A match made in heaven

Bowling ball, meet my knee...

it's about time!!

The Jazz went from the 9th seed (and out of the playoffs) to the 4th seed in one night.

WARNING: crotch shot ahead...

So...I managed to do this while getting into my car today. Luckily it was AFTER class and not BEFORE. Can I get a round of applause?

Really??

The real battle huh? So all those soldiers dying over in the Middle East isn't the real battle? Whether you agree with the war or not, saying that the real battle is here is pretty insulting. I wonder if the women who post on that site have an issue with that, I doubt that they are thinking, "I know my husband might get blown up today, but what about ME!?"

CRAP

I suppose it's time for the annual early year freeze-out.

Sometimes it Pays to be a Jerk

I don't own an iPod. I hate iTunes and the whole iPod culture. I DO own a Creative brand MP3 player that is just as good (in my opinion) as an iPod video. About a week before finals I spilled my chai tea on it while I was studying at the library. Not smart. It almost immediately started malfunctioning and I was pretty pissed. When I bought it I made sure to get the extra year warranty because my previous MP3 player (same brand) had some issues. My year warranty, added onto the manufacturer 30-day warranty, expired on Dec 15. So I send Creative an email about my malfunctioning MP3 player on or around the 12th, while conveniently forgetting to mention the chai tea incident. I send in my player and all the required documentation and hope that they don't realize that not only did I spill something on it (which isn't covered under the warranty) I also opened it up and tried to clean it (voiding the warranty).
About a week ago a got this email:

In regards to your RMA XXXXXXX, we are sorry to inform you that upon receiving your product and reviewing your file, it was determined that the unit is no longer covered by Creative's limited warranty due to the date it was purchased (11/15/06).

If you still wish to proceed with the repair/ replacement it will cost $240.00 to complete the process, and the unit you will receive back from our facility will have a 90 days labor/ parts warranty.

I realize that it shouldn't still be covered under the warranty, but not because it has expired. The reason they shouldn't fix it is not the one they gave me. So I respond with this:

My warranty was one year and one month due to the manufacturer 30 day warranty. I got my RMA before 12/15/07. My unit should still be covered. It is surprising that Creative would hassle me over the matter of only a couple days. I have been a loyal customer for over 2 years (I have purchased 4 mp3 players and numerous accessories). If I spend $60 on a year long warranty and get my RMA BEFORE it has lapsed, I expect it to be honored. If this is how I am going to be treated I can assure you that I will spend the $240 on a new iPod (like everyone else) rather than getting my Zen Vision replaced.

I got a response today:

Thank you for replying to Creative E-mail Support.

I am pleased to inform you that I was able to locate your Creative Care Protection Plan for your Zen Vision: M, and I have notified the RMA department. Because you have invested in a Creative Care Protection Plan for your Zen Vision: M this RMA will be considered under warranty and there will be no out of warranty fees.

Sometimes you have to be a jerk to get what you want. Me: 1 Creative: 0

For the SLG

I just finished Monsoon Wedding and I have decided that I am not going to date another girl until I find a cute Indian girl like these:


The first girl only has about 5 seconds of airtime, but she is, literally, the exact girl I think of when I talk about cute Indian girls. My obsession with Indian girls is no secret but I think it's worth going over again.

Roomie asked me what it is about them, I told him that I have no idea. He also asked me if I prefer them over white girls, I said yes. Call me crazy, but that's my bag, baby. Like Kim Kardashian and black dudes, and Britney Spears and losers, I just have a thing for the Indian persuasion. Now if only I could meet one...

Not Sure How to Feel

I just made my first political donation today. $50 to Dr. Paul. I know this only perpetuates the problem of money dominating politics, but I can't think of any better way to help Dr. Paul (aside from being a campaign worker, which I clearly have no time to do).

Turns out that my roommate donated today as well (also to Dr. Paul), we talked about how our generation may be the one that changes this 2-party bull. I think people are getting fed up with "DEMOCRAT V REPUBLICAN" every single election. There really is no way that the political views of the whole country can be adequately represented as a choice between 2 candidates. I know that every time I vote I feel like I am picking between hanging and drowning (i.e., this guy offends me least).

