What am I looking forward to most about coming home to North Carolina? Besides seeing friends/family/etc? That would be warm summer nights. I just love going outside my house (in NC) and just enjoying being outside as the sun sets. Here, it has been cold and cloudy. 60s during the day is nice, but when the sun goes down, I just don't want to go outside. But yeah, I can't wait for some good ole' Southern Weather.
Well, a lot of people know how big of a Google fan I am, so I thought I would let you guys in on the newest addition to the Google Docs & Spreadsheet applications. Yes, Google will soon be adding a presentations section which will be comparable to MS PowerPoint. That's about all the details I'm privy to. I figured this would be a good time to examine products designed for home productivity and compare/contrast some of the different solutions out there.
I would like to briefly mention the three main types of office software out there. One is Microsoft Office. The second is Open Office. The third is Google Docs & Spreadsheets.
Here's what you need to know. Google provides a good, free alternative to MS Office. While you will lose some functionality, you will gain mobility. Google also allows you to collaborate on documents more easily than Office. So here's the bottom line. Because Google Apps relies on internet access, I would recommend Google Apps for people who are always in range of a broadband connection and don't want to pay for Office software.
MS Office gives you tons of features than are necessarily essential but can be both convenient and time saving. For example, being able to publish blog posts from inside Word. How about being to use Word to automatically insert bibliographies and switch between bibliography formats like MLA, Chicago, etc and automatically update references throughout the paper. The features are cool and timesaving but not essential. If you have the money, Office 07 is certainly worth a try. The competition between Google and OpenOffice has certainly made MS step up its game.
OpenOffice certainly has its strong points as well. OpenOffice offers less functionality that MS Office. However, you don't need internet access to work on documents like with Google Applications. Here's my take on OpenOffice. If you only occasionally use Office type applications and have reliable internet access—stick with Google Apps. If you use Office applications extensively or have spotty internet access and can't fork out the cash for MS Office, OpenOffice is the direction you should take.
Yep, the blog has gone green. Green is probably my favorite color so I picked something that would reflect my amazingly cool sense of style. Anyway, I really like how it looks. If you have any suggestions, let me know. Oh yeah, check out the "Best of the Best" blog posts there to my right. There are some good blog tid-bits and fun memories for all.
And be sure to read my provocative opinions on Sociology and Race, located below.
Obviously, college is all about higher learning. Grade school is two parts common sense and one part busy work. While you learn a few interesting tid-bits, you are not mentally challenged in the same way that college does. I'm in a sociology class, which makes some interesting points and is all about observing and understanding social behavior. Don't get me wrong, this is a great science to study, but sometimes the "liberal" tint the book takes frustrates me. I think my general skepticism stems in part because my teacher wrote the textbook I use. In my case, sociology is just like dessert—one serving is good, but two servings of the same thing is just a little too much to digest.
Anyway, because I write on a blog that only my family reads, I can splash my opinion liberally wherever I desire. So I will. Here is a statistic from my book that I think is ludicrous.
Factor (relating to divorce %) | How much does this decrease the risk of Divorce? |
Some college (vs. High School dropout) | -13% |
Affiliated with a religion (vs. no religion) | -14% |
Parents not divorced | -14% |
Age 25+ at marriage (vs. < 18 marriage) | -24% |
Having a baby 7 months+ after marriage (vs. childbirth before marriage) | -24% |
Annual income of $50,000+ (vs. $25,000 or less) | -30% |
Totals: |
-119% |
Since I enjoy destroying credibility, I copied this table directly from my book (minus the "Totals" row). I saw this figure and thought something didn't add up. I added the percentages and found that by following the advice of this table, you can have more than a 100% guarantee of not being divorced.
So, if I marry a Mormon girl at age 25 who has not suffered through her parents' divorce and I work as a successful software engineer making $75,000 annually (of course no children until at least 9 months after marriage) then I have a 119% chance of staying married to her. I will hold my teacher/textbook to that promise.
Anyway, on the topic of race, I have been reading the chapter on race. Here are several concessions I have.
Now, in my book/class, there is a plethora of statistics showing racial prejudice/discrimination in today's society. There are stats showing the average and infinitely higher (as the book says) quality of living among whites versus non-whites. The way the book makes it sound, blacks are cultural victims. Because of their race, they have been doomed to receive jacked-up mortgage rates versus whites and to live in higher average poverty than whites. The tone suggests that being white provides a social bonus, while being black/non-white is a large obstacle to any social/monetary success. Granted, I see the point, that racism is still a problem in today's society. But I realized that I am not going to get a better job because I'm white. I mean for crying out loud, if I could get some social bonus because of my race, why would I go to college and get a degree?
