onepennyconsideration

sleep ...

2005-10-21T19:58:00.000-07:00

no matter how much i say 'sleep is for the weak,' i am secretly craving it. getting on average 4 hours of sleep a night gets pretty exhausing. i knew law school was going to be very challenging, but i had no idea exactly how difficult it was really going to be. one day, when i charge a client $200 for a phone call, i will not fell bad at all. no guilt whatsoever! oh well, one day this will all pay off. tonight it was either go out or sleep. i chose sleep - not much of a party person anyways :)'

interesting ...

2005-10-09T14:58:00.000-07:00

Neuropolitics.org - Understanding the biological basis of political behavior.
http://neuropolitics.org/processsurvey2005Q4p1.asp
hmm i took this survey just for the heck of it and it's results were pretty interesting. take it and help these guys with their research. after you complete it, they will give you a summary of your results. Here's what i got:

Personal Evaluation
You are moderately politically focused. You are persistent and have a balanced right/left hemispheric orientation towards visual and aural perception. Your inability to recall dreams may indicate a B6 vitamin deficiency. You have a strong right hemispheric orientation towards affective language analysis. Your visuospatial field analysis is above average. You are firm in your beliefs and your belief system is not likely to change much. Your decision making style is more oriented towards your left prefrontal cortex. Your left parietal cortex participates more in your visuospatial reasoning than the average person. You have a right hemispheric tendency for emotional processing which is common in most people. You have a lower tendency for niche filling. You have a higher than average preference for a low population density lifestyle. Your perceptual and linguistic systems are more asymmetrically distributed across both hemispheres of your brain. Overall, you exhibit a cognitive style more oriented towards your left hemisphere.

just an observation ...

2005-10-09T00:31:00.000-07:00

according to reuters and yahoo news, the iranian stock market has dropped 27% since august 2004. you can access the article here: http://asia.news.yahoo.com/051002/3/288nx.html
hmm ... ok ... let's just think about this for a moment.

iran has been openly pursuing nuclear capabilities for some time now - despite heavy objection from israel, disapproval by the US, and downright indifference from EU nations (shocker). iran has been labeled as a member of the 'axis of evil' by president bush, and is one of the most vehemently militant enemies of the US.

things have not always been this way ... at one point in to too distant history, iran was an ally of the US. but thanks to the diplomatic genious and strategic foreign poilicies of one jimmy carter, this is definitely no longer the case. but this is another discussion for another day.

the reuters article cites the country's status with the UN as the reason for the drastic economic downturn. Iran is "on the brink of referral to the UN security council for possible sanctions after failing to convince the world its atomic ambitions are peaceful," and therefore it's investors are jittery. [if you actually believe that iran's atomic program is for power and civil development - just stick your head back in the sand and forget whatever contact with reality you have had since you accidentally pulled it out.] back to the reason for the downturn - haha. no, no, no boys and girls. iran doesnt give two shits about the UN security council. and neither do it's investors. they are simply acknowledging the inevitable.

in the near future, someone is going to bomb the hell out of iran's nuclear program. the US is too chicken to do this because it would be a eximpliary show of national independence, strenth, and assertiveness that would prove unpopular both at home and abroad. (if you have any doubts about this - see bush's recent nomination of miers to the supreme court - and that's only in regard to popularity at home!) so israel will do it. this is not to say that israel is any stronger than the US, they simply have more at stake in the issue. iran actually hates israel more the the US, and is much closer to it. therefore the US apparently thinks it has the luxury of allowing israel to assert power in its defense (and the defense of the rest of the western world).

so before too long, israli fighter jets will be screaming across the desert to iran, and the 'peaceful' nuclear program will be history. it will be interesting to hear what the US's response to this action will be.

do not get me wrong, the US has definitely been very strong in standing up for its defense in places like afghanistan and iraq, as it should have. however, it is key to note that strong opposition has been absent in the face of opponents who have strong european suppport (iran) and oil production upon which the US greatly depends (saudi arabia). i completely understand that the US cannot go bombing everyone who does not like us, or who threaten our interests. however, there does come a time where you have to draw a line and stand up for youself. the US has done this in iraq and afghanistan, and i am very proud of it. however, it is the compete absence of discourse (saudi arabia) and half-hearted policy (iran) that worries me.unfo rtunately, bush seems to have less sand than i originally thought. i of course voted for him in '04, and would do so again given the alternatives. i am dissapointed in the level of bi-partisan and international approval that bush seems to constantly seek. there does come a time at which you have to grow some balls, and be a man. bush has shown that he is capable of this, however if would love to see it on an actual day-to-day basis.

