Let’s hang out with waffles! Ok! Why not?

So it’s Sunday again. Which means it will be Monday soon enough. Mondays (for me) are for econ psets, two hour and twenty minute core-bio classes, and giving up hope that I’ll make it through the week. Sundays are not all bad, however. For one, NFL games are on Sundays. And Sundays are a good day to reflect back on stuff that’s happened during the last week…like the insane week of college football that just happened. Then again, Sundays are mostly for procrastinating, doing as little work as possible in preparation for the upcoming week’s classes. Seriously though, blogging is important…so therefore I am NOT procrastinating.

This being the end of the first week, I am all moved in now. There may be a few spare parts here and there that I need to pick up, but generally my living situation is all good. The hardest part about moving from place to place is deciding what things to keep and what to throw out. Like my old cell phones. I just couldn’t part with some of the cell phones that had served me so well over the years. I don’t have them with me at the moment, so I can’t give you a catalog…but luckily, Crunchgear’s Matt Hickey takes you through all of his old devices. With all the new technology bombarding us on a regular basis, it’s nice to sit back and remember some of the old things. Like when all cell phones did was make calls. Sometimes there’s something to be said for simplicity.

In other news, I have joined Dunder Mifflin Infinity, which is like working at an online branch of Dunder Mifflin. I joined the Spokane, WA branch under regional manager Jonathan Gabriel (or Gabe, as he’s known) from Penny Arcade. Join with the code s4g8c5lwvs and if we reach 15 people, Gabe will be hired and we can start work! And yes, the first episode of the new season kicked ass. The writing and the dialogue was absolutely superb, and the performances (I’m talking to you, Ed Helms) were so wonderful I couldn’t help but fall in love with The Office all over again.

On a last note, I’d just like to mention that the City of Chicago’s “operation virtual shield” is sounding an awful lot like Big Brother. Sure, a measure of security in the city is always nice, but a citywide surveillance plan isn’t necessarily the best way to go either. What about privacy?

-Jack

Do Harvard kids play Halo?

Wow. All I can say is…wow. This is probably one of the best pranks I’ve ever seen. As a fellow nerd, I can only gaze in awe at the genius of this finished product. Bravo, MIT pranksters hackers, bravo.

-Jack

edit: thanks to my dear friend Simon who informed me of this prank.

New theme, new beginning

I am using a new theme to help resurrect this blog. I know that the absence of posts has driven my (previously) loyal readers away, but I want you all to know I will do everything in my power to keep up with this blog.  That said, I only have one piece of news to report on today:

Grossman’s reign of terror is finally over! Now, I have been a fan who has been on his side as long as anybody out there, even willing to give him a chance after his soggy Super Bowl performance (as well as in the preseason)…but after giving us NO chance to win on Sunday versus the Cowboys, I’m glad for this change. Hopefully, we can get the season back on track and Rex can get his head straight. I still think he has potential, but this season is too important to just throw away, especially with how sick the defense had been performing. What do you guys think?

-Jack

It’s been awhile…

sorry for the extended break. classes start tomorrow and it’s about to get busy around here. don’t worry though, I’ll try to keep up with this blog as much as possible. so, until i post next time, watch the beginning of the first episode of Heroes Season 2…premiering tomorrow!

Technical Difficulties

Hello readers, I apologize for not updating the blog since getting back, but I have a couple of good reasons. First (and most importantly), I have no internet at my new house. No phone line, no internet, no way to go online at all. I’ve also been quite busy with the whole process of unpacking and sorting through my things, although I still would’ve made time to blog if not for reason #1. I’ll try to update personally ASAP (they say Monday at the earliest), but until then, hopefully I’ll get some guest bloggers on this thing.

Thanks for understanding!

-Jack

p.s. did anybody see last night’s White Sox game?

At the Airport

Wow…business class lounges are sweeeeeet. Free drinks, free internet, and the chairs are very comfortable.

