Jul/100
#iwantsome1that
Disclaimer for the Ladies: The views expressed below are not necessarily the views of Kyle. They are for entertainment only and should not be used in arguments against the individual previously named.
Disclaimer for Men: All the thoughts expressed below are entirely the views of Kyle. Laugh without discretion.
So was recently a trending topic on Twitter where people were posting qualities they desire in a significant other. Most the posts are comforting, because it lets me know that at least some girls have normal feelings, but some are surprising, some whorish and others just funny.
#iwantsome1that Doesn’t NEED Medication to be Normal!
… don’t we all? Good luck getting past the age of 50 with that request though.
#Iwantsome1that has his high school diploma…
… setting the bar high!
#iwantsome1that realizes sex is a bonus not a requirement
… pssh, looks like someone is going to be single… forever. Start looking for asexual homo sapiens, maybes?
#Iwantsome1that suck da dick just because its tuesday
…Classy
#Iwantsome1that can make me smile and know all the right things to say.
… Is there anything more superficial?
#iwantsome1that knows what I want/need/feel by just looking at me
… I totally understand! Millions of years of evolution to develop language is crap. Lets not use it.
#Iwantsome1that wont hit me no matter wat situation we might be in
… always a plus, but honestly, what is life without domestic disputes? We all learned from COPS that domestic disputes keep our fellow Americans at work at police stations around the country. Therefore a good hit helps the economy, perfect logic!
#Iwantsome1that has there mind set on the right things in life
… like proper grammar? Eh, maybe she wants a guy with country grammar???
#iwantsome1that isnt a crackhead, isnt bisexual and isnt a douchebag. Yep.
.. poor kid. Mostly because of the bisexual and crackhead parts.
#iwantsome1that is not afraid to try new things…ESPECIALLY IN THE BEDROOM! : )
… to think it is one thing, to post it on your public timeline to be archived by the Library of Congress is well… *cough*dumb*cough*
iWantsome1that has hair..all ova there head!!
… what?
#iwantsome1that will buy my pads/tampons when i run out (show how much he care’s)
… nothing says “I Love You” like a box of maxi pads, while we are at it, how about a birthday cake made of tampons? Lets not leave out wedding reception party favors!!! You could artistically create little brides and grooms with pads, tampons and a sharpie. Nothing like showing true love.
#iwantsome1that has good personal hygiene!
… I understand, the smell of B.O. and soiled underwear spoil the mood for some reason.
#iwantsome1that never heard of the internet or a phone…someone that believes the sun is evil..that can track and kill wild animals
… seems that you have two choices, an Amish(minus animal tracking) and a cult leader.
#iwantsome1that is a true lady in da streets but also a beast behind da door… nothing better than undressing a girl and finding more hair on her chest than on your’s!… nom nom nom!!!
#Iwantsome1that will make me smile
… whats your number? I think I can do that!!!!!
Nov/091
Cory Wincek’s Obituary
For those of you out of town. Click on the picture to get a larger version if needed.
Sorry to anyone who follows my RSS and does not know Cory.
Nov/090
Cory Wincek
Driving his Boat.
I have heard second hand that my good friend Cory Wincek has suffered from a common complication of paralysis and as a result, passed away earlier today. He was a very good friend of mine throughout High School and into College, I am sad to hear that he is gone. This post is for the people that knew Cory. If there is enough interest, I will continue to update any new information as it becomes available to me.
Oct/093
Joe Paterno is God
After a shocking turn out of voters, students selected to honor Joe Paterno with a creative t-shirt. The shirt symbolizes Paterno’s kudos as the God of Penn State football. This decision was made after a unanimous vote by the student body that selected the Penn State cross as this year’s pride t-shirt. Despite the controversy students are excited about the shirts and inference of Paterno’s obvious title, football God.
The shirt is blue and white, the colors of the sky, with a blue line running down the middle of the shirt, and the words Penn State completing the cross across the chest. The back of the shirt says “dont be intimidated… it is just me and 110,000 of my friends” which refers to the many gatherings of Paterno’s die hard followers each year in Beaver Stadium. The white represents the percentage of cloudy days in Happy Valley, while the blue represents the percentage of sunny days in Happy Valley. The shirt has sold well to Paterno’s devout followers. However, the shirt has sparked some controversy.
Some students and alumni think that the shirt excludes followers that do not attend the mass gatherings.
“Some of us cannot make the gatherings because of work or popularity of the event. Others come with friends only to wait outside Beaver Stadium and worship his statue. There are more than 110,000 friends of Joe Paterno.”
- Ira Nintou, class of 2004
Nintou is referring to the statement of ‘110,000 friends’ on the rear of the shirt. A friend of Paterno is slang for follower. While 110,000 is the capacity of the stadium, many others adore the gatherings through television and radio. Even others may be working and are forced to watch via tivo or rely on periodical coverage.
A select few still question the legitimacy of Paterno’s title, but his devout followers are quick to defend it. From the most bowl wins of any NCAA football coach, to a $34 million dollar library in his name, Paterno holds all the accomplishments of deity. He has been glorified on Wheaties boxes and Italian Bread packaging. The Football God will also add another Sports Illustrated article to his name in the near future. Joe Telme also supports the father of football.
“It is only appropriate. No other man could run the exact same offense for 45 years and be so successful. It is a miracle and can only be the work of almighty Paterno.”
- Joe Telme, Sophomore, Journalism
Recently, Paterno was also honored with another shirt that states ”Joe Paterno is God”. This shirt uses less symbolism, it gets straight to the point. The almighty’s opinion on the new shirt is unknown. Paterno was unavailable for comment on Saturday, his secretary reported he was overloaded with prayers regrading the Michigan Wolverines.
Sep/090
Google makes rookie assumption, fails!
This semester I am taking a class that models biological systems including pandemics like the current H1N1 virus (swine flu).
Google uses an interesting tool to track the activity of the flu in different regions of the country. They geographically map the activity of the flu in each state based on the popularity of the keyword: ‘flu’. The more red, the more people are searching for ‘flu’.
Map from Google on Sept. 25th 2009
Surprisingly, it does a good job of tracking the movement of the flu throughout the country. This next map from the CDC is constructed from data of reported sicknesses. Brown states have widespread flu symptoms, and yellow states have more local cases.
Chart Published: Week of Sept. 19th 2009
That all looks kosher, so where do they fail? They fail in a simple assumption they make about the difference in influenza activity between the two hemispheres. Google states:
Southern hemisphere
Influenza is currently more active in the southern hemisphere, where flu season typically spans from May to September, the southern autumn and winter months.
Currently this is FALSE! Look at the data…
Southern Hemisphere Flu Activity
Northern Hemisphere Flu Data
*note that months are shifted between the northern and southern hemispheres on the graphs above. September is represented in each graph by the large blue dot.
It may only be a minor fail, but it is pleasurable to catch Google in the wrong. It is even more interesting to realize that the H1N1 virus is acting out of season with the seasonal Influenza A virus.
The biology community has not come to a consensus on why the flu season occurs in the fall and winter. The theory of more flu activity during these times because of spending more time indoors and having closer contact with people is looking discounted. It appears that the qualities of the virus, its genetic make up, play an important role in the time that it is most prevalent. That may not be the only factor in the high rates of H1N1 virus in September, but it cannot be discounted.
Thankfully, I have already had the flu in September (hopefully it was the PIG version!). For all who have not had it yet, you will probably get it, especially if you come in contact with a large number of people daily. The CDC estimates that the vaccine will be available in mid-October, but by then the majority of college students will probably have contracted it already. If you do get infected, consider yourself lucky. If the virus mutates into a ’super-bug’, you have a much better chance at immunity!
Jul/092
Red Bull Abandons State College, Students & Party Ranking Suffer
This summer Red Bull has shut down its State College marketing program to the disappointment of Penn State students. The closure has ruined many aspects of student life, social and educational. Half way through the fall semester, the effects have become apparent. Never before has the Penn State undergraduate population faced such a hurdle.
Already this semester, drinking is at an all time low. Never before has a school lost its Princeton Review #1 party school ranking so quickly. Students used to rely on Red Bull as their mixer, chaser and all around pregame drink. As Venessea Wighetton explains, the low supply of free Red Bull has ruined the party experience at Penn State.
I cannot drink vodka without it(Red Bull). Every time I do go out, everyone is so depressed and numb. No one has any energy. And it is so expensive that no one can afford it.
-Venessa Wighetton, Junior – Education
Partying is not the only victim of the lack of Red Bull. Without free drinks high in sugar and caffeine students are having trouble staying awake to study. Students are finding it more difficult to pull those important all nighters. Test grades have slumped and so has the amount of competed homework. At this rate, giant curves will be assigned even for art classes.
Some students like Russel Vick have gone to great lengths to get their fix.
I could not stay awake to study and my grades were slipping, so I got a job at Uni-Mart to help pay for Red Bull. It went well until I was fired when a bunch of kids raided the cooler for all the Red Bull… I had fallen asleep on the counter.
- Russel Vick, Sophomore – Kinesiology
With every sad story, there is often a glimmer of hope… this time it is coffee. Coffee sales have been on the rise however, many students have yet to switch over to coffee. When asked why they don’t supplement their diets with coffee instead of Red Bull, most claim the lack of professional athletes that ride for coffee.
Penn State officials have recognized the problem but have declined to give further comments. It is rumored that Penn State has even considered subsidizing the famous drink. Their plan of action is unknown, but the longer they wait, the more the students will suffer.
*This article is an exaggeration about the abandonment of the Red Bull Marketing Program in State College. Its place in time is the middle of the Fall semester 2009.*
Jul/090
The ‘Pond Jump’
Well, I am sorry for writing this blog in the first person. I think that storytelling in the first person through a blog is boring and selfish. However, my latest experience does not involve any facts, but I do have many pictures and one line explanations.
This past weekend I traveled down to Ligonier/Latrobe, Pennsylvania to visit my friend Kyle Tennant. Along with @little_lauren and @brittanyjoy, we experienced the ‘Pond Jump’. Tennant had explained the ‘Pond Jump’ earlier in the summer. On a farm outside of Ligonier, a bike is ridden off of a jump at the end of a dock. After watching a short video from 2008, I was stoked to give it a try.
The man made pond is only about 10 feet deep and is located in the middle of the farm. The shallowness kept me from trying anything too gnarly, but I ended up feeling too comfortable by my 5th jump. We also sessioned Tennant’s back yard set up before jumping in the pond. Enjoy the photos of the ‘Pond Jump’ and Tennant’s backyard jibs. Gallery (click here).
He knew how to ride a bike.
Kyle Tennant giving the jump a try
A 360 on a bike! I always had wanted to try one.
My 3rd 360. After 2 successful attempts I decided to go bigger. Poor decision.
Great Shot!
Tennant gets artistic with the camera. (Nice bang huh?)
Set up for a blind 270 off... nice shot!
Hey Good Lookin'
Oh hey, nice paint job.
The rainbow rail and I got along well!
Jul/093
Hey man, don’t call last run!
Superstition. For the past 5 months, I have been working around many superstitious people. I thought superstition was put in the grave along with the salem witch trials. Apparently not, so lets bury it now.
In the skiing and snowboarding community, calling ‘last run’ is taboo. If even the words ‘one more’ leak out of a rider’s mouth, he/she is quickly corrected by other riders in the group. Often a few stories of last run injuries follow and everyone agrees that saying ‘last run’ must be bad luck.
While I do not believe that calling ‘last run’ is bad luck, I think a study of skiing injuries would show a slightly higher rate of injury on the last run among advanced riders. I distinguish advanced riders because many of the following factors do not apply to beginner riders. If you are really focused on making it down the hill, you cannot day dream about dinner while you are riding, for example.
- Placebo Effect
- Physical and Mental Fatigue
- Waning Focus and Rushing
- Change in Conditions
The placebo effect can work in a negative manner as well. If you think you are more likely to be injured because you had called ‘last run’, you probably will be.
This applies to advanced riders. Anyone who is riding fast or performing technical skills while on the hill. As the day progresses, an athlete’s muscles and mental status are becoming tired. As the time spent riding per day increases, so will the likeliness of a mistake and also injury. This makes the last run most dangerous.
Sometimes riders will rush their last run to fit one last run into the day. Others may take a last run and find themselves daydreaming about dinner or the hot tub later that night. A focus relapse and rushing can both lead to mistakes and injury. More in depth:
A reduction in focus can occur for a number of reasons on the hill and some riders are at greater risk than others. For experienced park riders, riding down the hill is performed with the objective of arriving at a park full of jumps and jibs. Some resorts have parks spread throughout the mountain making for a dangerous situation. Many park riders find this park-to-park riding less exhilarating then riding over features in the park. Therefore, I would imagine that a scan of brain activity of park riders on a normal slope would show less activity than a scan of brain activity of park riders in the park. What does that mean? When park riders are outside of the park they are not paying as much attention as they would in the park. This is probably also true for snowboarder cross, ski racing, arial skiers ect. Hence the danger of waning focus.
Often riders will leave the mountain due to degrading snow and/or weather conditions. Poor conditions are often dangerous for a rider. Some definitions of poor conditions are subjective but applicable to the type of rider. A heavy snow is dangerous for a beginner rider who may have trouble maneuvering in the snow while ‘bullet proof’, or a hard sun baked snow surface is ubiquitously dangerous among skill levels. If the conditions are poor, the rider does not decide to leave until he/she experiences these conditions, which usually requires riding down the hill.
The snow conditions also change at the end of the day. Snowpack becomes harder as the sun sets on sunny days. This causes a change of speed, increased impact and less forgiveness in the conditions of the snow. All of these have an easy correlation to an increase in falls and injuries.
While all of these factors may contribute to last run injuries, calling ‘last run’ should not. The placebo effect could be quoted as proof that calling ‘last run’ increases the risk of injury, but that would rely on the participant to believe it to be true. Therefore, saying ‘last run’ does not directly cause a person to be injured. Thanks for reading, and I’ll see y’all out there on your ‘last run’!
Extra Thoughts: Superstition in the modern era would be easy to link with lack of advanced education or poor intelligence, but I have experienced superstition from persons majoring in science at a 4-year college. Believing in superstition in science is contradictory to the underlying concepts of science. The scientific method teaches the importance of probable cause and effect. It also teaches the concept of reliable data. In the skiing community, the experience of a small number of individuals is not considered concrete data. For the ‘last run’ theory to be tackled, a study must contain a plethora of snow riders at a hundred different resorts. In addition, proper measures would need to be taken to control erroneous variables. This is why my argument stands up to believers in the lift lines. Btws, If anyone is interested in funding a study, I would love to be contacted… (there is always hope?). Lolz.
*This is not a scientific article but merely the (respectable) opinion of yours truly*
Jul/090
Entering a Higher State #5, Boulder’s Holiday
The crowd gathers
As I drove through the business district of Boulder, Colorado I noticed that the sidewalks were packed. Bars had long lines and restaurants were shoulder-to-shoulder. Boulder is the home of the University of Colorado, but all of these students were out on a Monday!? Every ten feet a student would dart from the sidewalk across the street bringing traffic to a standstill. The crowds were weird, but I knew why… it was five days after tax day. The infamous ‘420′.
The tradition of 420 has a few rumors surrounding its origin. Some say the tradition started as a police code in Los Angeles and others claim there are 420 chemicals in marijuana. However, the ‘experts’ claim that the tradition was started by a group of High School students in California[1][2]. This ’special’ day at CU Boulder started in the 1990s. It started as a very small gathering and has since grown to over an estimated ten thousand participants[2].
Local News Covers the Event
Walking into Norlin Quad at CU Boulder I was suddenly hit with this sight of thousands of people, a unique smell and some interesting costumes. I was approached by a lady in her mid 40’s sporting a sundress and dreadlocks. She stuck her head into my personal space and said, “Happy Holiday!” then danced away in an informal gavotte. Another lady wore a self-manufactured costume with a soap filled backpack. Bellows were connected to her feet, so with each step the contraption would spray bubbles out of a nozzle on her head. The soap ran down her face and appeared rather uncomfortable, but she appeared to be proud of her homemade gadget. With all of the funny costumes it seemed more like Halloween then a day to promote the use of an illegal drug. It sure felt like a holiday.
Joining a fraternity anyone? Lolz!
I was surprised by the good demeanor of the crowd. It was a quite and well behaved crowd, probably for a good reason. They also did not make much of a mess. I walked back through the quad an hour after the gathering and I found a few ’students’(I am sure many weren’t students) with trash bags picking up trash. After receiving over a foot of snow the Saturday prior, I was also surprised to find no mud in the quad after the event. The ground was so soggy that water would seep from the ground and onto my sandals with each step. Somehow everyone was delicate enough not to tear up the grass.
The future of the event? I think the ‘holiday’ will last until it grows a little out of hand. April 20th at Boulder will probably end like the summer of love. Eventually the event will attract a larger and more rowdy(aka drunk) crowd to the point where authorities no longer feel in control of the gathering. Or… maybe not? Regardless, enjoy the pictures and the spectacle of it all.
Police monitor the event.
After the event... relatively clean!
Jun/090
MicroPlace
A few weeks ago, I heard about Microplace.com on an NPR radio show. Microplace is a new type of investment that lets you provide the capital for micro loans. So, I decided to check it out and make an investment!
Investment Search
On Microplace, an investor can search based on certain firm criteria. The search can narrow information based on the rate of return, length of investment and countries where loans are offered. Amazingly, these loans are given and secured by word of mouth! Each loan use to have a repayment percentage, and most reported over 90% repayment!
Microplace is involved with Ebay, to an extent unknown to myself. Microplace’s marketing strategy focuses on the charity of the act and not on the rate of return that they provide the investor. Microplace is similar to a previous website Kiva, except Kiva does not offer a return on your money.
While Microplace does not provide an attractive return, especially because it is not FDIC insured, it does hold your money for a predetermined time like a CD. It is attractive to people who like to put their extra cash out of reach for a period of time. While I would not feel comfortable putting a large percentage of my savings into Microplace, it is nice to provide the capital for others to pursue their dreams.
Follow Me On Twitter!
Web Hosting
