Joke
"Well, I got a cactus plant and after a couple days it died. It made me very depressed and got me thinking... "Man! I'm worse than a desert!"
November 27, 2007
September 28, 2007
Quotes
Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.
August 06, 2007
Cool Beans
I thought this was funny, just click!
July 24, 2007
3360x1080 Dual Setup
I got the VX2255wmb 22" Widescreen HD LCD
July 07, 2007
The Five Stages of Drunkenness
THE FIVE STAGES OF DRUNKENNESS
Stage #1 -- Smart
This is when you suddenly become an expert on every subject. You
know all and greatly wish to express this knowledge to anyone who
will listen. At this stage you are also always right. And of course
the person you are talking with is very wrong. You will talk for
hours trying to convince someone that you are right. This makes for an
interesting argument when both parties are "smart". Two people talking,
in fact, arguing about a subject neither one really knows anything
about, but are convinced that they are they complete authority on the
subject makes for great entertainment for those get the opportunity to
listen in.
Stage #2 -- Handsome/Pretty
This is when you are convinced that you are the best looking person in
the entire room and everyone is looking at you. You begin to wink at
perfect strangers and ask them to dance because of course they had been
admiring you the whole evening. You are the center of attention, and all
eyes are directed at you because you are the most beautiful thing on the
face of the earth. Now keep in mind that you are still smart, so you can
talk to this person who has been admiring you about any and all subjects
under the sun.
Stage #3 -- Rich
This is when you suddenly become the richest person in the world. You can
buy drinks for the entire bar and put it on your bill because you surely
have an armored truck full of your money parked behind the bar. You can
also make bets in this stage. Now of course you still know all, so you
will always win all your bets. And you have no concern for how much
money you bet because you have all the money in the world. You will also
begin to buy drinks for all the people in the bar who are admiring you
because you are now the smartest, prettiest, and richest person on the
face of the earth.
Stage #4 -- Bulletproof
You can now pick fights with the people you have been betting money with
because you cannot be hurt by anything. At this point you would go up to
the boyfriend of the woman who had been admiring your beautiful self
all evening and challenge him to a battle of wits for money. You have no
worry about loosing this battle of wits because you know all, have all
the money to cover this bet, and you obviously win a fight that might
erupt if he looses.
Stage #5 -- Invisible
This is the final stage of drunkenness. At this point you can do
absolutely anything because no one can see you. You can get up and dance
on a table; you can strip down to your underwear, to impress the people
who have been admiring you all evening, because the rest of the people
in the room cannot see you. You are also invisible to the person whom
you have picked a fight with earlier in the evening. You can walk through
the streets singing at the top of your lungs (because of course you are
still smart and know the tune perfectly) and no one will think anything
of it because they can't see you. All your social inhibitions are
gone. You can do anything, because no one will know.
And you certainly won't remember !
Revamping all my websites
I've decided to revamp all of my websites and here are the list of the domains I currently operate...
eranewstarrealty.com - Thinking of doing something here but its probably a 2 day job.
wrightwoodcity.com - Wrightwood City's website. I'm almost done making this one
uscbdc.com - I have to finish up with some pages and then i'm done
mrarigato.com - I have to update the website and add the entire menu which will take days
lynnieyang.com - Lynnie's website. Probably do nothing with it but just sit on it.
blackxrainbow.com - I have to add a shopping cart system for a friend of mine. This will take 2 days at least.
May 29, 2007
What is your?
April 10, 2007
Quotes and Qidbits
"Family and friends will always try to make you stay the same, you have to break that and do something you want." – Ric
Random 1: “Hey, let’s have lunch sometime”Random 2:“Of course, I’m always hungry”
From Phil,
1. It's important to work hard and never forget those who helped put you there.
2. Always answer your freaking email, very important
3. Send thank you cards to everyone who helped in some way.
4. Promises are promises, don't try to get of it.
5. Do something you enjoy doing, not something your parents want you to do
6. Life takes chances, take them early...and often. Otherwise you will be in a glass boat afraid to do anything.
7. Develop a plan, then toss it out, and replace it with your real plans that matter and develop your "personal" self.
8. Sundays are for enjoying, enjoy.
April 07, 2007
Google Voice
Google labs just opened up with a new service today enabling phone users to call 411 for free. There's not cost to you or Google, just a simple call to their 1800 number will allow you to tell Google what you need to find such as a telephone number or address to the business. It's great, give it a try.
http://labs.google.com/goog411/
March 15, 2007
Widget of the day
March 05, 2007
Take the world back
Song: My Chemical Romance - Welcome to the Black Parade
When I heard this song, it struck me hard.
When I was a young boy, My father took me into the city To see a marching band. He said, "Son when you grow up, will you be the saviour of the broken, The beaten and the damned?" He said "Will you defeat them, your demons, and all the non believers, the plans that they have made?" Because one day I leave you, A phantom to lead you in the summer, To join the black parade."When I was a young boy,
My father took me into the city
To see a marching band.
He said,
"Son when you grow up, will you be the saviour of the broken,
The beaten and the damned?"Sometimes I get the feeling she's watching over me.
And other times I feel like I should go. Through it all, the rise and fall, the bodies in the streets.