My flight from D.C. is scheduled to arrive at 6:30 central time on Wednesday, September 5th. So any time between that and 8:00, I’ll take. As long as I don’t get hassled going through customs (I already got my bag searched in security, apparently my iPod and cell phone posed some sort of threat), it’s all good.

In case anybody is reading this that wants to call me and see what’s up, I’d advise you guys to wait until 8:00 at least (this means you, Yilei, calling me at 6:30 this morning!)

I apologize to my readers for slacking on my bloggery, but it has been a busy time with all the stuff I had to get done before heading back to the US. Although it’s not going to get any easier over the upcoming weeks leading up to the start of school, I will do my best to post every second or third day…so keep checking in!

-Jack

p.s. I just heard about this. Ha!

—UPDATE—

wow, the United lounge at Narita airport kicks even more ass. this one has free wifi (not to mention the internet isn’t censored) and is waaay bigger. I will be sure to take a few pics and upload them to flickr and/or facebook.

DeSean Jackson…BEAST

Just observe.

Ridiculous. And oh, Cal did score a nice win over the Vols on Saturday. I wanted to edit this in, but realized that I can’t edit posts (being blocked and all).

-Jack

This Post Exclusively About (the weekend in) Sports

HUGE Weekend in Sports. And I mean HUGE. Let’s get started.

So many big stories, so I guess I’ll have to lead it off with my favorite thing to do on saturday mornings: College Football. That’s right, the season is officially underway and there was some big, big, big news this weekend.

• Hokie Nation came together to celebrate the start of the season and remember the victims of the tragedy last year. It was definitely a good moment and a testament to the power of sport to bring us together in the aftermath of tragedy (remember the Yanks in 2001?)
• As predicted, many of the top 25 rolled to easy victories, some struggled a bit but were still able to pull out the win. (how painful was LSU’s beatdown on Miss. State? this clip basically sums it up)

Then, there was the biggest upset in college football history. Let’s just get some facts clear on Michigan’s historic loss:

• a I-A team ranked in the top-25 has NEVER lost to a I-AA team, NEVER. not to mention this Michigan team was ranked #5 (with National Championship aspirations)
• they had numerous chances to win it, especially at the end with a FG that ended up being blocked (whoever let that man through should’ve just been cut on the spot)
• doubt my claim that this is the biggest upset in CFB history? I’m just passing along the consensus opinion of sportsnation
• oh right, Michigan was at home
• Pat Forde has some more info on the game, including where you’ve heard of Appalachian State before this game. (hint, it’s from this clip of Ms. Teen South Carolina)

Just to put this loss into perspective? Any time a rookie Red Sox rookie throws a no-hitter in his second Major League start, and doesn’t make it as the big story on ESPN’s homepage…well, that’s big. And yeah, Clay Buchholz was pretty damn impressive in his no-no, with 9Ks and a sick variety of pitches. Only the 3rd pitcher since 1900 to accomplish the feat in the first or second start? Ridiculous. Then again, see above.

Steve Nash and Yao Ming have one big thing in common (no, it’s not their penchant for jumpers and crazy behind-the-back passes): they both care about Chinese orphans. Wait…add Michael Scott to that list. But seriously, it’s good to see athletes who give a damn about people other than themselves. I’m talking to you…David Beckham.

Now onto the main topic I want to talk about (wait…it wasn’t Michigan?): Liu Xiang. For those of you who are not in China, you might not be familiar with this 24 year-old superstar, but he is EVERYWHERE in China. What has he done in the 110m Hurdles? Oh, nothing, just win and hold about every record imaginable. Yup, Liu Xiang won the 110m in 2004 at Athens, setting an Olympic record along the way. In 2006? All he did was set the world record of 12.88 seconds. And just recently, he finally won the World Championships, after posting a bronze and silver in 2003 and 2005, respectively. This man is literally worshipped in China, think Yao (times ten). If he races, all of China pays attention. He’s charismatic, ridiculously talented, and carries the hopes of a nation on his shoulders going into the Olympics next year. And if history is any indication, he won’t disappoint.

-Jack