General Tso's chicken for the third meal in a row tonight. Why? Because I can.

And because it's so tasty.

How could this be ... video games that are good for you? But I thought the only ways to enhance your body and mind were to read books and do jumping jacks or to have open ended debates and run marathons. Could it be that modern technology might actually provide some benefits? No way. That's impossible!

Video games destroy the mind and so does TV - they make us lazy. Movies are just mindless entertainment crafted around the human obsession over sexuality, violence and potty mouths. But wait a minute. Yeah, books stimulate our minds and our imaginations but fundamentally they only stimulate one of our five physical senses. What about video games, TV, and movies which can stimulate two or three senses at a time? Is that worth absolutely nothing?

There aren't any great artists in the world anymore. DaVinci painted the Mona Lisa and made it look like her eyes follow you around the room. Video game companies create realistic looking people that do follow you around the room. The difference: a video game programmer's paint brush is a mouse rather than a stick with a brush at the end. "But computers make everything so easy." I'll buy you a copy of Photoshop and challenge you to "paint" me a sphere.

Books are an excellent resource for storytelling, but so was oratory. Weren't books just "lazy" ways of telling stories that were previously always spoken or acted out? Isn't the printing press essentially the same thing as a video camera - a way to record a story? Don't books actually destroy some of the benefits of "storytelling"?

Don't get me wrong. I really enjoy reading and I think it has its benefits. But I also don't want to be fed some line about how Showgirls is an example of how movies degrade our intellect because for every Showgirls there's a dozen Danielle Steele books. I don't think that watching Friends will teach me how to be a better friend, but it could possibly help me enjoy life better and that will make me a better friend. Humor in a book and humor on a television show is humor all the same and one is not better than the other.

All I'm saying is that books don't automatically make you smarter and TV, movies and video games don't necessarily make you stupid. There are benefits from all of these activities, it's just a matter of getting a healthy blend of all and not immersing yourself in just one. Well, in my opinion anyway.

I'm addicted to TechTV.

If you ever happen to be flipping through the channels and you notice that VH1's Driven episode featuring Nelly is on, keep it tuned in for a while. Be on the lookout for the guy who looks like some sort of superhero pimp. I'm not lyin, from the quick glimpse I caught of this guy he was approximately in his 40's or 50's, had a goatee, a ski cap with fuzzy ball on top, a few gold chains, and what appeared to be a cape. I think it goes without saying that seeing that was the highlight of my afteroon.

Today I participated in three different sports activities, all of them, as one casual observer noted, "preppy sports": soccer, tennis, and golf. I kicked the soccer ball around with T-Racy, Mikki and new acquaintance Evan, watched Andre Agassi come back from being down 2 sets to none and played some "T-ball" with BJ, then travelled over to the range with Dan and hit some golf balls with T-Rav. All in all, a very productive day for me, I'd like to say.

Well not so much productive, but definitely a lot of fun. This is what summer is all about, especially for me since I've decided I haven't had enough of standardized education and consequently have my summers "off" for another 2-3 years. I do have work to do, though, so tomorrow I will treat myself to a lovely day in Park Shops. I hope you're all having a wonderful summer, and let me give a HUGE shout out to my boy Benjamin who has entered the working world full force. I hope you're havin fun, man.

And now, introducing, the unabashed, the shameless ...

Yeah, it's Pat!

You HAVE to see this.

Maybe if I travelled more and needed it to keep me entertained on long trips ...

Maybe if my parents had misread my musings and thought I really really wanted it for graduation rather than giving me the money to make that decision on my own ...

Maybe if I wouldn't have to spend $7,500 to keep its "bank" full of entertainment the legal way (give or take a few based on my already legally owned collection) ...

Maybe if I had a little less disdain for the company that manufactures ...

Maybe, just maybe I would have gotten myself an iPod today or sometime in the near future. But alas, I hardly ever travel by anything other than a car, my parents were smart enough not to buy me one, I don't have $400 + $7500 that I could spend guilt free (I'd much rather have a new desk, some electronic upgrades and possibly a new cell phone - I need to be able to pay rent and bills), and I really really don't like apple computers. Still, after playin with that thing in the apple store today, I have to admit that "thing" is pretty freakin' cool.