The book paints blacks as victims (keep in mind I speak to the majority who are not the rare victims of circumstance) and whites and instigators. Sure blacks and non-whites may have more obstacles to overcome than a white person, but they are not powerless victims (as the book depicts them). I believe each of us has power to control our lives. I could drop out of college right now and find a mediocre job and live a mediocre life. I could change majors, work harder, work less, get married, etc, etc, etc. My point is that we choose what we become. We each have obstacles in our lives. Some we place there. Other obstacles are placed there by others. Whatever the case, if we choose to be victims of circumstance, we are only victims of our own fear and laziness. It is infinitely easier to blame circumstance when the real challenge is choice. College is difficult. I have to constantly choose difficult tasks. I choose to write a paper due next week. I choose to wake up early (7:45am) to get to classes on time. I choose to study when it would be easier to say I have a hard 16 credit hour schedule plus working part time and can't study.
Instead of focusing of victimizations of certain ethnicities, we should focus on improvement. If someone is dissatisfied with their current position, try to change it. It may be harder for some than for others, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't try. There are a few people who truly are victims, but they still have choices and chances for self improvement. If we do nothing to change our own position yet complain about it, then we are much more to blame than ANY external factor.
If anyone has actually read to this point, I applaud you. I'm sure I ramble more than most. But for you, oh faithful reader, I have an overreaching point that connects my proverbial dots. I don't want to major in sociology. Whoops, sorry for the letdown. Anyway, before I wrap up, here is a link to an uplifting post from one of my fellow bloggers and friends from high school. He makes some valid points and shows an example of someone who believes in choice and changing your circumstance—not letting your circumstances change you.
Here’s a question to ponder. Cable TV and Cable internet. Both use the exact same cable to transmit data (coaxial). However, TV allows for streaming of live video with no “buffering” delays. Even Hi-Def channels (which transmit more data) have no delays while viewing them. So why is watching TV or clips on the internet so much slower. Watching Hi-Def trailers (forget HD movies) take an exponentially longer time to view. So my question is why? Does anyone know the answer to my ever-more perplexing question?
Oh yeah, if you stood in a sphere of mirrors, what would your reflection look like?
So yeah, if you have answers to my questions, or other cool questions that have always puzzled you, post them here.
| North Carolina Forecast | Rexburg Equivalent |
| Midly warm, high of 62 | humidity 100%, heat wave of the century |
| Slightly Chilly, high in 50's | Getting toasty out there, DON'T BRING A JACKET |
| Very cold, possible ice on bridges | Standard weather pattern |
| Bitter COLD, lows in the 20s | Nippy in the morning, wear a hoodie |
| Blizzard of the century! STAY INDOORS | Light snow expected, wear a jacket, no gloves |
| Blizzard of the MILLENIUM | Mild snow, add the gloves |
| --no NC equivalent-- | Mild to heavy snow---expecting 24-36 inches per hour |
Ok, before I dive right into this post, let me comment on how hard it is to write a post entitled "Why I Don't Like My Roommate" when your surrounded by people who are your roommates. The one time I leave my room to put away some dishes, my roommate (who has been out all weekend, which was wonderful) walks in. I run (casually of course) back to my room in time to exit out of that screen before he could see the title of my post.
Now, on to the meat of this post. This semester draws to a close and I have built up quite a list of dislikes of my roommate. At the beginning of the semester, I though he would be pretty cool. The problem is, roommates who are complete opposites simply avoid each other and don't talk. Suffice it to say my roommate is in love with me and has no concept of "proper social courtesy."
Case 1---Listening to Music While Sleeping:
Every night, my roommate listens to music while going to sleep. This wouldn't be so bad, except that he listens to it from the speakers on his desktop PC. And the music is Gwen Stefani, and I despise rap/whatever-it-is-she-sings. So I go to bed 30 minutes later than him so I can turn off his music without waking/disturbing him. Keep in mind my roomie does have an mp3 player and could listen to his music through headphones. Anyway, in the morning he acts all upset that I turned off his speakers in the night. Pardon me for liking to sleep in silence like the rest of the world.
Case 2---Talking on the Cellphone at Night:
One night while I was going to sleep he was chatting it up with a girl at around 1:00am. I tried listening to my iPod to drown out his voice, but his piercing, high-pitched laugh (I'm not making this up) kept me awake. I ended bringing my blanket and pillow into the living room and slept on the couch.
Case 3---Running Tabs:
How many roommates keep running tabs of how much their roomie owes them. My roommate does. Thats understandable if your roommate constantly borrows money, but my tab on the year is less than $10.00! I mean honestly, how petty is that? Anyway, let's not forget how much he owes me. For example, my printer, which I let him use, and my paper in my printer, and my ink in my printer, etc. Ironically, Marc uses my printer more than I do! Anyway, I could go on and on but that's just the most obvious example.