anyways - back to the point of this ramble. the 'peaceful' atomic program of iran will soon be history. it will not come as a shock, and i hope that the US will boldly stand by israel as it strikes to protect it's national interest, the US, and the western world. we have taken bold steps to protect america from exteremists whose sole existence is hatred of us, and all that for which we stand. i earnestly hope that the US will continue to protect its interests at home and abroad, and stand by its allies as they support us in our truely global war on terror.

school is my life ...

2005-10-06T22:20:00.000-07:00

school is my life. there is just so much to do and so little time. i don't really have any idea what the hell i am doing. i am hopeing that i will figure it out some time soon ....

good grief, reading for classes takes forever. it seems like i spend most of my time either in class or reading for class. oh yeah, and there's that paper that i've gotta write for class. and now i'm getting started outlining for each course. that is really fun ... i have no idea what the hell i am doing. but that is also true of this whole law school thing in general. well on that note it's back to torts kids ....

i need a beer ...

2005-09-29T21:00:00.000-07:00

it's been a really long week. really long. why you ask? well i spent 4 hours last night preparing for today's classes. that's not really any studying, that's just getting ready for my two classes today so i wouldn't look like an idiot. this did pay off. man law school sucks.

think that's a long time to spend preparing for class? compared to others i am a major slacker. i read the cases, but i also use commercial outlines and canned briefs :0

yeah well i was 3 minutes late to torts this morning, and walked in at the same time as the girl that sits in front of me. yeah we were screwed. i sit down, and 3 minutes later, i hear 'mr. jdaniel, what happend in blah v. blah?' i think - shit. and then my mind immediately jumps to 'fuck - we werent supposed to read this for today's class!' i quickly find out the page number of the case from the kid who sits next to me, and gave my summary. it really wasn't bad, considering that it was a case that we were supposed to read for a few classes ago. i managed to speak somewhat intellgently on the topic, and then it was my fellow tardy classmate's turn to speak on a different case. fun.

well, i guess the lesson to be learned is either be on time to class, or be prepared to speak. this is definitely not cool ... this my first class in the morning ... before 9 am. my brain does not funtion before noon. and another thing - the clock in the back of the room is five minutes fast. this is a widely known fact. apparently before myself and my tardy classmate arrived, the prof proclaimed that regardless of this fact, class was to begin and end according to said tardy clock. damn. it had to be fast. we were honestly only 3 minutes late ... but i guess according to the new rules of this wonderful dictatorship that is the law school classroom it was an 8 minute-late arrival. whatever. like i give a crap. i'll try to not let it happen again because i don't want to have to enlighten the class on the case at hand, but lets be honest. it will. hopefully only once or twice though!

ok, well i am gonna go do something else. life is never boring! well only one class tomorrow, and that is AWESOME. i did the reading, and celebrated by having a few beers. i think a few more are in order .... later kids! :)'

lets not sugarcoat it ...

2005-09-27T13:57:00.000-07:00

the truth - straightforward and uncensored. this just says it all ... haha it's great! you sure as hell wont get this from the nightly news. let's never forget who the REAL patriots are. this picture came from some of our great service men and women, courtesy of the kids over at mvrwc http://bamapachyderm.com/.

i should be here ...