When you're gone we want you all to know We'll Carry on,
We'll Carry on
Though your dead and gone believe me Your memory will carry on
Carry on
We'll carry on
And in my heart I cant contain it
The anthem wont explain it.And we will send you reeling from decimated dreams
Your misery and hate will kill us all
So paint it black and take it back
Lets shout it loud and clear
Do you fight it to the end
We hear the call to
[ these lyrics found on http://www.completealbumlyrics.com ]
To carry on
We'll carry on
Though your dead and gone believe me Your memory will carry on
We'll carry on
And though you're broken and defeated You're weary widow marches onAnd on we carry through the fears
Ooh oh ohhhh
Disappointed faces of your peers Ooh oh ohhhh
Take a look at me cause
I could not care at all Do or die
You'll never make me
Cause the world, will never take my heart
You can try, you'll never break me
Want it all,
I'm gonna play this part
Wont explain or say i'm sorry
I'm not ashamed,
I'm gonna show my scar
You're the chair, for all the broken Listen here, because it's only..
I'm just a man,
I'm not a hero
Just a boy, who's meant to sing this song
Just a man,
I'm not a hero
I -- don't -- care
Carry on
We'll carry on
Though your dead and gone believe me Your memory will carry on
We'll carry on
And though you're broken and defeated You're weary widow marches on
We'll carry on
We'll carry on
We'll carry on
We'll carry
We'll carry on
I never meant to hurt
February 27, 2007
The End of The World Video
February 14, 2007
Costco Personalities
The Supers are among us. Saturday in Costco they were apparent everywhere mingling with us ordinary folks.
BLINKER BOY – You sat in your powder blue minivan tending your liver spots waiting for someone to move their car out of a prime spot. There wasn’t anyone even walking to a car in that lane, but you know that time and numbers are on your side. You’re also savvy enough to know that if you let another car pass, they may get to a spot first. So you block. And you wait. In the middle. Staking out that lane as yours and creating havoc behind you. Left blinker on if someone walks down the left side of the row, quickly switching to right blinker if they cross. Hazards if they change rows in the middle. I was the guy who lured you to the end of the row by pretending to unlock the silver Acura, only to walk away when you got close. The people you were blocking thanked me.
THERMODYNAMICS GIRL. You demonstrate that energy input in the form of food, minus energy expended in the form of exercise yields energy stored in the form of lard. I passed you repeatedly over the hour I was in the store. Certainly you could’ve found SOMETHING to buy after all this time. Then, I see. It’s not a shopping trip, it’s a free lunch. And that’s not a cart. It’s a walker. You heave your enormous, flabby arms and boobs over the edge of the cart and lean on it as you make your glacial progress from free sample to free sample. You use your cart/walker like a bulldozer in your quest to reach the Holy Grail; a Dixie Cup of Rock Star Energy Drink. The lady in the hairnet becomes your own personal drive-thru. I particularly liked how you asked if there were other flavors to try and took one for the road. The BBQ meatballs were a whole two aisles away.
ROUNDABOUT MAN. You parked yourself and your cart in the middle of the intersection of two shopping aisles strategically angled so as to occupy as much physical space as possible. While you forced traffic to direct itself in circles around you like a bunch of badly dressed Renaults circling the Arc de Triumph you were licking (tongue hanging out LICKING!) the inside of a spent paper cup full of Chicken Creamy Supreme. The look of confusion you gave when I told you to get the f%$^* out of the way was made funnier by the leftover cream sauce in your scraggly mustache.
THE SCREAMING EAGLES. The most lethal bunch in the store, led by a person to whom conscience and self-awareness are weaknesses to be exploited in others. She enters the store like a normal mom with three kids. Once inside, the disguise is removed, goggles flip down and she stares unwaveringly at her attack plan disguised as a shopping list. With trained efficiency, her cadre of small, fast and determined fighter escorts fan out alongside where they make sorties to various end-caps, sample stations and electronics displays. While docked with the mother ship, they effectively block passers and send other shoppers diving down the snack row for safety. They dive in and out of crowds knocking people and products over and come out unscathed, holding bags of Chicken Wings and Jalapeno Poppers. The most promising disciple is named Godzilla, for his ability to scatter Asian women with his stomping, screaming temper tantrums.
THE STROLLER Your name is a reference to the speed of your progress which resembles nothing so much as a nice little stroll on a sunny spring day in the garden. Determined to make your fellow shoppers slow down and smell the roses you set the speed limit for whichever aisle you’re in. It’s like following a school bus down a two lane road. I tried a bit of method acting and matched your pace, just to see what goes through the mind of someone so utterly lacking in ambition and purpose. All I could envision is how little I wanted to finish and be forced to go home to the gold and green shag carpeted, wood paneled house that smells like yesterday’s Depends.
And my favorite – SUPERBOWL CONSUMER MAN! You were disguised in gray Champion sweats and a football jersey (making a triumphant homecoming to their place of purchase). Your tan Velcro Rockports were the sole give-away to the fact that you haven’t strung together three running steps since Ike died. An off-brand 42 inch flat screen TV was parked on the big flat dolly with no company other than an enormous log of Velveeta cheese-flavored-food-product. You would have blended in nicely if you hadn’t decided to take your entire purchase with you through the line to get a Polish dog and Diet Coke. Or was it a Chicken Bake, you man of mystery you? You were clearly proud of your purchase because you talked about it loudly the entire time. And if we needed a reminder that you’re a big spender, you banged the evidence against our shins and plowed into tables as you strutted through the concession pushing inaccurately with one hand and one elbow while filling your grill with the other.
February 06, 2007
What it takes to be great
What It Takes to Be Great
Fortune on CNNMoney.com
By Geoffrey Colvin
Research now shows that the lack of natural talent is irrelevant to great success. The secret? Painful and demanding practice and hard workWhat makes Tiger Woods great? What made Berkshire Hathaway (Charts) Chairman Warren Buffett the world's premier investor? We think we know: Each was a natural who came into the world with a gift for doing exactly what he ended up doing. As Buffett told Fortune not long ago, he was "wired at birth to allocate capital." It's a one-in-a-million thing. You've got it - or you don't.