Case 4---Music:
While I'm in the room alone, I typically play some music to listen to. Whenever Marc enters the room, and I mean nearly every time, he sits down at his computer and starts to play his music over my own! He doesn't even ask if he can listen to some. He doesn't put in headphones just blasts me into submission.
Case 5---No Personal Space:
Most people observe Personal Space Boundaries, or PSB as I like to call them. Marc does not. He constantly rearranges my things without asking me so it's hard to find my things. Not to mention he always uses my bed as a desk. Book, clothes, sheets, he puts it all on my bed. At the beginning of the year, I carefully placed his things back on his bed, but now, he places his stuff on my bed, and I place it on the floor.
I'm sure there are plenty more things that I could name off that annoy me, but these are just a few that I can think of off the top of my head. I'm not trying to be mean, but sometimes you just have to vent about somebody. Don't worry, my next post will be much more uplifting than this one. Oh yeah, as a side note, I will be returning to beautiful North Carolina in approximately 8 days! December 19th/20th I will arrive in RDU. See you then!
So you were probably stunned by the sign-in page at the beginning of my blog, plus once you got in, surprised again by the new template. These are just a few of the new features of the beta blogger by Google. So, tell me how you like it and be prepared for my next post, which will sum up the things that drive ME ABSOLUTELY CRAZY about my roommate. (Which is why I have a sign-in page to view my blog). So yeah, tell me how you like the new blog....give me any suggestions...and be prepared for a full-blown roommate bashing. The post after the roommate bash will be of a more sentimental nature and offer my reflections on my first semester at BYU-I and my first semester away from home.
Have you ever seen something that took so much time and was so specialized that you sat in a stupor and wondered "How much time did that take?" or perhaps "That guy must not have a life!" Well, I have found such a video. Of course it's really cool to watch and will give everyone a chuckle. Even watching it twice, I must ask myself, where do you find out that you are good at rollerblading through a street full of bottles and making music by placing metal strips on the outside of your skates to hit the bottles and make individual tones. Yeah, head over to www.youtube.com to check this video out.
Ok, I went to see a movie tonight and man was it good. Now don't get me wrong, this movie is not for the faint of heart. Still, it is one of the best movies I've seen in awhile. I would especially recommend it to dad, Ethan, and Logan. I don't want to give anything away, because it's a movie I would like to watch again (possibly as a family, over Christmas break). Actually, in order to preserve suspense, I won't give away any details, above that of the basic premise. The basic premise is that two magicians aren't big fans of the other. I can't give away any more details than that, and I won't even give away the primary mechanism that drives the plot. If you watch it (which I highly recommend), you'll find out soon enough for yourself.
So if I just spent a paragraph praising a movie and giving away absolutely zero details, what makes a movie good? Well, I think the most important part of a movie is the story. The Prestige does not dissapoint there. The story is expertly told. One of the more interesting things is that nothing is really given or spelled out for the viewer. The movie utilizies some flashbacks and other such techniques but gives no warning of its occurrence. I think it adds to the movie because it makes you more engrossed in it and more captivated by it as the story progresses and reaches toward the climax. Above all else, this movie will make you think.
One last paragraph here will be devoted to life at BYU-I. Hmmmm, let me see, what's new. Classes are wrapping up. With only 10 days of actual classes left, the year is rapidly drawing to a close. This year at BYU-I has been really interesting and enlightening in many ways. I've gotten a taste of the college life and know what it means to live on my own. Its tough but also rewarding. Another lesson of the "I" is how to survive in arctic-circle climates! I've also learned a ton about what I enjoy doing (career wise) and what things I should pursue over the course of my education and life.
Before I depart, just a little weather update. The high over the past couple of days hasn't gotten above 20°F, at least to my knowledge…and that's not including the windchill! Biking on snow is tough, but I manage. Certainly my daily 30 mile ride has been drastically reduced to around 5…possibly 10 depending on my mood. Side note: I would LOVE to do some biking over Christmas break. Anyway, all is well here. I love you all and can't wait to come home for Christmas. Thanks for all your love and support.
Yeah, Gmail got an overhaul. The standard gmail interface has gotten a sleeker, trimmer look and (I think) looks more stylish than ever. In addition to the much cooler look, the details view for e-mails is improved. Gmail now includes domain keys (verifies that an e-mail from bobloblaw@yahoo.com was actually mailed from the yahoo.com domain) and a few other miscellaneous enhancements. Also, the reply button is at the top and bottom of the e-mail, and conversations update as soon as you receive an e-mail. Gmail will notify you that the conversation has changed―even if you are in the middle of a reply. Also, Gmail is now available (for those with cool phones) for download at gmail.com/apps. This only works for cell phones, but you basically download a gmail app so you can use more advanced functions of gmail through your phone. You can even open sound and picture attachments!
Yeah, so check it out today by logging in to your gmail account and check out all the new features!