A new era in web publishing has begun ... now introducing JDawg's weblog.

Two great writers starting a weblog within one week of each other. That's awesome!

Did someone somehow shift North Carolina down to the greater Florida area? What's up with this sun, then rain, then sun thing? Are we gonna have a day without rain/overcast skies in the near future? Will my water bill finally go down since we're having the antithesis of a drought? Will this game of 20 questions ever end?

The end of a phone conversation between between BJ (italics) and I (bold):

be over in a little bit ... ok ... alright ... see you then ... ok ... alright ... bye ... bye

So on the subject of viewing movies by yourself (in a theater) ...

I don't really see anything wrong with it, but there's just somethin about seeing somebody sitting by themselves in a big theater ... even if it's a packed house. I don't know why, but I always feel sorry for them, somehow always jumping to the conclusion that they have no friends or family to enjoy a movie with. But what if they're just there to get away from their family?

The funny thing is, if I was at a movie by myself, I wouldn't want anyone to feel sorry for me. In fact, I'd probably give every poor sap who even turned what looked like a sad eye my way a mental beating and spend the rest of the evening passing judgement on them for passing judgement on me. Then again, I've never been to a movie by myself ... I'm probably too insecure.

Anyway, I don't think I really have a point here, other than to say to anyone who's ever attended a movie by their lonesome I honestly and truly admire you for having the security to do so among idiots like me who immediately jump to the conclusion that you have no friends or no life. I hope to one day sit a couple of rows back from you with no one by my side.

You may or may not have noticed that, since switching over to the "new" thedustin.com I've never put links in my posts. Well without boring you with an explanation or the gory details I present to you the first ever in-text link at the new thedustin.com, dan the man's weblog. He's a great writer, but not the greatest editor in the world. Proceed with caution.

Will it ever stop raining?

It's official ... TV Time at BJ's new apartment every night now that he has his wedding gift from Dan and I - a crisp, clean new Sony Wega television, of the 27" variety. The best view in town until I work up the nerve to purchase a new Sony LCD for my computer. (Insert dork joke here).

Just out of curiosity, Krispy Kreme or Dunkin' Donuts?

So Clay Aiken isn't America's Idol, but he did put Raleigh, NC on the map ... well if you follow local news reports he did. I'm happy for Clay, proud that he's from Raleigh, etc., etc., but I'm embarassed for our local news coverage. At least one station sent a reporter out to L.A. to cover the finale! Is this the Super Bowl? Is it the World Series? (Hmmm, 24 million votes. Sounds like more people watched American Idol than last year's World Series. But I digress)

I guess it's good to see people excited about something. Heck, I even tried to vote, though my attempts were blocked by a busy signal. It felt like high school again, that anti-climactic moment when you finally get the nerve up to call a girl for the first time and you dial the number, heart racing, and the line's busy. She's talking to her friends, or wait, even better, she knew the exact moment you were going to call even though you were delayed by nervousness and unplugged her phone.

Ok, I wasn't really that excited about voting, but I'm sure my mom was. Earlier in the season (American Idol season, that is) I was home on a Tuesday night and my mom and my aunt were discussing who they were going to vote for. I'd never really seen my mom so interested and excited over something like this so it was really cute to watch. Can I say that without sounding too much like a mama's boy? I don't care. Anyway, I thought it was kinda funny too.

Alright, that's all I have to say about American Idol. Both Ruben and Clay have recording contracts and contrary to last year, their singles will be allowed to compete - in fact, they will compete against each other. So what was the point of the competition again?

So ... now that I'm a college graduate, it's time for me to do college graduate-type things like lay around the apartment, doodle with the world wide web, go for morning jogs while pushing myself to the brink of exhaustion, reading for pleasure, etc. You see, I'm that kind of college graduate that decides he hasn't had enough of school and goes back for more - at least a masters degree, possibly a ph.d, but only so everyone will have to call me doctor.

