities.
It is not that I am nervous as much as I am uncertain. I hate not having a plan, and for me not knowing where to begin to come up with a plan is most frustrating. Sure there are people I have met up here, the people I work with and then there are some members of my family up here, but lets be honest, weekends are not suppose to be about work and family while wonderful can be suffocating. I need to take up a new hobby or activity, what straight man says this? I need to get a girlfriend, well when you need to, you never get anyone you really want. I am stuck floating around with my free time hoping to land on something solid. I am not a patient person, but I know that forcing the issue is not the answer. So my new years resolution for 2009 is to be more patient, not with other people (though some might say I should do that too), but with myself and my goals for the future. I want to start by not being so goal oriented, or perhaps said a better way, not force myself to create so many goals just to offset my own impatient ways. I think people like me turn every little thing into a goal/timetable that way we can show ourselves progress. In 2009, I am confident that I am making progress even when there hasn’t been an adjustment on my personal scoreboard.

Look at me Look at me...

2008-09-17T13:23:00.001-07:00

I can save the environment by using recycled glass, recycled glass, recycled glass..

"Just trying to do my part to help...thank youuuu"

Why Nobody Posts on This Blog:

2008-09-16T17:29:00.001-07:00

YOU.

Don...

2008-09-10T08:35:00.000-07:00

since you don't care about your job, please use this in a work email.

Great Music

2008-08-27T09:19:00.000-07:00

http://www.imeem.com/yamix/music/j0q2Zf8N/xray_dog_08

if you can find it on itunes or amazon, let me know in the comments

Awful

2008-08-26T11:24:00.000-07:00

Carlos writes:

This kind of political correctness crap is repulsive. I can’t imagine parents complaining that the kid on the other team throws too hard…ridiculous people. “it might discourage the other players” Then get friggin better you losers. The other kids should learn from an early age that they suck, unless they work harder.

Baseball brouhaha goes into extra innings

By Pamela McLoughlin, Register Staff

NEW HAVEN — Parents are angry. There are lawyers involved. Conflicting and wild accusations are flying. The adults are fighting over the kids.

Sounds like a nasty divorce, but it’s actually a fight between a youth baseball league, one of its coaches and some parents.

“The spirit of the league was community, family, well being, nurturing. It’s an extended family and it’s been disrupted,” said attorney Peter Noble, who represents Liga Juvenil De Baseball De New Haven, Spanish for Youth Baseball League of New Haven. The league is not affiliated with Little League baseball.

The fighting started this week when Coach Wilfred Vidro refused a directive by league officials to replace 9-year-old pitcher Jericho Scott, whose pitching they say is so hard, fast and accurate that it might frighten or discourage other players.

Despite being told by league officials that there would be no game Saturday morning at Criscuolo Park, Vidro, who refuses to leave the league and his team, which refuses to disband, showed up ready to play.

Parents posted brightly-colored signs and many wore handpainted T-shirts with sayings such as, “Let’s be fair, it’s all about the kids,” “They’re only kids,” and “Let Jericho Pitch.”

Jericho’s parents, Leroy and Nicole Scott, said Saturday they just want their son and his team to be given the right to continue their winning season, 8-0 so far, and go to the playoffs.

And they are already talking with a prominent New Haven lawyer to help get the team there.

Attorney John Williams will meet with the Scotts Monday, but had already heard enough from them by Saturday to proclaim, “Holy smoke!”

“You don’t have to be learned in the law to know in your heart that it’s wrong (removing Jericho as pitcher),” Williams said. “Now you have to be punished because you excel at something?”

Jericho, who said Saturday he was “sad” because there was no baseball game, practiced with his teammates, his drive to throw hard and fast apparently unaffected by the controversy.

Noble said they cancelled the game for fear the adults bickering would create an “unhealthy environment.”

“We didn’t want an escalation of the kind of tumultuous behavior caused by the coaching staff,” he said.

Nicole Scott said Jericho feels it’s his fault the team can’t play.

“I told him things like this happen in life and the message is, ‘Don’t give up, stay focused and be positive,’” she said.

She said league officials came to their house about five months ago to recruit Jericho, who also plays in another league.

Officials wanted him for a stronger team because of his pitching talent, but the Scotts wanted him to stay grounded and help a less experienced team succeed, she said.

“I said, ‘This is not always going to happen in life — you’re not always going to be number one,’” she said.

Leroy Scott said he threw the ball a lot with Jericho since he was young, but that Jericho is a talented natural athlete and shouldn’t be penalized because he applies himself.