This is why I hate labels like DEMOCRAT, LIBERAL, CONSERVATIVE, REPUBLICAN, ANTI-this, PRO-that. I have a manifesto in the works that will discuss how labels are so damaging. Stay tuned.

An Open Letter to the Utah Jazz Organization

You guys are an embarrassment.

After going winning over 50 games and going to the Western Conference Finals last year, people were starting to fear the Jazz. They were prohibitive favorites to win the division and given a fair shot at returning to the Conference Finals.

The first in a long line of mistakes was letting Dee Brown go. This kid had speed and talent but you let him go anyway. You also released Rafael Arraujo, the only guy on the team with the attitude to play hard-nosed defense. Then you signed Jason Hart, a nobody from the Clippers who has been nothing short of terrible. We were excited when you picked up Ronnie Price, we thought he was a baller, but he pretty much never plays. You kept Gordan Giracek, who hasn't played 3 good games since Deron Williams arrived.

Even with those moves people thought we could still play. We still had Booz, Deron, AK, Memo, and Sapp on the roster and these guys can play. But, even with these guys the Jazz have managed only 2 quality wins in 24 games and are now in a 6-game losing streak. The players are really sucking quite badly. No player should be proud of anything that has happened in the last 9 days. Every player should be ashamed of their performance.

The one thing that is absolutely maddening is our lack of defensive energy. It's like nobody wants to play defense and there's a sense that no one has any confidence in their own defense. That wouldn't be AS bad if our offense was up to the task, but we haven't been scoring at all lately. After starting out leading the league in scoring at 107 ppg, the Jazz have scored 100 points in only 1 of their last 5 games (all losses) and also managed to give up a 43 point quarter last week in a loss.

Tonight was the last straw. We had a 4 point lead going into the final quarter and ended up losing by 8. And it's not like we lost to the Spurs (again) this was the BLAZERS, who 10-12 before tonight and 8-12 before they played the Jazz on Tue. The Jazz are not executing, not playing defense, not scoring, and generally not caring at all. To all the Jazz players: YOU ARE AN EMBARRASSMENT TO YOURSELVES AND TO ALL JAZZ FANS. HAVE SOME PRIDE AND PLAY WITH THE ATTITUDE THAT YOU ARE THE BETTER TEAM.

I am so beyond frustrated and annoyed at how my beloved Jazz are pissing away one of their best chances to win the championship in 10 years. At this point, I say Sloan needs to go. I love him and I think he's one of the top 5 coaches ever, but he is not the best coach for this team. He's an old school coach but the game has evolved and left him behind. If the Jazz lose at home to the Sonics tomorrow, I might just lose it and picket the stadium. THIS IS UNACCEPTABLE.

PHEW!

Click the picture for the big version

Oh Mitt...

You couldn't be MORE wrong:

Freedom requires religion, just as religion requires freedom. Freedom opens the windows of the soul so that man can discover his most profound beliefs and commune with God. Freedom and religion endure together, or perish alone.

So so so wrong. I never felt MORE free than when I renounced religion.

Let's Get Political

I support Ron Paul. Those of you who know who he is probably know that he's a Republican candidate. Forget about that for now, I'll get to that in a second. First let me give you a little rundown of what he stands for:

• He has never voted to raise taxes.

• He has never voted for an unbalanced budget.

• He has never voted for a federal restriction on gun ownership.

• He has never voted to raise congressional pay.

• He has never taken a government-paid junket.

• He has never voted to increase the power of the executive branch.

• He voted against the Patriot Act.

• He voted against regulating the Internet.

• He voted against the Iraq war.

• He does not participate in the lucrative congressional pension program.

• He returns a portion of his annual congressional office budget to the U.S. treasury every year.

Paul is forced to run as a Republican because he wouldn't receive any press if he didn't. He clearly doesn't follow lock-step with the more conservative wing of the GOP. He ran as a Libertarian candidate a few years back and no one really knew, as a Republican he's burning up the news. He is a true small government conservative which means he believes in a non-interventionist foreign policy (i.e., anti-war).

He doesn't sound like the other candidates with canned answers that are designed to not really say anything. He sounds like a guy who has just had enough of the bullshit and wants to see a real change.

It would be worth your time to spare the 7 or so minutes to watch the youtube video and check out his website.




RON PAUL 2008