Anyway, I'm not completely lazy. Now that I'm a graduate student I have research to finish, papers to write hopefully for publishing and preliminary doctorate exams to prepare for. So that's what I'll be up to this summer. Well, that and my usual mix of music, movies, tv and webpage fun. What are you up to this summer?

I didn't think I would have to write my own graduation speech until my ears witnessed the misplaced thoughts of Mr. Donahue yesterday. I have, though, spent a lot of time trying to consider what I would write about graduating. I think the most difficult thing for me is that I'll still be around, I'll still be going to classes, I'll still be living in the same apartment, albeit in a different room with different roommates. A lot of things are changing, but a lot of things will stay the same.

There are certain inevitabilities in life that none of us can escape or control. What we can control is how we stand in the face of those moments that are completely out of our grasp. Goodbyes are always like this, so difficult to go through, so absolutely inevitable. But as a friend of mine likes to say, "it's not goodbye it's a see you later".

As I look back on my college experience, I wonder what advice I'd offer to someone just beginning theirs. I think it would be this: Get what you want out of college. If you want to be valedictorian, president of the honor society, and Leader of the Pack, go for it. If you want to stay out and party all night, do enough to just get by in class, and make lasting friendships, do that. Do any combination of those things that makes you happy and have no regrets. Everyone's college experience is different. As a friend of mine likes to say, "Going to class and doing work is the No. 2 reason to go to college. The social experience is the No. 1 reason."

People are so hard to figure out and the ironic thing is that the closer you are to someone, the harder it is to figure them out. You know so much about them that, when you discover something new about them, it changes everything. I like discovering new things about people and college offers a great opportunity to witness what people are really like. What they were like in high school behind the facade they put up to get them through their "awkward high school years", as a friend of mine likes to say.

I've been hurt by people, I've been inspired, excited, disappointed, reached levels of happiness I never thought possible. There are not enough words to describe the influence that so many people have had in my life. The best way I see fit to describe what I feel are in the words of a very close friend of mine, "sall good".

College (of the undergraduate variety) was a wonderful time in my life. One, certainly, that I will always remember. There's nothing quite like living on a golf course. There's nothing quite like living with two losers, one English, the other borderline idiotic. There's nothing quite like sharing my life with a woman who understands me or tries her best to when she doesn't. There's nothing like knowing that I can always go home and that my mother will do everything she can to make my life better. God has truly blessed me, and as a friend of mine likes to say "muchos kudos" to Him for putting me here and surrounding me with these incredible people. I can't wait to see what He has in store for me.

Ok, so Sprite Remix definitely isn't as good as LiveWire - though it's hard to directly compare the two because they're completely different flavors - but in terms of how much I like the taste, I would choose a LiveWire over a Sprite Remix. That's the end of my taste test, congratulations to all 2003 Graduates!

I just completed leg 1 of the "New Soda Tryout". I tried Mountain Dew's foray into orange soda, LiveWire. Being an avid consumer of Coke products I'll have to be daring and cross the line here to say that LiveWire is pretty good. A nice alternative to Sunkist, it's not as "heavy" and goes down easy. I like CodeRed too, so Mountain Dew has done a good job with experimenting with new flavors. Perhaps Pepsi needs to borrow some of MD's soda pop scientists for a while to tell them what's wrong with PepsiBlue.

Leg 2 will be a taste test of Sprite Remix, so stay tuned.

I won't ruin the movie for you, but I will say if you're trying to decide whether or not to see The Matrix: Reloaded this weekend, do see it. It's awesome!

It wasn't my intention to have the new album in my possession before I finished the countdown, but things don't always go as planned. The new album is awesome!. This countdown might look a little different the next time around...

Here's No. 1 ...

Third Eye Blind: Best Songs Countdown
1. Motorcycle Drive By from Third Eye Blind (Self-titled): For a while this song was just a song I heard if I let the album play all the way through. Then one day I really listened to it and I think that's when I realized how much I liked Jenkins' writing. That's when I realized I considered him a genius. I could give you the breakdown and word by word analysis, but that's not what it's about. This song gives me still gives me goosebumps when I listen to it. That's what the countdown is about. That's what music is about. Songs that just hit you and become a part of you.