2005-09-26T23:26:00.000-07:00

this is where i should have been born! i would make a perfect character on The OC. i could definitely see myself living the high life ... driving a mercedes and wearing all banana republic and gucci. my mom has said, many times, that i need to get a really great job to afford my tastes. i am just a trust-fund baby without a trust fund:)' i know that money cannot buy happines ... but it does make finding it a hell of a lot easier!

this is not to say that i dont have a great life. i have everything i need and more. my parents paid for my undergrad at TCU ... and are helping out a little with law school. i have the best parents in the whole world, who love and support me.

however, i think there's a part of me that just can't imagine what it would be like. i know ... i know ... the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence. i was raised in a very average, middle-middle class, conservative, and traditional home. my family is the modern incarnation of the cleaver or brady families ... seriously. just with more people.

it is just fun to think about what life could be like if things were different. i can be honest enough to say that i know i would be a different person. whether people admit it or not, money does change people. usually - but not all the time - it is not for the better. money cannot buy happiness. i know from my experince with kids from school and college that some of the most unhappy and rude people are those who are rich. most of my best friends were broke as a joke (like myself :).

it is who people are on the inside that makes them true friends - not how much money is in their (or their father's) investment accounts. when it comes down to it, you want to invest your time and yourself in people who like you for who you are as an individual. That is something that will never change. Pecunary considerations change from day to day with the stock market, and over the years as an individual matures. But the person with whom you form bonds will always remain your friend.

even though i know it is pointless ... it is still fun to imagine what life could be like if i were rich as Croesus. it would be f**king awesome!!!!! so putting all rationality aside, i would make one hell of a castmember on The OC! hey a guy can dream ....

so lost ...

2005-09-26T15:04:00.000-07:00

well kids ... i do not normally have trouble keeping up with classes, so ive never really had this problem before. but i am lost. so lost. what the hell is going on in civil procedure? well there are some mitigating factors to this story:

1) civ pro sucks. majorly. it is boring. it is hard. it sucks - period.
2) Prof Mumbles is very random. what is he talking about? what is he saying? how does this relate to the reading? is the answer to third-world poverty 12(b)6? i wish i knew ...
3) it is hard to study here. i'll blame my civ pro problems on the weather :) living here in liberal mountain town almost every day is perfect. the sun is shining ... breeze gently blowing ... temp in the low 70's ...

well after spending all day in 4 practically back to back classes followed by a civ pro review session, i am off to read my cases for tomorrow's classes. should make for a fun-filled evening. and then maybe try and figure out what the hell is going on in civ pro.

oh law school ... never a boring day :)

not a nerd ...

2005-09-25T17:49:00.000-07:00

well i have been pretty bored over the past few days. not because i dont have anything to do mind you, but simply because i dont feel like doing anything that i should be doing. anyways the point is that i have been reading through a lot of other blogs, and some of them have links to take these silly tests (ex #1: see previous post).

well i took another one ... this one was designed to rate you on a 'nerdiness scale.' i failed the test grandly (thank GOD!). maybe this explains why i have had the most difficult time setting up the links and crap on the bar-thing on the right. i am knowledgable in other areas ... computers just isnt one of those areas. anyways, here is the link for the test, if you should unfortunately find yourself similarly bored.

yeah how much of a non-nerd am i? i couldnt get the stupid picture/link thing to work above so dont click on it (or do - what the hell) you wont go anywhere. youll just have to be ghetto with me and actually click on the link below. hahaha

Your Score Summary
Overall, you scored as follows:
95% scored higher (more nerdy), and 5% scored lower (less nerdy).
What does this mean? Your nerdiness is: Definitely not nerdy, you are probably cool.
http://www.nerdtests.com/ft_nq.php?im

diagnosed conservative ...

2005-09-24T23:25:00.000-07:00

ok so i was bored and took one of these dumb online tests. came out pretty accurate ... no big surprises here!

You are a
Social Moderate
(41% permissive)

and an...
Economic Conservative
(86% permissive)

You are best described as a:

Capitalist

Link: The Politics Test on OkCupid Free Online Dating

it's all good ...

2005-09-24T19:23:00.000-07:00

thank God ... rita kept weakening and her course kept veering to the east. she wound up making landfall near the tx-la border. therefore she avoided houston, and the city sustained only very minor damage. the rainfall was also much less than predicted in new orleans - which is of course a good thing.

hopefully the fact that this storm missed houston and its suburbs will not serve as a deterrent for people to evacuate the next time a major storm threatens the area.

God bless ...

2005-09-23T06:55:00.000-07:00

damn you rita. she's supposed to hit just east of houston this evening. hurrincane force winds are projected to start slamming into the city this afternoon. even if the hurricane doesnt do one ounce of damage this has already turned into a huge fiasco. oh well, the family is safe and the house is as protected as it can be. to rita i just have a few words ...
bring it on, BITCH!