Well, folks, it's not so simple. For one thing, you do not possess a natural gift for a certain job, because targeted natural gifts don't exist. (Sorry, Warren.) You are not a born CEO or investor or chess grandmaster. You will achieve greatness only through an enormous amount of hard work over many years. And not just any hard work, but work of a particular type that's demanding and painful.
Go to CNNMoney.com to see what kind of manager you are.
manager quizBuffett, for instance, is famed for his discipline and the hours he spends studying financial statements of potential investment targets. The good news is that your lack of a natural gift is irrelevant - talent has little or nothing to do with greatness. You can make yourself into any number of things, and you can even make yourself great.
Scientific experts are producing remarkably consistent findings across a wide array of fields. Understand that talent doesn't mean intelligence, motivation or personality traits. It's an innate ability to do some specific activity especially well. British-based researchers Michael J. Howe, Jane W. Davidson and John A. Sluboda conclude in an extensive study, "The evidence we have surveyed ... does not support the [notion that] excelling is a consequence of possessing innate gifts."
To see how the researchers could reach such a conclusion, consider the problem they were trying to solve. In virtually every field of endeavor, most people learn quickly at first, then more slowly and then stop developing completely. Yet a few do improve for years and even decades, and go on to greatness.
The irresistible question - the "fundamental challenge" for researchers in this field, says the most prominent of them, professor K. Anders Ericsson of Florida State University - is, Why? How are certain people able to go on improving? The answers begin with consistent observations about great performers in many fields.
Scientists worldwide have conducted scores of studies since the 1993 publication of a landmark paper by Ericsson and two colleagues, many focusing on sports, music and chess, in which performance is relatively easy to measure and plot over time. But plenty of additional studies have also examined other fields, including business.
No substitute for hard work
The first major conclusion is that nobody is great without work. It's nice to believe that if you find the field where you're naturally gifted, you'll be great from day one, but it doesn't happen. There's no evidence of high-level performance without experience or practice.
Reinforcing that no-free-lunch finding is vast evidence that even the most accomplished people need around ten years of hard work before becoming world-class, a pattern so well established researchers call it the ten-year rule.
What about Bobby Fischer, who became a chess grandmaster at 16? Turns out the rule holds: He'd had nine years of intensive study. And as John Horn of the University of Southern California and Hiromi Masunaga of California State University observe, "The ten-year rule represents a very rough estimate, and most researchers regard it as a minimum, not an average." In many fields (music, literature) elite performers need 20 or 30 years' experience before hitting their zenith.
So greatness isn't handed to anyone; it requires a lot of hard work. Yet that isn't enough, since many people work hard for decades without approaching greatness or even getting significantly better. What's missing?
Practice makes perfect
The best people in any field are those who devote the most hours to what the researchers call "deliberate practice." It's activity that's explicitly intended to improve performance, that reaches for objectives just beyond one's level of competence, provides feedback on results and involves high levels of repetition.
For example: Simply hitting a bucket of balls is not deliberate practice, which is why most golfers don't get better. Hitting an eight-iron 300 times with a goal of leaving the ball within 20 feet of the pin 80 percent of the time, continually observing results and making appropriate adjustments, and doing that for hours every day - that's deliberate practice.
Consistency is crucial. As Ericsson notes, "Elite performers in many diverse domains have been found to practice, on the average, roughly the same amount every day, including weekends."
Evidence crosses a remarkable range of fields. In a study of 20-year-old violinists by Ericsson and colleagues, the best group (judged by conservatory teachers) averaged 10,000 hours of deliberate practice over their lives; the next-best averaged 7,500 hours; and the next, 5,000. It's the same story in surgery, insurance sales, and virtually every sport. More deliberate practice equals better performance. Tons of it equals great performance. The skeptics
Not all researchers are totally onboard with the myth-of-talent hypothesis, though their objections go to its edges rather than its center. For one thing, there are the intangibles. Two athletes might work equally hard, but what explains the ability of New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady to perform at a higher level in the last two minutes of a game?
Researchers also note, for example, child prodigies who could speak, read or play music at an unusually early age. But on investigation those cases generally include highly involved parents. And many prodigies do not go on to greatness in their early field, while great performers include many who showed no special early aptitude.
Certainly some important traits are partly inherited, such as physical size and particular measures of intelligence, but those influence what a person doesn't do more than what he does; a five-footer will never be an NFL lineman, and a seven-footer will never be an Olympic gymnast. Even those restrictions are less severe than you'd expect: Ericsson notes, "Some international chess masters have IQs in the 90s." The more research that's done, the more solid the deliberate-practice model becomes.
Real-world examples
All this scholarly research is simply evidence for what great performers have been showing us for years. To take a handful of examples: Winston Churchill, one of the 20th century's greatest orators, practiced his speeches compulsively. Vladimir Horowitz supposedly said, "If I don't practice for a day, I know it. If I don't practice for two days, my wife knows it. If I don't practice for three days, the world knows it." He was certainly a demon practicer, but the same quote has been attributed to world-class musicians like Ignace Paderewski and Luciano Pavarotti.
Many great athletes are legendary for the brutal discipline of their practice routines. In basketball, Michael Jordan practiced intensely beyond the already punishing team practices. (Had Jordan possessed some mammoth natural gift specifically for basketball, it seems unlikely he'd have been cut from his high school team.)
In football, all-time-great receiver Jerry Rice - passed up by 15 teams because they considered him too slow - practiced so hard that other players would get sick trying to keep up.