Thanks for following the countdown. Let me also add that the new album has made me excited about music again. I haven't been this excited over a new album coming out since MJJ's last album. I can honestly say that listening to this album has really made me appreciate music more. Maybe some of you laugh at how much importance I place on music, but when you can pop a cd into the cd player and not think about anything else and just be happy, that's awesome. If you ever liked a 3EB song, go out and buy this album.

There I was, walking down that familiar red brick sidewalk, on my way to take the last final of my undergraduate career. It was all I could do to keep myself from fantasizing of walking in the room and hearing the professor say "Final is optional, keep the grade you have if you want". Oh how anticlimactic it would be, but oh how I would I love it.

Instead of my wild fantasies I walked into a room of drab faces and mournful thoughts - mournful of days gone by when exams were merely for "evaluation" rather than for determining your place in the world. I placed my things by the desk I frequented not-so-numerous times, and walked out into the hallway.

Then, on my way to the bathroom where I would relieve the pressure of baked beans and weiners, I saw it. A red bird flying around the corridor of Thompkins Hall. That's when I knew everything would be ok. That's when I realized that it didn't matter if I knew why Emerson wrote Nature or what role women played in Uncle Tom's Cabin. I wasn't nearly as lost as this little red bird, not nearly as trapped. Today would not decide the rest of my life, and the smile that bird put on my face made those last twenty questions of my undergraduate career the easiest questions I've ever answered in my life.

I'm done.

When did we start relying on small, badly drawn smiley faces to express emotion instead of trying to find a way to communicate how we feel in words? I'd confine this generalization to Americans, but I think it's pretty safe to say that any industrialized nation with Internet enabled citizens suffers from this dilemma. Does anyone else notice this?

First Jeff, now BJ, next Dan. Oh times, they are a changin'.

Now back to the countdown ...

Third Eye Blind: Best Songs Countdown
2. I Want You from Third Eye Blind (Self-titled): "And I can't get enough ... " I don't know if it seems like I'm writing the same thing for the top 5 or so songs but if it does it's basically because these songs could really appear in any order. I love them all for different and similar reasons. In addition to wordplay, the flow of Jenkins' words in this song is incredible. I love the pace changes and the plethora of images. Look at me, talking about this stuff like it's early american literature ... which reminds me, I have an exam to study for.

Well we're startin to get down to the nitty gritty with this countdown. Following Dan's 5 & 6, here's my 3 & 4, but not in that order ...

Third Eye Blind: Best Songs Countdown
4. Anything from Blue: The fact that this song ends at just under 2 minutes always bothered me because for a while it was the only song I really liked on Blue. As the rest of the album grew on me, I think I actually started to appreciate this song more. Mostly because usually the first song I like on an album falls out of favor with me once I start liking the rest of the album. This song didn't, possibly because it was never a radio hit. It's also one of the few songs that I can listen to 3 or 4 times in a row.

... Excuse me while I go get my 3EB songs out of my car ...

... ok, I'm back ...

3. God of Wine from Third Eye Blind (Self-titled): Dan makes a great point about the continuity in Jenkins' writing and the fact that Jenkins is able to write so much about relationships and still make it interesting is so amazing to me. I love this song mostly for Jenkins' playfulness with words, but also because I'm a sucker for rockers that play quiet too. I can make this point about any of the Top 5, maybe even Top 10, but I'll reiterate that this is another song I could probably listen to 3 or 4 times in a row. There's just something about the wordplay and the sonic subtlety of each of these songs that I can't get enough of. Man I'm excited about Tuesday.

I just realized I was supposed to post 7 & 6 yesterday, so to make up for it I'll post two today and two tomorrow.

Third Eye Blind: Best Songs Countdown
6. Deep Inside of You from Blue and How's It Gonna Be from Third Eye Blind (Self-titled): Once again I'm cheating by using two songs in one spot, but these songs had a very similar feel and were the "radio hit" ballads from their respective album so I don't think I'm too out of line. These are just great pop songs with that little bit of extra, how do you say, je ne sais quois.

and...

