Tranquil Madness

Front Page Material

I found a rather interesting surprise in my CPO today. I knew the newest edition of The YellowJacket was being distributed through the mailboxes, of course. Staff writers have the priviledge of knowing such information and, as some may argue, have the responsibility to spread said information.

I was surprised by what I found on the front page. What did I find? My story on new LETU professors as the top story. It was above both the story on Longview Blitz and the one on the freshman retreat.

I feel two ways about this placement.

I am incredibly giddy that my story made the front page. Who wouldn't feel happy that their story is the lead? The editors chose it as the most important story in the paper (at least as far as immediate relevancy is concerned)! I now have had a story published on the front page on a newspaper. Admittedly, it is a small campus newspaper, but surely that fact still counts for something.

Unfortunately, it is a boring story. Due to space requirements, the story just contains facts about the professors that I gleaned from interviewing them. It was supposed to present facts about the professors. There really is not much that can be done with a story like that unless it is turned into a feature.

Anyway, the point of all this is that I have a story on the front page of The YellowJacket. Hooray for me!

From the Creators of South Park...

Blame Scott and Wilson for this.

Quiz can be found here if you are interested.

Checks and Balances...?

Somebody else check this out (HR. 2028.RH) and make sure I am reading it correctly.

Is that a bill in the House of Representatives stating that the Pledge of Allegiance is constitutional? Does it really say that the courts do not have the power to decide whether or not something is in violation of constitutional rights?

Somebody tell me I interpreted that incorrectly. Tell me that the legislative branch of our government is not trying to work its way around the judicial branch.

Regardless of whether or not the current Pledge of Allegiance violates the rights of non-believers, a bill circumventing the power of the judicial system is a frightening thing.

I am really disturbed by this bill.

Computer Question

Does anyone have any idea as to why my computer has stopped allowing me to open links in a new window? "My computer hates me," though true, is not the answer I need.

I can not even delete the comment spam because the delete confirmation is in a new window. The plus side to this window problem is that I have not had to deal with any pop-ups actually coming through and annoying me.

Any suggestions how to fix this?

Dead Like Me, Season 1

YES! It has finally been released!

The complete first season of Showtime's Dead Like Me is now on DVD!

I now own the first season of my favorite dark comedy! Yay!

A Message...

Despite what it looks like, I have been doing quite a bit of writing lately. In fact, I happen to think I have been working on some of the best compositions of my life. Sadly, they are far too personal for me to share here.

As soon as I finish working through some personal issues I will get back to my normal semi-frequent posting.

I apologize for any inconvenience.

Advice to Parents With Childless Friends

If you know me very well at all, you know that I have some rather negative opinions of small children. This has been with me for as long as I can remember (yes, that does include when I was one).

Therefore, I found the following link rather amusing. It is a post in a LiveJournal giving advice to parents about how to treat their childless friends. If/Before you read this article, I must tell you that it can be extremely crude in a few areas. Read at your own risk.

Here is a small sample from the section entitled "Pets":

Also, try to prevent them from making loud shrieking sounds around our pets. Excited children sound much like squealing rabbits, and this has been known to drive some dogs to kill. As much fun as this would be as an organized sport, it is not yet recognized in the U.S., and it is also hell on carpets.

Go here to read the rest.

Fun Icons

Today I was perusing a Livejournal community I lurk at and I found a number of icons I really enjoyed. I thought that some of my readers may enjoy a few of them.

Here are a few:

This is my favorite:

And here is a nice random picture: