35 Before 25: Clean Out My Room at My Parent's House

I wish I could say the reason I've been putting this off is because of the sentimentality of keeping my room the way it was the day I moved out six years ago. That's got nothing to do with it. It's basically become my and my mom's personal storage unit. The furniture in there is all stuff my mom doesn't want in her room anymore, but doesn't have any place to put. The closet is full of old boxes from gadgets and electronics I probably don't have anymore. It looks like a place where unwanted Fry's merchandise goes to die. My bookshelf is in sorry shape. Between the Stuff magazines I read in high school to my old British literature anthologies from college, I've got a lot of sorting to do.

This project is one of the most time-consuming, but in a way most doable. Since I've got family coming from Mexico and Oklahoma this Christmas, it would behoove me to make this one of the first ones I do so that they don't have to use their suitcases as pillows. Besides, if there's anything incriminating in there I chose to store for the last six years, I need to find it and destroy it before I run for city council in 2012.

Even the Small Market Teams Get Major League Booty

I was going through the archives over at On the DL, which is a weird sports gossip blog. Most of it seems like unsubstantiated pillow talk, but it really is true that pictures speak a thousand words.


















This girl is trying to lick Huston Street...




















...and Nick Swisher...




















...but Joe Kennedy shuts her down! In the immortal words of that one Sonic commercial about tots, you must go hard to the hole, or don't go at all.

35 Before 25: The Introduction

Apologies to Amy for bringing the idea to my attention, but here's my attempt at 35 things I want to accomplish before 25. Why set the deadline at my 25th birthday? The way that I see it, I've got about a year and a half of life left before lawyer life sucks me into it's burdensome (albeit lucrative) bosom. I believe now, more than ever, that life only gets busier and more complicated the older we get. If I get past the bar the first time around, I've got about a year and a half to do some things I've been putting off for one reason or another.

My list is probably more modest than others who've done a similar list. There's no "Go to Top of Eiffel Tower" or "Rob a Major Financial Institution" on there. That's not out of laziness or lack of ambition. I have to be realistic in what I can do in the allotted time, while keeping up with work and school, with my meager budget. Some goals are much shorter term than others, but that's to allow for some sense of accomplishment as I go along. Depending on how successful I am, I might even add a few new ones along the way. Here's hoping I haven't bitten off more than I can chew.

The Wii Hunt: Day 5

After looking into ebay and craigslist and finding that the scalpers had Wii going for north of $400 for a $250 console, I was feeling defeated and thumped, in a spoiled child who hasn’t gotten what they wanted sort of way. Then, I stumbled across this page. I ended up ordering one off of Walmart.com (principles be damned). It’s going to be coming at a terrible time (in the middle of finals), but beggars can’t be choosers. No longer will I be sitting in front of my TV with extra wiimote in hand, thinking “insert console here.” I can now officially end my plan of hoarding Wii/Gamecube games and accessories like a mental patient until next year's harvest provides a retail-priced Wii. Thank you Walton family. Apologies to all the non-unionized workers of Walmart.

A full review will be coming, but I’m just relieved that my Wii-Hunt series of posts ended at two. Now if I wanted a PS3, that would be a whole different kind of nightmare. For now, it’s Nintendo +1, for following up with extra shipments.

Borrowed From a Blog of JV's Christmas Past

have you ever seen condoleeza rice...




















and lieutenant worf in the same place at the same time?

The Wii Hunt: Day 3

The following is my running diary on my quest for my Christmas present to myself, the Nintendo Wii.

Friday, November 24th. 6:12 a.m.
- Following the instructions of portly, yet amiable EB Games counter jockey, I arrive about 2 hours before store's opening to get in line for an expected shipment of Wiis. Going over my mental lies to other line standers about how this is "for my brother" to make myself look less nerdy.

Friday, November 24th. 6:14 a.m.
- Apparently, there were only 9 delivered and all have been spoken for. The line disperses with many aggravated parties complaining of having been "burned." I stand in solidarity with these men and their underdeveloped facial hair.
- A few follow up calls turns up more of the same. Keep calling back and stopping by if you want one. Ebay and CraigsList have Wiis, if you'd like to pay $400 for a $250 product. Poppycock.

Saturday, November 25th. 1:45 p.m.
- Fry's, Circuit City, Best Buy, Wal-Mart, Target, EB Games, hobo in front of wendys: all sold out of Wiis with no information on when they expect more. I am feeling grumpy and more resigned to the fact that this may have to wait until after Christmas. Good thing I bought that extra controller ahead of time.

More to come.

Saturday Night's Goat: Derick Grubb

It doesn't seem fair to blame the entire loss on mini-center Derick Grubb, but when you're getting major minutes in the final game of a tournament, 2-11 with terrible defense and rebounding isn't going to cut it. DeVon Hardin (pictured below) abused him all game.



The real problem is that the Lions couldn't figure out the Bears' zone defense in the second half. Miller was the only guy hitting threes and without the outside shooting to stretch the zone, most of the attempts to get the ball inside failed as the Cal guards cheated into the passing lanes and deflected lazy entry passes over and over again. As such, the Lions' biggest strength, their Knight's game in the post, was negated and Cal was able to make up for their one-on-one defensive deficiencies. It was a great gameplan by Cal. Unfortunately, Worthy and Miller couldn't do enough alone to carry the team.

Overall, LMU impressed in the Great Alaska Shootout, with quality comeback wins against Pacific and New Mexico State. They were able to cut Cal's 15+ lead to 5 with a minute to play, which to me reflects highly on Coach Tention and his staff. 5-2 with a couple of big non-conference wins is nothing to sneeze at. Hopefully, they'll be pumped up for my first in-person game on the road at UCSB this Wednesday.