“If you keep these kids on the field you keep them off the streets,” Leroy Scott said. “I’d rather have him (Jericho) in the midst of this controversy on the field than dealing drugs on a street corner.”

Coach Vidro and the Scotts claim the real reason league authorities want Jericho on a team other than Vidro’s Wilpower Fitness is because they have a vested interested in another team that is second in the standings and can’t get to number one past Jericho’s winning arm.

They said that team is sponsored by Carlito’s barber shop and that league president Reynaldo Reyes owns it. Noble said Reyes does have a chair at the barber shop temporarily while his own beauty shop is restored after a fire.

Valerie Tanner, mother of Kaymar Tanner, 10, an outfielder on Jericho’s team, said she believes league officials are upset because there is so much attention on Jericho’s team within the league.

“It’s really sad because it’s the children who are going to suffer,” Tanner said.

Noble said sanctions have been imposed by the league on Vidro and that his “resignation” was accepted — even though Vidro said Saturday he never resigned.

He was blamed for not switching Jericho, who was throwing warmup pitches Wednesday when the other team walked off the field.

The game was ruled a forfeit, but Vidro claimed his team was expelled.

Jericho walked away from the mound in tears.

Vidro said Saturday, “There’s no such thing as any kid pitching too hard. ... Let him play and your kid is going to get better,” he said.

“A lot of these kids don’t have father figures and we don’t want them to end up on the streets,” Vidro, a personal trainer, said.

Noble said all the kids were offered a spot on another team — it’s not known yet how many will take that offer.

Those who leave the league will get a full refund of fees paid.

He said parents and coaches, not players, expressed a fear of Jericho’s pitches.

Noble said he’s also researching options like travel teams that could be a good fit for the talented Jericho.

“We are mindful of his talent,” Noble said. “We want to be a resource for the family and find a place where he’ll be challenged and his talent can develop.”

On Saturday, with no other youth teams in sight, Jericho’s team took on the parents instead. And their winning streak continued, 7-5.

Steroids: Worth it

2008-08-25T18:48:00.000-07:00

get jacked bro

http://blog.wired.com/wiredscience/2008/08/graphic-evidenc.html

Modern English Usage: Totes

2008-08-20T14:03:00.000-07:00

Totes

-Adverb
-One Syllable
-Origin: Abbreviated version of the common English term, "totally".
-Why: You're saving yourself 2 letters, and/or 2 syllables.
-Used by: Teenagers, girls Kevin sleeps with, people on MTV, Californians, Saudi Princess.
-Use in Sentence: "Blogging is totes cool."
-Other acceptable uses:
Girl 1: Should I go home with him?
Girl 2: Totes.
Girl 1: Word.

Guy 1: You wanna do a line?
Guy 2: Totes.

Rampant prostitution, sex for money

2008-08-19T21:10:00.000-07:00

what's wrong with that?

http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/nellie_mckay_sings

Beautiful Art

2008-08-16T15:42:00.000-07:00

Now that Jerry has made this an art competition blog, I thought I should share one of my passions. As the bottomerest picture shows, on my down time I am a great artist. Mostly, I draw people for money. For this blog, I will try to draw people for free. In honor of his comic strip, I have drawn an exact representation of Jerry. If you have never seen Jerry, this is exactly what he looks likes like. If you have seen Jerry, I KNOW, amazing right? Enjoy.

Kevin wants to fly fighter jets

2008-08-15T21:57:00.000-07:00

He has become 7th grade gerry...or is it 8th grade gerry? I can never remember....

Things that I hate a lot

2008-08-15T20:30:00.000-07:00

Having to change batteries on my wireless effing mouse. I mean really, what the eff?

NYC Itinerary

2008-08-15T07:22:00.000-07:00

Jerry wanted me to expand upon/ reproduce the NYC itinerary I sent out earlier, well here it is, I even set it to music... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HTN6Du3MCgI

Dinner

2008-08-14T22:43:00.000-07:00

I went to dinner recently with some friends for Pratyush's birthday. Instead of writing about it I will describe it pictorially in a comic-strip type thing. This will be different from a comic strip in that the illustrations will provide an EXACT and EXHAUSTIVE account of the events that took place that evening. This is an experiment and will determine whether future posts will be of similar nature.

Dinner with friends

"The ships hung in the sky in much the same way that bricks don't."

2008-08-14T12:16:00.000-07:00

That title is way too long in much the same way that this sentence is largely redundant. But it's important to illustrate what I'm here for: your daily allotment of smug. Why don't you know where that quote comes from? Why can't you comprehend how much cooler you would be if you did? If you capitalize on the irrelevant you will differentiate yourself from the smoldering masses. Get with it. That guy already has.