5. Background from Third Eye Blind (Self-titled): Great song about adjusting to life without someone after a break up. This song is also a great example of how well 3EB alternates between that subdued, quiet sound and a more rockin, heavy feel. Is it obvious that I love this band?

Now that I have a web-powered journal editor, I like to post every chance I get, no matter where I am. I found this in an espn.com article I was reading and just had to put it up. If I had the "link generator" feature ready, I'd post the link, but for now, you'll just have to look for it if you want to read it.

"Bowen gets up on him, but he also doesn't go for all those head fakes and pumps that send Bryant to the foul line so much. I always wonder why any guard jumps. They might block one shot in a hundred. Just get your hand up."

Source: espn.com (http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/playoffs2003/story?id=1551209)

I will never understand the British. I found this on one of my British friend's blogs:

"roast dinner for tea :)"

What does that mean? You're having tea and it's "roast dinner" flavor? You're having roast dinner instead of tea? You're offering a trade, your roast dinner for my tea?

Fresh on the heels of Dan posting his No. 8 (see yesterday's comments), here's my No. 7...

Third Eye Blind: Best Songs Countdown
7. Wounded from Blue: Just another good song with crafty lyrics and rockin music. And like Slow Motion, it's socially conscious too. I don't have much else to say, so I'll interject this little fact: Did you know that Stephan Jenkins (lead singer) was a valedictorian at UC Berkely (majoring in literature)? Makes sense.

As a prominent web journalist, I feel it is my duty to report these things:

Jonathan Slain, UNC-CH's student attorney general, thinks something is missing on campus.

"When this university was founded a couple of hundred years ago, you could walk across McCorkle Place and smell the honor," he said. "I think we've gotten away from some of the ideals and values."

First of all, how does this guy know what the campus smelled like two hundred years ago? And what does honor smell like? No wonder all the students are cheating, they're freakin idiots. I bet that's not even his own quote. He probably found it in a book or on the internet or something.

Source: wral.com

I'm not sure if Dan will be able to log on and post his No. 8 (he's in sunny Cocoa Beach, FL), but here's mine ...

Third Eye Blind: Best Songs Countdown
8. Slow Motion from Blue: If you've only heard the album version of this song, then you're probably up in arms over this pick. All I have to say is find a copy of the song as it was meant to be heard - with lyrics. The song is about violence in America, especially in schools. The studio and the band agreed that it wasn't appropriate given the social climate at the time, so the lyrics were stripped and the track remained on the record. The thing that bothered me about this song is that I always really liked the music so I was upset there weren't any lyrics to it. When I finally heard the real version, all disappointment was lost. It reminded me of how crafty Stephan Jenkings is with words and instantly became one of my favorites.

I should be studying right now. But to be honest, I'm not sure if 10 years down the road from now I'll remember what I got on my Business Ethics final. I probably will remember the night before my best friend of 16 years left for New York, hundreds of miles away from where we grew up. Hundreds of miles away from where I am.

The last time we did this, we were eight and I was the one leaving. My mom got transferred to Florida, and while I was excited about the prospect of living under the Florida sun, I couldn't shake that feeling of goodbye. I remember sitting in the car as we pulled out of the driveway, and Jeff sort of walking away with his head down, me with my head down, both of us crying those little boy tears.

We've been through a lot, together and on our own. We've grown apart and then closer again, never quite able to escape the bond of our childhood. The forts, the sleepovers, the wrestling matches. The moves, new friends, girlfriends. UNC vs. NC State. All of it just another chapter in our friendship.

Almost fifteen years later, there we were, Jeff on the doorstep of my apartment, me standing there watching him walk away. Again. But this time it was him that was leaving. Our lives are a lot different now than they were back then - we're a lot different - but I have to admit, it felt a little bit like that day fifteen years ago. Him with his head down, me with my head down, both of us crying those little boy tears.

JDawg, I'm not a firm believer in goodbye (especially since I've never really seen New York, wink wink). I am going to miss you though. Later, Dawg.

