golf sucks.

I hate golf. I can't think of a more slow, boring, sleep-inducing activity than playing golf. Well, other than watching it on tv.

Obviously, this is an activity that is grandfathered in. If it wasn't for these rich people making their kids play it, I can't understand how the game could have lasted this long. I mean, what kind of person thinks hitting a small ball into a hole with a metal stick is fun?

And yet, golf is often a necessity when doing business.

I wait for the days when business is discussed over the comm channel of a nice game of quake.

winter break update

Well, I am back early from my road trip with my dad. We made it to Moab and we spent a day there, it was pretty cool. Hiking around the huge rock formations was pretty awe-inspiring. Sadly, on our way to Las Vegas we ran into car trouble and had to turn around. It sucks, I was really looking forward to going there. We went through one of those bargain internet travel sites, so we lost the entire amount for the hotel! argh!

I also am sick as shit. I think it's just a cold, but damn it sucks. I've been sleeping for the last two days, which is helping me defeat it.

On the upside, I saw The Big Lebowski on my netflix yesterday, and it is one of the funniest if not the funniest movie I have ever seen. I usually don't laugh out loud during comedy movies, but I laughed like the whole time. I read this thing on digg yesterday that you can actually die from too much laughing, so I had to limit myself.

and my latest discovery, "Ayaka no totsugeki Eikawa," or "Ayaka's Suprise English Lessons!."
From what I gather from bits and pieces on the internet Ayaka is a j-pop star in from the band coconuts musume from Hawaii who speaks American english perfectly, which is really hot. She surprises other stars with surprise english lessons, which for some reason is very interesting to watch. Check it out.

http://video.google.com/videosearch?q=ayaka&btnG=Search+Video

omg

I hate the people that "strongly dislike" the word hate.

Happy Festivus!!!!!!!

Okay, Festivus was yesterday, but I totally spaced it.

Now for the airing of grievances:

I got a lot of problems with you people!!!!!!!

project runway

Over the past few years I have become pretty jaded by new television. Most every new TV show sucks and I don't think I've watched network prime time television since Seinfeld went off in 1998.

But there is a new show that has made me excited about TV again... Project Runway! I look forward to every wednesday now to see who is "in" and who is "out. Now, I don't know exactly why I find it interesting and fun to watch. I think it's a combination of the crazy challenges every week with the cast of different characters and the clothing that they create.

Now, we're just at the 3rd episode of season 2. I'm still unsure about how things are gonna turn out. As with last season there is a mix of some serious, get shit done type of designers and ones that just annoy the hell out of me. The clear favorites right now are Santino, Nick Garreos, and Chloe Dao. This probably wont stand up with the weird reasons the judges sometimes eliminate people. I am glad to see Heidi Klum, Tim Gunn, and Michael Kors back. I'm not sure about Nina Garcia...

They changed some things this season. I think the biggest thing is the model selection method - unless you win, you are pretty much stuck with the same model for the entire run. This does save some time, but definitely takes some focus off of the models and their personalities. Maybe because this season's pool of models is not as interesting as the last one? I mean, I don't really see any Melissas, Morgans, Olgas, or Martiniques this time around - they just kinda seem like generic models.

This week I was kinda pissed that Daniel Franco got eliminated - I'm not sure he should have been given another chance in the first place, but he was clearly not the one who deserved it this time. I have a feeling this was another example of the producers manipulating the elimination decisions. (at the end of the show you will notice that it says something to the effect of "the judges make their decisions based on their own evaluation and input from the producers" or some crap like that.)

Project Runway (official site)

sushi!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1!!!!1!!!!!!!!!111!!!!!!

a fun and interesting video about how to eat sushi in japan:

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=6905089586228877019

and some funny commercials:

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-7143672689415824784

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=5927963001341185289

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-3623576143531081352&q

google video = pwnage!

netflix.

I am conflicted about Netflix. It is clearly the best DVD rental solution out there, has a huge selction, and is way above any walk-in place. Because of this, I will probably never switch. But lately, I feel that the service level has deteriorated a little bit. When I first got it about a year ago, it was great - every movie in my queue would be sent out very quickly on the same day that I returned a previous one. Lately, this has not been the case. Sometimes they don't send the DVD out until one or two days after the previous return, and this really cuts into my movie watching!

And then, I hear about their practice of "throttling," where lNetflix gives lower-volume customers a higher priority over customers like me, who rent a lot more DVDs per month. Although this does make sense from a business standpoint, it still pisses me off. I imagine that people like me, who have a 400+ long queue and have been loyal customers for a very long time are much better for the company in terms of long-term profits. We are more likely to renew our subscription every month, and are more active in the review-writing and greater Netflix community. Why should the company set us aside for more casual customers, who, one, are probably more likely to cancel their subscription on a whim, and two, are more likely to substitute away to another competing service like Blockbuster.

IMHO they need to focus a lot more on building customer loyalty and retaining their current subscriber base, instead of alienating us and focusing on new, less predictable ones. As I have learned in several of my business classes, it is a lot harder to attract new customers than it is to keep your old ones.

For more on Netflix throttling, see here.

Disappearing Radio Stations.

So I get in my car the other day, ready for a nice drive. Of course, I needed some good music to get me where I needed to go. I just wanted to relax so I hit the preset on my radio for 92.5, Denver's only real R&B station.

I hit the gas, and off I went. But after a few minutes, something felt weird. What the hell am I listening to?! Is it... could it... IT IS! COUNTRY MUSIC!

I immediately looked over at my radio. Maybe I hit the wrong button and changed the station or something... nope! "WHAT THE FUCK?!" I screamed. "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!!!!!"

One of my favorite radio stations had been replaced, overnight, by a crappy country station! Why do they do it like this? No notice, no warning that the station is shut down. They just instantly close it and replace it with another! This has happened to me before, when I turned on my radio to the sound of mexican hip hop! (this was actually not as bad - I still have the station on my preset). I understand that sometimes radio stations just don't make money and have to be shut down, but why not give the loyal listeners some notice? Do they think we won't notice or something? It just seems so shady and secretive the current way they do it.

I spent the rest of the drive being angry and bashing my head against the steering wheel.

winter break

Winter break really snuck up on me this year, and now that it's started I've been in a little brainlock about what to do. I came up with some things I plan to do this break. They're actually pretty ambitious, since there is a high likelihood that I will blow them all off in favor of playing Battlefield 2 for 12 hours a day and watching mindless tv such as MTV and food network.

Things I plan to do:

1. Complete the design and implement my survey for my econ honors thesis, which I have been procrastinating on for 3 months.

2. Learn to skateboard. On sort of an impulse buy I bought a skateboard off the internet, and I hope to learn how to ride it this break. It's pretty sweet, it's an enjoi board, and has a big panda on the bottom, black destructo trucks, and white wheels with pandas on them as well. Maybe this will improve my lateness next semester when riding the bus.

3. Work on a new blog. I just registered ChipotleBlog.com and plan to make a blog devoted to Chipotle, because it's so awesome.

4. Read What Color is Your Parachute? . One of my profs last semester recommended this book, and since I still have no direction in life I thought I would check it out. I don't think I've read a real book in like two years so this will be a challenge.

5. Do a personal inventory. Related to the last item, I have no idea of what the hell I am going to do after I graduate, and I need to just sit my ass down and think about it.

First Post!

... a blog is born!