Pwning Corporate America

2008-08-05T07:07:00.000-07:00

Jose has frequently asked how I was able to save for a down payment. This example should give you an indication:

One of the many forums I frequent included a post made by a member, showing a recent Guitar Center (GC)advertisement for Xbox360 Rock Band for $99.99. For those of us in the gaming world, we know this price is outrageous (used on amazon.com is selling for $130). I called up the Kendall GC and made an inquiry. The gentleman admitted to the misleading wording and apologized for not being able to honor the price (I expected this much, and wasn't planning on driving to kendall anyway)

Next step: after work I drive over to the nearby Circuit City (CC) that has a "Price Matching" policy. The pudgy, braddock high school coed went back with the GC printed ad, to ask her manager if she could proceed, but "the man" denied my glory. "Guitar Center is not a retail store like us, we only match Best Buy, CompUsa, etc." Fine, I don't really care about Rock Band that much and CC sucks anyway.

Sears also has a Price Match policy and is on the way to Frances's house, so why not. The lan-party champion who assisted me was helpful, although he balked at the advertisement "this is a $70 difference". His 1963 terminal with black screen and orange characters didn't populate with Guitar Center as a qualified price match candidate, but he decided to call the manager anyway, asking her for approval. The young lady walked up, pressed 3 buttons and walked away. pwned.

It's getting late

2008-08-01T00:58:00.001-07:00

I am up, its 1 am... big mistake. I am waking up at 6 am; I'm gonna be tired. Anyway, I wanted to have a post on science and religion, but i'll save that for next time. For now, I just want to make you feel a little sad:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L_RbSAwMa3U&feature=related

It's beautiful in all its sadness.

Unincorporated Garden

2008-07-30T08:31:00.000-07:00

As I am in the midst of a home purchase, I've been scouring websites, neighborhoods and public gardens in search of the perfect plants for my garden. Given that this will be my first formal experience with plant life, some hiccups along the way are anticipated and welcomed. Practice makes perfect, heehee.

The decision has been made to go with a desert/xeriscape blended with tropical theme. South Florida is one of the few places this combination is even plausible.

Several plants, seen below, have already been selected and for the most part acquired:

Yucca (backyard patio); Home Depot

StagHorn(hanging from oak and/or royal poinciana); Gifted:Gerry's dad

Lychee; Backyard; Adopt-A-Tree Miami-Dade County

Jaboticaba "brazilian grape"; Front yard; Adopt-A-Tree Miami-Dade County

Graham Mango;Backyard; International Mango Festival

Desert Rose; Backyard patio;Home Depot (trunk reminds me of creature used to cure ailing mother in El Laberinto del Fauno)

Sea Grape; Maintained as a hedge in front yard; To be propagated from seeds retrieved from Roig Residence
Plumeria; Front yard; Already succesfully propagated from grandmother's tree

Alocasia Borneo Giant; Front Yard; Pending trip to Homestead Nursery

Alocasia Stingray; Backyard; Have been unsuccessful in finding one for sale

As the move takes place and plantings begin, the blog will be updated with my successes, failures and all-in- all unpredictable zaniness that comes with a garderner's life.

Jinkqui.

Where Is Cal Tech?

2008-07-30T00:43:00.000-07:00

Princeton Review, top party schools

1. University of Florida

2. University of Mississippi

3. Penn State University

4. West Virginia University

5. Ohio University

6. Randolph-Macon College

7. University of Georgia

8. University of Texas

9. University of California-Santa Barbara

10. Florida State University

11. University of New Hampshire

12. University of Iowa, Iowa City

13. University of Colorado, Boulder

14. Indiana University, Bloomington

15. Tulane University, New Orleans

chi-princeton-review-top-party-schools

Roomate

2008-07-29T22:36:00.000-07:00

Pratyush is my roomate from India. He runs marathons for fun and eats mountains for breakfast. Also, he steals stuffed animals from the wild, tames them, and then gives them to the poor. His birthday is coming up soon, so this is a salute to him. Below is a computer simulation of Pratyush.

People who throw up in their mouth a lot

2008-07-29T00:38:00.000-07:00

Carlos

What's harder to read

2008-07-29T00:21:00.000-07:00

Math or Spanish? I hope I can get good at both.

People I am mad at

2008-07-29T00:01:00.000-07:00

I have a buddy whom, for the sake of this post, I will refer to as JOSE LUIS HERNANDEZ. Jose exaggerates EVERYTHING he says, and that's why I'm mad at him. He says it's because he's Cuban, but thats not an excuse.