Tiger Woods is a textbook example of what the research shows. Because his father introduced him to golf at an extremely early age - 18 months - and encouraged him to practice intensively, Woods had racked up at least 15 years of practice by the time he became the youngest-ever winner of the U.S. Amateur Championship, at age 18. Also in line with the findings, he has never stopped trying to improve, devoting many hours a day to conditioning and practice, even remaking his swing twice because that's what it took to get even better.
The business side
The evidence, scientific as well as anecdotal, seems overwhelmingly in favor of deliberate practice as the source of great performance. Just one problem: How do you practice business? Many elements of business, in fact, are directly practicable. Presenting, negotiating, delivering evaluations, deciphering financial statements - you can practice them all.
Still, they aren't the essence of great managerial performance. That requires making judgments and decisions with imperfect information in an uncertain environment, interacting with people, seeking information - can you practice those things too? You can, though not in the way you would practice a Chopin etude.
Instead, it's all about how you do what you're already doing - you create the practice in your work, which requires a few critical changes. The first is going at any task with a new goal: Instead of merely trying to get it done, you aim to get better at it.
Report writing involves finding information, analyzing it and presenting it - each an improvable skill. Chairing a board meeting requires understanding the company's strategy in the deepest way, forming a coherent view of coming market changes and setting a tone for the discussion. Anything that anyone does at work, from the most basic task to the most exalted, is an improvable skill.
Adopting a new mindset
Armed with that mindset, people go at a job in a new way. Research shows they process information more deeply and retain it longer. They want more information on what they're doing and seek other perspectives. They adopt a longer-term point of view. In the activity itself, the mindset persists. You aren't just doing the job, you're explicitly trying to get better at it in the larger sense.
Again, research shows that this difference in mental approach is vital. For example, when amateur singers take a singing lesson, they experience it as fun, a release of tension. But for professional singers, it's the opposite: They increase their concentration and focus on improving their performance during the lesson. Same activity, different mindset.
Feedback is crucial, and getting it should be no problem in business. Yet most people don't seek it; they just wait for it, half hoping it won't come. Without it, as Goldman Sachs leadership-development chief Steve Kerr says, "it's as if you're bowling through a curtain that comes down to knee level. If you don't know how successful you are, two things happen: One, you don't get any better, and two, you stop caring." In some companies, like General Electric, frequent feedback is part of the culture. If you aren't lucky enough to get that, seek it out.
Be the ball
Through the whole process, one of your goals is to build what the researchers call "mental models of your business" - pictures of how the elements fit together and influence one another. The more you work on it, the larger your mental models will become and the better your performance will grow.
Andy Grove could keep a model of a whole world-changing technology industry in his head and adapt Intel (Charts) as needed. Bill Gates, Microsoft's (Charts) founder, had the same knack: He could see at the dawn of the PC that his goal of a computer on every desk was realistic and would create an unimaginably large market. John D. Rockefeller, too, saw ahead when the world-changing new industry was oil. Napoleon was perhaps the greatest ever. He could not only hold all the elements of a vast battle in his mind but, more important, could also respond quickly when they shifted in unexpected ways.
That's a lot to focus on for the benefits of deliberate practice - and worthless without one more requirement: Do it regularly, not sporadically.
Why?
For most people, work is hard enough without pushing even harder. Those extra steps are so difficult and painful they almost never get done. That's the way it must be. If great performance were easy, it wouldn't be rare. Which leads to possibly the deepest question about greatness. While experts understand an enormous amount about the behavior that produces great performance, they understand very little about where that behavior comes from.
The authors of one study conclude, "We still do not know which factors encourage individuals to engage in deliberate practice." Or as University of Michigan business school professor Noel Tichy puts it after 30 years of working with managers, "Some people are much more motivated than others, and that's the existential question I cannot answer - why."
The critical reality is that we are not hostage to some naturally granted level of talent. We can make ourselves what we will. Strangely, that idea is not popular. People hate abandoning the notion that they would coast to fame and riches if they found their talent. But that view is tragically constraining, because when they hit life's inevitable bumps in the road, they conclude that they just aren't gifted and give up.
Maybe we can't expect most people to achieve greatness. It's just too demanding. But the striking, liberating news is that greatness isn't reserved for a preordained few. It is available to you and to everyone.
February 04, 2007
99% of the People You Meet in the Gym
In tribute to an older thread characterizing college students, I have decided to extend it into the world of working out. In this thread you will find just about 99% of the people that you'll encounter in an everyday workout at your local gym.
THE MASSIVE BODY BUILDER:
These men are generally too repulsive to look at for very long at all. They are so juiced up on anabolic steroids that their veins appear to be escaping their body, not to mention they are probably wearing a shirt that exposes every bit of their injected glory. You will know immediately that one of these guys is in the gym when you walk in, since they are making a loud, painful sound that sets your' first thought to seeing them try and pick up a large truck, but really they are in the middle of their 7th set of bicep curls with the 85 pound dumbell. Care to avoid these gentlemen? Not a problem. These guys spend the majority of their life in the free-weights, squats, and dead lift section, as these are the essentials to their brick wall of a body. 0% visibility is best achieved in cardio. The body builder is so unconcerned with burning fat and calories that he won't give a treadmill a second glance.
THE UNDER-DEVELOPED PUNK:
On the opposite end of the spectrum you have these poor excuses for gym goers. If you see them once, you will rarely see them again as they will fail at just about everything they try. This person is wearing clothing completely inappropriate to put your body through stress in and is mainly concerned with appearance. They will have on baggy cargo shots, skateboard punk shoes, an incorrectly worn hat, and a baggy shirt generally with a hardcore band or a typical brandname like Billabong on it. If you watch carefully, they won't do anything. They're so skinny and weak that they will pick up random excercises for unmeasured amounts of time and move on when the bone in their elbow gets tired. Sometimes they might come with a friend who IS in shape for compensation. They will spend 45 to 230 minutes at the straight bench press and call it a day. They will strut to every station as well.
THE SOCIALIZING HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS:
Usually football players fill this role who are off season. They all get together and stand around a straight bench with a shit load of weight on it and talk. They may get 1 or 2 sets done but only with help and only of 8 reps because that's how their retarded football coach has brainwashed them into things. Then you have the cheerleaders. These girls will purposely wear skimpy clothing for attention and come in packs of 2 to 4. They will accompany eachother upstairs and commence a cardio workout for exactly 4 and a half minutes until they leave again. They will only use 2 stations, the elipticals and the stationary sit down bicycles (not the actual stationary bikes, but the ones that don't do anything for you and have enough room to bake cookies on). Both of these two groups will spend the majority of their time in loud self contained conversation until they have satisfied their personal gym effect quota and all leave to go drink.
THE DESPERATE OLD GUYS:
The prime of their life has come and gone for these men, but they are still determined to make those biceps grow and that chest puff out. They will be very hard working, and often stop to talk to someone who was with them in Vietnam or another old gym goer. These men love the cable exercises. The stabilization effect along with the safety of them is right up their alley. They would get more done than anyone else if they weren't spending half their time going to get paper towels to clean up their puddles of sweat. Next to the boby builder, you will see this guy in the gym the most.
THE CONTENT HOUSEWIFE:
These women are at the gym quite often and their workout is probably fit into a weekly schedule. They spend the majority of their visit in cardio, the stretching mats, or the extra-light freeweight section. Do NOT make eye contact with them, as they will glare back at you under the suspicion that you are visually criticizing them. They seem pleased with their work outs 100% of the time and top each one off with a 15 minute flat line no resistance course on the slide step machine while reading a cooking magazine.
THE TOP HEAVY BUISNESS EXECTUTIVE:
These guys are the CEOs and Presidents of their huge companies that retreat to the gym to pump dailey stress out through effort and delay seeing their money leech of a wife for another 2 hours. They focus on solely upper body strength as well, leaving their chicken legs to cower under the well worked chest and arms. Usually clad in a longsleeve or tight plain T-shirt, but still with their bluetooth attached, they will work extremely efficiently and longer than most others then drive away in their Jag or Mercedes.
KIDS ON STEROIDS:
Although not nearly as common as the socializing high school students or the massive body builder, you still find one of these at any gym. This kid gave up a long time ago on the natural methods of attracting women. He has instead turned to unhealthy hours in the weightroom and anabolic supplements to speed up the explosion of his appendeges. Usually considered an ass hole since he will try to show off by spending a lot of time on bench and very heavy bicep and tricep curls.
It's easy to spot these kids since theyre wearing an Abercrombie or a FOX Motorsports shirt that is clearly too small for them. For advanced warning, look for their souped up Jetta or Civic in the parking lot with an innapropriate sticker on the back windshield.
MOST EVERYONE ESLE:
Anyone else you might see is most likely too common to be listed under one of our categories. Sure you're going to find the occasional crazy person or a ballet dancer or something, but generally just people trying to get into shape. If you can really think of another category that applies to all gyms around the country, then please share it with us.
January 16, 2007
Season 3 of '24'
I am personally a fan of 24
I just finished watching it and I can't wait until the next episodes come out. OMG. Its 3:32am and I just finished watching it... Gosh its so amazing...
January 01, 2007
Welcome 2007
Lets make 2007 a year to remember! 2006 was great but 2007 seems like its going to be even greater. Since it was new years, I had to attend a small family gathering celebrating the new years with the parents giving away cash. I came out $80 dollars ahead and was pretty happy since this was random. Afterwards, Nancy came over to watch the football game and we finally won in the Rose Bowl over Michigan State. It gave me terrible memories of the time I was in the stadium with fUCLA... I wish I never attended that horrible game.
School will be starting on Jan 8th and it will be the hardest semester yet. I will be taking Accounting, Stats, OB, Writing. I might take a 2 unit course but at the moment, the answer is no way!
The computer is up and running but when I disable my Ethernet connection, my computer timing is off and everything lags up back to the 100mhz range so its very slow...
Plus I'm still sore from my ski trip with the family. I wish it was longer :(
October 18, 2006
If you remember this, you grew up in the 90's
Just wanted to remind people of the good ole days.
You're a 90's kid if:
You've ever ended a sentence with the word "PSYCHE!"
You can sing the rap to "The Fresh Prince Of Bel Air"
You remember when Kurt Cobain, Tu Pac, River Phoenix, and Selena died.
You know that "WOAH" comes from Joey from "Blossom" and that "How Rude!" comes from Stephanie from "Full House"
You remember when it was actually worth getting up early
on a Saturday to watch cartoons.
You got super excited when it was Oregon Trail day in computer class at school.
You remember reading "Goosebumps"
You know the profound meaning of "Wax on, wax off"
You have pondered why Smurfette was the only female smurf.
You took plastic cartoon lunch boxes to school.
You danced to "Wannabe" by the Spice Girls, Females: had a new motto, Males: got a whole lot gay-er. (so tell me what you want, what you really really want.)
You remember the craze, then the banning of slap bracelets and slam books.
You still get the urge to say "NOT" after (almost) every sentence...Not...
Where in the world is Carmen San Diego? was both a game and a TV game show.
Captain Planet.
You knew that Kimberly, the pink ranger, and Tommy, the green Ranger were meant to be together.
When playing power rangers with friends you fought over who got to be who............and still all ended up being Tommy.
You remember when super nintendo's became popular.