And now, what you've all been waiting for (well, just dan)...

Third Eye Blind: Best Songs Countdown
9. Losing A Whole Year and Narcolepsy from Third Eye Blind (Self-titled): I'm sort of cheating here, but for some reason these songs always belonged together to me, so I'm putting them down as No. 9. I still remember the day I bought this cd. I was hangin out in the record store waiting for my girlfriend and the 3EB cd was on one of those "preview" players in the store. I kinda liked 3EB's radio hit Semi-Charmed Life so I decided to give the cd a listen. These are the first two songs on the cd and it only took hearing them for me to know that I would love the cd. It's now one of my Top 5 favorite albums and I owe it mostly to those two songs. You'd think that would be reason enough to put these songs higher, but that's just how much I like 3EB.

Who is the jokster that decided intermixing Canadian coins with American currency was a good idea? The vending machine won't accept my "quarter" and I'm afraid someone will try to arrest me for counterfeiting if I use the coin elsewhere. What else can I do with this worthless piece of money, go to Canada and buy something? Stupid Canadians. Why do they have currency anyway?

Just kidding. Canadians are awesome. They always give America a new pop star when we seem to run out.

In other news, the Muppets are back in the hands of the Henson family. The family will reportedly buy back the company for $78 million, a fraction of the $680 million that EM. TV (a German company) bought them for in 2000. Just thought I'd share that with everyone.

So there's this talk now about expanding the ACC to possibly 12 teams (adding Miami now, thereby enticing schools such as Boston College and Syracuse). I'll let thedustin.com's resident sports columnist tackle this issue further (if he'd like), but I thought I might offer some immediate comments while the topic is hot.

I'm not a big fan of the Hurricanes, and I think all we'll end up with in football is what other teams in the ACC have spent the last 10 years trying to do to Florida State - beat them. It finally happens and now we just bring in another super power to stomp everyone again. Then again, how cool was it for UNC to beat FSU 41-to-not much and how cool has it been for the Wolfpack to own FSU the last couple of years. Challenges are not bad things. (For those who know and find humor in my allegiance to FSU, I am not backing down from my support of them. I will admit that it is cool to see my alma mater beat them.)

Bringing in Miami, though, is not really the problem. The problem is the ultimate goal of having 12 teams in a conference used to playing everyone else at least once in football and twice in basketball (there are pros and cons for other sports, but my limited knowledge of them would make anything I write borderline idiotic). As a life-long North Carolinian, ACC blood runs through my veins. The tradition that the ACC possesses is second to none. I'm not eager to let go of that, and I'm not excited about the possibility of having to wait 2 years between home games against Carolina or Duke in basketball or 3-4 years in football.

Bottom line, this is a tough issue. I'm excited for the ACC, but the feeling is bittersweet at best. I don't want to lose the tradition, but then again, I never really wanted to stop playing with He-Man action figures, but I did and I think I'm better for it. Maybe the ACC will be better after expansion. I'm not sure I want to find out.

I know there has been a lot of posting today, but it's been a huge day. Took my first exam, lotta NASCAR news, and now, just one week until the new Third Eye Blind cd comes out. I don't want to get too emotional about this because that would reveal too much about my dorkiness, but I will go so far as having a countdown of my top ten favorite 3EB songs (two each on Friday and Saturday).

Third Eye Blind: Best Songs Countdown
10. 10 Days Late from Blue: It took a while for me to really get into this CD, but once I did I almost liked it as much as the first. This song really rocks and the lyrical sarcasm is hilarious. Thanks to dan-the-man for helping me appreciate this song for all its worth.

For those of you who don't follow NASCAR, you'll want to skip this entry.

Ralle Racing in thedustin.com Ri fantasy racing league is in disarray. Jeff Green is out of the RCR #30 AOL Chevrolet and Steve Park is out of the DEI #1 Penzoil Chevrolet. But ... Jeff Green is replacing Steve Park in the DEI #1 Penzoil Chevrolet. The good news for Ralle Racing (owned by yours truly) is that I own both of these drivers. Oh what is a fantasy league owner to do. My only hope now is that Steve Park fills in for the #30 AOL Chevrolet at RCR, or I'll have to trade for John Andretti.