Free 25 GB (!) of Online Storage

It's inevitable. It's going to happen. Your computer is going to get stolen, melted, or covered in ketchup. You should have a backup solution, but you don't. If you have 25 GB of stuff you need to backup, AMD Live! Media Vault is a nice, legitimately free solution. There are some limits (such as can only download 1GB of your stuff per month) on the free account, but it sure beats losing sensitive information. The accompanying desktop program is a little choppy at first, but works well for backing up specific folders or uploading multiple files at once.

Juan Pierre Signing Thought

I was going to type up my own post on this issue, but Keith Law, blogodor for ESPN.com pretty much summed up what I was going to say.

"The early contender for the worst contract of the offseason has to be the five-year deal just handed to Juan Pierre by the Los Angeles Dodgers, who are working as diligently as possible to undo all the good work done to their farm system over the last five years.

Pierre is a slap-hitting speedster who has drawn 50 walks in a season just once in his career (2003), and whose above-average range in center is mitigated somewhat by his below-average throwing arm. His primary asset, his ability to run, is generally the first skill to decline as a player ages, and since Pierre turns 30 in August, he's headed quickly towards the edge of the cliff. On a good team, he's a bench player -- even at his current level of ability; if he can't run, he's a 4A player. The fact that the Dodgers just committed five years and what will probably be way too much money to a player whose ideal role is "defensive replacement/pinch runner" is mind-boggling. It's almost certain that Pierre will bat first or second in the Dodgers' lineup (you don't bat a $9 million player eighth, even if that's where he belongs) and those 500-odd outs he makes every year will go a long way towards holding the Dodgers' offense down.

It's made all the worse by its combined ripple effect with the decision to re-up Nomar Garciaparra for two years, leaving just two lineup spots (left and right field) for Andre Ethier, Matt Kemp and James Loney. Ethier is the most polished of the three and has the most big-league experience but has the lowest ceiling; Kemp has by far the highest ceiling but is still somewhat raw as a player; Loney is in between but may be at a slight disadvantage because he has only appeared in 20 games in the outfield in his pro career. All three of these players are likely to outproduce Pierre right now given the same kind of playing time, and their combined salaries will barely top 10 percent of what Pierre himself will make this year. We've seen some surprisingly high deals so far this offseason, but this is the first one that's certifiable."

I thought that this signing would grow on me as time went on, but Pierre looks to sink the Dodgers' greatest strengths, OBP and plate patience, while worsening their outfield defense. Making matters worse, he's already on the wrong side of 30 and that nothing's been done yet to address the lack of pitching. I just think this is a "name" signing more than it is a quality one. Even if he's supposed to be there to replace Kenny Lofton and not J.D. Drew, who says we wanted another Kenny Lofton in the first place?



Expect to see a lot more of this: Juan Pierre being caught stealing at Chavez Ravine.

Brandon Worthy Buzzer Beater

This writer's favorite LMU basketballer, Brandon Worthy, tosses up a circus shot that wins the game as time expires.




Awesome.

The Wii has Wooed Me. For Now.

So I've decided to get a Wii. Or I've decided that I hope someone buys me one for Christmas.























It's a prodigal-son like return to nintendo, but I never really left as I've been a closet gameboy nut for a few years now. I love the DS and maybe I'm letting that cloud my judgment, but here are the reasons I've convinced myself it's okay to get my first console since moving out of my parent's house six years ago.

1) The Wiimote. I like that nintendo has gone out on a limb with the motion sensor remote that sounds fun to use. They're thinking outside of the box (like with the touch-screen on the DS) and I think that type of ingenuity warrants a try.

2) The price. Unlike its competitors in the PS3 and Xbox360, the price is a cool $250, which is nowhere near as close as the $400+ figures for the others. I'm not that interested in the HD stuff since my TV is most definitely not HD. The blu-ray technology doesn't interest me since I don't have blu-ray dvds and won't be buying any in the near future. I just want something fun for games and nothing more

3) Wii exclusive games. The only games I play anymore are RPGs and sports games, with some exceptions. The new Zelda game has piqued my interest, I love Trauma Center on the DS so the sequel sounds good, and I have a not-so-secret affection for Pokemon which will not go away. The new editions of Smash Bros and Mario Party will make for excellent multi-player fun. The wii might be lacking in FPS games, but those have never been my favorite anyway.

4) Potential for DS/Wii interoperability. It's been announced, but to what extent, it's not clear.

5) Virtual console. One of the coolest things is to be able to download the old NES/SNES/N64/Sega games onto the wii and play them. I'm looking forward to this very much, especially if I can figure out a way to not have to pay for it.

In the end, I'm not expecting to get my shoes knocked off. For high-res graphics and such, I'll just get the PC version of a game. I'm willing to take the risk that it stinks for under $300.

New Old Blog

It's hard enough to get a single blog going, much less two. While I work on making this a consistent place to post, I'm also reworking the navigation on the old blog, here. It's definitely light on content for now, but I'm trying to figure out if the whole type-to-navigate thing is neat enough to have on a page full-time, or if it's more trouble than it's worth. I'm starting to think the latter.

Breaking Camp on the Console War Front Lines

In what has to be the biggest collection of virgins this side of San Diego, I think I'm going to just wait until the prices come down to below $2,800 to play my video games.

So It's Official

Loyola Marymount Lions Basketball > Oral Roberts > #3 Kansas.

Draw your own conclusions.