You remember watching home alone 1, 2 , and 3........and tried to pull the pranks on "intruders"
"I've fallen and I can't get up"
You remember going to the skating rink before there were inline skates
Two words... Trapper Keeper.
You never got injured on a Slip 'n' Slide
You wore socks over leggings scrunched down
"Miss Mary Mack, Mack, Mack, all dressed in black, black, black, with silver buttons, buttons, buttons, all down her back, back, back" SHE ASKED HER MOTHER MOTHER MOTHER FOR FIFTY CENTS CENTS CENTS TO SEE THE ELEPHANTS PHANTS PHANTS JUMP OVER THE FENCE THE FENCE THE FENCE
he jumped so high high high he touched the sky sky sky and he didnt come back back back til the forth of july ly ly he jumped so low ow ow he stubbed his toe toe toe and thats the end end end of the elephants show show show
You remember boom boxes vs. cd players
You remember New Kids on The Block when they were cool
You knew all the characters names and their life stories on "Saved By The Bell"
You played and/or collected "Pogs"
You had at least one Tamagotchi, GigaPet or Nano and brought it everywhere
You watched the original Care Bears, My Little Pony, and Ninja Turtles
NANCY DREW AND THE HARDY BOYS WERE THE BEST MYSTERY BOOKS
Yikes pencils and erasers were the stuff!
All your school supplies were "Lisa Frank" brand.(pencils.notebooks.b
inders.etc.)
You remember when the new Beanie Babies were always sold out.
You used to wear those stick on earings, not only on your ears, but at the corners of your eyes.
You remember a time before the WB.
You've gotten creeped out by "Are You Afraid of the Dark?"
You know the Macarena by heart.
"Talk to the hand" ... enough said
You thought Brain woud finally take over the world
You always said, "Then why don't you marry it!"
You remember when everyone went slinky crazy.
You remember when razor scooters were cool.
When we were younger:
Before the MySpace frenzy...
Before the Internet & text messaging...
Before Sidekicks & iPods...
Before MIKE JONES...
Before PlayStation2 or X-BOX...
...Back when you put off the 5 hours of homework you had every night.
When light up sneakers were cool.
When you rented VHS tapes, not DVDs.
When gas was $0.95 a gallon & Caller ID was a new thing.
When we recorded stuff on VCRs & paid $3.50 for a movie.
When we called the radio station to request songs to hear off our walkmans.
When 2Pac and Biggie where alive.
When the Chicago Bulls were the best team ever.
Way back.
Tag.
Get Over Here!!!! means something to you.
Hide-n-Go Seek at dusk.
Red Light, Green Light.
Heads Up 7 Up.
Playing Kickball & Dodgeball until your porch light came on.
Hopskotch.
Slip-n-Slides.
Tree Houses.
Hula Hoops.
HELLO....HOT WHEELS!!!!!
"POWER OF LOVE" BY CELINE DION..ONLY COUPLES COULD SKATE TO THIS.
The annoying Giga Pets & Furbies.
Running through the sprinklers.
That "Little Mermaid"
Crying when Mufasa died in the Lion King.
Happy Meals where you chose a Barbie or a Hot Wheels car.
Getting the privelage to sit in the front seat of the car.
Drinking Sqeeze It "Squeeze The Fun Out Of It"
CAPRI SUN
Watching Saturday Morning Cartoons in your PJ's still wrapped up in your TMNT, Power Rangers, Barbie, Fairy Princess comforter.
The original Power Rangers
Or what about:
Hey Arnold.
Rugrats.
The Secret World of Alex Mac.
Ren & Stimpy.
Double Dare.
Rocco's Modern Life.
AAAHH!! REAL MONSTERS.
Wild & Crazy Kids.
Clarissa Explains it All.
CAMP NOWHERE
Salute Your Shorts(CAMP ANAWANA)
Are You Afraid of the Dark?
The original cast members of All That.
Kenan & Kel.
"CITY GUYS"...ROLLW/ THE CITY GUYS
Doug.
Magic School Bus.
Nick Arcade.
Flash Forward.
The Adventures of Pete and Pete.
Legends of the Hidden Temple
Hey Dude.
Dinosaurs.
Alladin.
Mummies Alive
Pinky and the Brain
Sailor Moon.
Blossom.
Hangin with Mr. Cooper.
Martin
Beavis & Butt-Head
Wishbone.
Bill Nye the Science Guy
MR RODGERS!!!!
Who could forget Snick? & Nick @ Nite with Bewitched, I Dream of Jenie, The Facts of Life & I Love Lucy.
Where everyone wanted to be in love after watching The Wonder Years.
or Nick Jr. with Face
Gulah Gulah Island
Little Bear
Busy Town
Under the Umbrella Tree
PEE-WEE!!!
The Big Comfy Couch
Kool-Aid was the drink of choice.
Wearing your new shoes on the first day of school.
Class field trips.
When Christmas was the most exciting time of year.
When $5 seemed like a million, & another dollar a miracle.
When you begged to go to McDonalds for dinner everyday.
When Toys R Us overuled the mall.
Go back to the time when:
Decisions were made by going 'eeny-meeny-miney-moe'.
Mistakes were corrected by simply exclaiming 'do over!'
'Race issue' ment arguing about who ran the fastest.
Money issues were handled by whoever was banker in 'Monopoly.'
It wasn't odd to have two or three 'best' friends.
Being old referred to anyone over 20.
A chance to skate as a couple at the local roller rink was like winning the lottery.
Scrapes & bruises were kissed & made better.
It was a big deal to finally be tall enought to ride the 'big people' rides at the fair.
When playing Nintendo was the hardest thing ever.