Aside from being a quasi-car owner, I have to admit this is quite a shock and kinda disappointing. From the time I got into racing about ten years ago (from an occasional watcher to an avid fan), Dale Earnhardt was always my man. Naturally, my admiration of him evolved into an admiration for Richard Childress Racing and then, of course, DEI. I haven't been a big fan of RCR's hirings lately, with the exception of Kevin Harvick, but I've really grown fond of DEI's drivers and the brilliant marketing that surrounds them. Certainly, Steve Park has been a little off his game since being injured in a crash, but I was really rootin for him to rebound. If DEI was going to get rid of him, I wanted them to get someone like Elliot Sadler or even the underacheiving Casey Atwood. As for Jeff Green, I suppose he's a good driver (good enough to be part of my fantasy racing team), but I just don't really like him.

I guess the moral of the story is my opinion doesn't matter. I want DEI to do well, and technically Jeff Green's still part of Ralle Racing, so I'll root for him, but I won't like it. As for Steve Park, I hope he takes a Ricky Craven-like break and comes back stronger than ever.

Aww, our first package together:

For the last couple of days I've had this intense desire for a good tuna salad sandwich, but I haven't been able to get out and get one or get the stuff to make one. I've decided that tomorrow is the day. I have to obey my hunger. Do you have any suggestions for ingredients to make a good tuna salad?

"I don't really understand why he hasn't kissed me yet, but it's making me like him even more!"
- Nicole, Sorority Life

I thank the TV gods everyday for MTV!

So far on the senior project I have little more than the size of this paragraph written. That may sound like a dire situation, but it isn't. The good news is, I haven't put that much effort into it yet. The bad news is, I haven't put that much effort into it yet. Maybe I'll get stung by the productivity bee, and get going. Maybe I won't use a metaphor like that ever again.

Following a late night with a bunch of mutants (stay tuned for a possible discussion about X2) and and early morning with an angel, I'm feeling "extinguished". I've taken two naps since waking from a 2 hour sleep, and still I have yet to accumulate more than 5 hours of sleep. I'm not trying to make you feel sorry for me, I'm just saying.

Anyway, I was told yesterday that it's time to make significant gains in my senior project, so I will write and write and write this weekend to see if I can come up with a publishable description of what I'm doing. I'll let you know how that goes.

Instead of going on the "Hillsborough Hike" tonight, I'm going to dinner with my mother and my aunt. Call me dork, call me mama's boy, but it's free dinner, and I don't like drinkin that much anyway. Besides, I think it really represents how I've "experienced" college anyway, and I'm proud of it.

Not really much else to say for now. I guess I'll throw in my random "website status" comments now. I think the new design/interface has been well received up to this point, so I'm excited about adding more new stuff (most urgently customization). If you were a big fan of "white_simple", fear not, it's on its way back, I just need to clean it up a little bit and do some overhaul with the code to make it work with the new system. My other priorities are web-authoring for columnists Thunder and Flash, haveacookie.com, and further enhancements to the administrator back-end of the website. Ok, now I'm starting to use this more as a "notebook" for myself than a place to share my thoughts, so I'll stop now. Later.

I'll admit, I didn't really try to make it to my first and second class, but I really really really tried to make it to my third class. But a slow truck, a missed bus, and the prospect of eating lunch before 1pm all got in my way. Now, classes have officially ended for me! Let's just hope I didn't underestimate the influence of attendance related grading in a couple of the classes. Everyone have a nice Thursday.

Happy Birthday, JDawg!!!

Now a thedustin.com exclusive ... Laundry: By the Numbers
1 Number of loads completed
2 Number of people directly affecting the completion of the single load of laundry
3 Number of minutes before leaving [person] put their clothes in the washer
4.5 Number of hours clothes sat in washer / time [person] was gone
10 time (hours) until "dry"
14 total time (hours) clothes spent in the system
20 number of times [person] does laundry during the week

I'm just joshin, [person]. You're still "the man"