When Ninja Turtles ruled the world.
Another Baby Sitter Club and Little Sister (Karen) book came out and you put your name on hold for it at the library.
When Aladdin was new, before the trilogy was complete.
Before we realized all this would eventually disappear
Who would have thought you'd miss the 90's so much!!!!!
September 20, 2006
Birthday Wishlist for 2006
Things I really need: In order of importance :)
1. A very fast car.....
2. Ski Jacket
3. Ski Pants
4. Cologne (I ran out)
5. Slippers aka "sandals" for outside school use
6. Memory Card SD at least 128mb for my camera :(
7. A couple casual dress shirts
8. belts & neck ties
9. A case of CD-R's and DVD+R's
10. Cash is always accepted, k thx
September 16, 2006
Muslim Pick-Up Lines
Muslim Pick-Up Lines
"I just saw part of your hair, now you're obliged to marry me."
"Our parents engaged us when we were little, they must have forgotten to tell you."
"I'd like to be more than just your brother in Islam."
"To watch you pray is a sin of its own."
"Will my Platinum VISA cover your dowry?"
"You can't play basketball with a jilbab on, marry me, and we will go one-on-one our entire life."
"Muslims are supposed to have many children, and I am willing to do my part..."
"Will you help the cause of the Ummah by helping me fulfill my deen?"
"Wanna pray in jamaa? shoulder to shoulder, feet to feet?"
"Assalamualaikum, so what time does a hurain (beautiful person from Jannah) like you have to be back in paradise?"
"What school of thought do you follow because I thought about you all through school."
"Can I have your wali's phone number?"
"So, read any good Surahs lately?"
"Do you believe in the hereafter? Oh you do? Then you know what I'm here after!"
"Lets get married so I dont have to lower my gaze everytime you walk in the room."
"Can I have ur number so I can wake u up for Fajr?"
"I see praying five times a day has paid off."*
"Masha'allah, you're beautiful... now let me say Inshallah."*
"I know Halal meat does a body good, but day-um, how much you been eatin'?"*
"I bet you cause uprisings whereever you go."*
"Jihad me at hello."*
"That Noor on your face really brings out your eyes."*
"Do you wanna date? I bought a box full when I went to Madinah."*
"Are you a Shi-ite? Because when I saw you, I said to myself, 'She aiight'."*
"Sister, is your hijab naturally blonde?"*
"I thought the Hoor Al-Ayn only lived in Jannah."*
"It must be Laylatul Qadr, because that's the night that angels come down from Heaven."*
"Haven't we chatted before? Oh, you know where it was, in Jannah. You were that beautiful light that kept blinding me."*
"You're so beautiful, even Hoors would be jealous."*
And my personal favorite: "Is yo daddy a terrorist? Cause you da bomb!"
August 23, 2006
Funny Lines
a beer a day keeps the sadness away
My ass is so tight, you can bounce pennies off of it.
I might say words that end and start at the same sentence at the same time to make one new word. For example, shit and fuck will end up as being shitfucked or stfu. My TA said this and I guess it was funny when she said it.
Lame ass day today. I dropped one of my classes today SPPD class. I'm switching out. its lame
August 16, 2006
The update...
This week was our move in day at USC and it was quite an overwhelming day. That day alone was one heck of a time to have your truck run completely dead because of the battery being useless. After wasting 1 hour replacing the battery and having to drive back to return the tools and battery, I finally left to LA. With all my gear in the back of the truck and my aggressive driving I was suprised that I didn't lose anything falling from my bed. After unloading and setting up my room, the apartment really looks nice and comfortable. I am enjoying the new apartment for several reasons such as the distance to school, my one roommate mike, the AC being right in front of my room, and the gated parking. Several things to mention about this apartment is the noise during the night with people not knowing that their alarms are going off and the constant bugs that come climbing through the windows. As for my room, its very spacious because I had to sacrifice my queen bed to a twin. Its quite a different feeling after sleeping on nothing but queens all my life. I also got a better bike this time around instead of the crusier I purchased at costco. This one actually has gears and can really go the distance with these gear advantages. My financial aid awards got in and i'm really happy to hear that I got several grants and scholarships from the school. My mom will be giving me an award this coming saturday from her company along with 2 of my other friends Sam and Arvin. I also have this ebay auction going on right now and its at $420.15 for 4 bose jewel speakers that are really nice. Its ending at 5:00pm this entry so lets see if it breaks $500 bucks so I can put that towards my education.
August 05, 2006
Too close for missles, switching to guns
Here is the breakdown of the student body in college
There's always a group of people...
who got accepted into this college but it was their 2nd choice
where you question how they got into college in the first place
who wish they were at another college
who are so smart they should've gone to harvard
who are so rich they shouldn't be in school types
who are so pretty that they should quit and get married
who got rejected but is still coming to the school
July 09, 2006
July, a month of many things
Well July has been an awesome month regarding many issues. First off, I have finished many projects and got paid on all of them getting an approval for many more for the rest of the summer. My real estate classes are registered to keep my license so I don't have to take a bloody exam again. My brother went to Europe and will be back tomorrow but he had a good time and I can't wait to see him and his photos. My summer classes are going good except I might be needing some more studying in the future. I finished setting up my sister's wedding website that I have been putting off forever.
June 09, 2006
3rd Night
This is the 3rd night so far and I have to say.. its quite the best idea ever.
Photos coming soon after I return my broken one.
May 23, 2006
Jokes that make sense
Q. What is the difference between a drug dealer and a hooker?
A. A hooker can wash her crack and sell it again.
Q. What's a mixed feeling?
A. When you see your mother-in-law backing off a cliff in your new car.
Q. What's the height of conceit?
A. Having an orgasm and calling out your own name.
Q. What's the definition of macho?
A. Jogging home from your vasectomy.
Q. What's the difference between a G-Spot and a golf ball?
A. A guy will actually search for a golf ball.
Q. Do you know how New Zealanders practice safe sex?
A. They spray paint X's on the back of the sheep that kick.
Q.Why is divorce so expensive?
A. Because it's worth it.
Q. What is a Yankee?
A. The same as a quickie, but a guy can do it alone.
Q. What do Tupperware and a walrus have in common?
A. They both like a tight seal.
Q. What do a Christmas tree and a priest have in common?
A. Their balls are just for decoration.
Q.What is the difference between "ooooooh"and "aaaaaaah"?
A. About three inches.
Q: What's the difference between purple and pink?
A. The grip.
Q. How do you find a blind man in a nudist colony?
A. It's not hard.
Q: How do you circumcise a hillbilly?
A: Kick his sister in the jaw.
Q: What's the difference between a girlfriend and a wife?
A: 45 pounds.
Q: What's the difference between a boyfriend and a husband?
A: 45 minutes.
Q: Why do men find it difficult to make eye contact?
A: Breasts don't have eyes.
Q: If the dove is the bird of peace, what is the bird of true love?
A. The swallow.
Q: What is the difference between medium and rare?
A: Six inches is medium, eight inches is rare.
Q. Why do women rub their eyes when they get up in the morning?
A. They don't have balls to scratch
May 18, 2006
Evolution of Dance: Internet Classic
Below is a clip of what talent really is. good guy
May 11, 2006
Birth Order
Does Birth Order Determine Success? By Kate Lorenz, CareerBuilder.com Editor
All men may be created equal; but a look at their pay stubs will tell you that their incomes are not. Blame it on social class, education -- even luck, but according to Dalton Conley, New York University professor of sociology and public policy, inequality begins at home.
In his book "The Pecking Order: Which Siblings Succeed and Why," Conley says that 75 percent of the income inequality between individuals in the United States occurs between siblings in the same families. He points to the diverse fortunes of Bill and Roger Clinton, and Jimmy and Billy Carter as examples.
Research shows that first borns (and onlys) lead the pack in terms of educational attainment, occupational prestige, income and net worth. Conversely middle children in large families tend to fare the worst. (Marcia! Marcia! Marcia!)
"A child's position in the family impacts his personality, his behavior, his learning and ultimately his earning power," states Michael Grose, author of "Why First Born Rule the World and Last-borns Want to Change It." "Most people have an intuitive knowledge that birth order somehow has an impact on development, but they underestimate how far-reaching and just how significant that impact really is."
Conley concedes that birth order is significant in shaping individual success, but only for children of large families -- four or more siblings -- and in families where finances and parental time are constrained. (In wealthy families, like the Bushes and Kennedys, it has less effect.)
Here's a look at what impact your birth-order may have on you:
First Borns:
More conscientious, ambitious and aggressive than their younger siblings, first borns are over-represented at Harvard and Yale as well as disciplines requiring higher education such as medicine, engineering or law. Every astronaut to go into space has been either the oldest child in his or her family or the eldest boy. And throughout history -- even when large families were the norm -- more than half of all Nobel Prize winners and U.S. presidents have been first born. Famous eldest children include: Hillary Clinton, Bill Clinton, Richard Branson, J.K. Rowling and Winston Churchill. And macho movie stars are First Born, too, including Clint Eastwood, John Wayne, Sylvester Stallone, Bruce Willis and all the actors who have played James Bond.
Middles:
Middle children are more easy going and peer-oriented. Since they can get lost in the shuffle of their own families, they learn to build bridges to other sources of support and therefore tend to have excellent people skills. Middle children often take on the role of mediator and peacemaker. Famous middle children include: Bill Gates, J.F.K., Madonna and Princess Diana.
Youngest:
The youngest child tends to be the most creative and can be very charming -- even manipulative. Because they often identify with the underdog, they tend to champion egalitarian causes. (Youngest siblings were the earliest backers of the Protestant Reformation and the Enlightenment.) Successful in journalism, advertising, sales and the arts, famous youngest children include Cameron Diaz, Jim Carrey, Drew Carey, Rosie O'Donnell, Eddie Murphy and Billy Crystal.
Only Children:
Only children have similar characteristics to first borns and are frequently burdened with high parental expectations. Research shows they are more confident, articulate and likely to use their imagination than other children. They also expect a lot from others, hate criticism, can be inflexible and are likely to be perfectionists. Well-known only children include Rudy Guiliani, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Alan Greenspan, Tiger Woods, tennis' teen queen Maria Sharapova and Leonardo Da Vinci.
Twins:
Because they hold equal status and are treated so similarly, twins turn out similarly in most cases. Consider advice columnists "Dear Abby" and "Ann Landers" (Abigail and Esther Friedman), and Harold and Bernard Shapiro, who became presidents of Princeton University and Canada's McGill University respectively.
Dr. Frank Sulloway, a behavioral scientist and visiting professor at the Institute of Personality and Social Research at University of California, Berkeley and author of the book, "Born To Rebel: Birth Order, Family Dynamics and Creative Lives," says first borns are more similar in personality to first borns in other families than they are to their own younger siblings and that youngest children are often more similar to the youngest child in another family than his or her own elder siblings. He says this is because the family is not as much a "shared environment" as a set of niches that provide siblings with different outlooks.
Conley agrees, but stresses that these are just general trends -- and that the whole birth-order theory can be turned on its head depending on the child's personality, the age gap between siblings and the family circumstances each child experiences during his or her formative years.