God bless the great state of TEXAS!

hurricane rita ...

2005-09-22T21:48:00.000-07:00

well hurricane rita seems to have the great state of texas firmly in her sites. however, she has veered away from the major population centers of se texas (houston and its suburbs). the current projection is for it to hit well east of houston ... which it good. hurricanes spin counter-clockwise, so the wind and rain on their western sides is considerably weaker than the force of their eastern halves. rita is still an extremely powerful category 4, but things are looking better for houston.

i am from houston, and most of my family still lives there. they attempted to evacuate by leaving the city at 6:30 in the morning. Five hours later, they were only 45 miles away. traffic was BUMPER to BUMPER for at least 100 miles in any direction leaving the city. the normally 5 hour trip between houston and dallas was taking people 16 hours. before my family would get anywhere of significance, they would need to stop get gas. seeing as ALL of the gas stations were completely out of gas, they gave up as many eventually did and went back to the city.

within the city of houston and a 100 mile radius, all batteries, plywood, bottled water, and gas were gone. banks and atms placed limits on how much cash each customer could withdraw in an attempt to keep their cash reserves from running out. several freeways were turned into one-way avenues out of the city, but that did precious little to alleviate any of the traffic. people didnt meet any better luck on small county roads. lets just face it, when you have over 1 million people trying to leave a city only 3 major exit routes, it is just not going to work.

hurricans are a fact of life on the gulf coast. they suck, but that's just reality. you prepare (which thankfully my family is), do your best to protect your home, find somewhere safe to ride out the storm, and make the best of the situation.

haha wtw ...

2005-09-21T22:40:00.000-07:00

ok so i saw this on some blogs that i read every day(hey i've gotta do something during civil procedure) and just thought it was too funny. apparently it is pretty popular, i think it's just downright hilarious. therefore, i hereby proclaim today, and all wednesdays following, white trash wednesdays.

i must admit that i did not dress for the occasion today ... seeing as i did not know it was a wtw when i got up this morning. i just threw on a pair of plaid abercrombie shorts, a solid color shirt and some flip flops and i was good to go. i eventually made it to class (5 minutes late is not bad). i am usually on time - i swear. hey, if you had to sit through legal writing, you would be applauding me for making it there at all. anyways, next wednesday i'll have to dress for the day ... maybe a baseball hat, with a white undershirt and a pair of old ,worn out, holey ranglers that i have. and flip flops. always flip flops.

huh - could be kinda fun. now i'm actually looking forward to it! :)' i usually dress really preppy - but don't let that fool ya kids. i may have been raised in the city, i'm just a plain old country boy at heart. well on that note ...
night y'all.

big surprise ...

2005-09-19T01:41:00.000-07:00

so once again i waited until the last minute ... big surprise. i had a paper due monday morning at 8:50 ... and i didnt get around to starting it till around 8pm sunday. at least i got it done ... and it isnt really as bad as it sounds. i read all of the cases and crap for it earlier, so it was just the actual pesky little writing part that had to be done.

all things considered it really isnt bad (if i do say so myself). maybe i work best under pressure ... who knows. carbon thats not formed under pressure is just a lump of coal. add about a million pounds of pressure and some heat to that carbon and youve got yourself a diamond baby. haha. yeah its late. g'night kids.

the tides of time ...

2005-09-18T00:05:00.000-07:00

it is interesting to see how things change as time goes by. you grow and mature, and slowly become the person whom you are destined to be. it is especially nice to see that as the tides change over the years, some people gradually drift away out of your life ... and then come back again.

i just had a great conversation with a girl that i knew back at college in texas. we met a grand total of probably three or four years ago, but hey, i am in my early twenties so that seems like a long time. anyways, we went out a few times, but gradually got cought up in our different worlds at school. she transferred after her first year (it was my sophomore year), and we just lost touch. recently we caught up with each other again. we have been playing im tag for the past month or so, and had a few great conversations.

it is funny to see how you can have an awesome person right in front of you, and you dont even realize it. or as in my case, too stupid to see it. maybe it goes back to the whole changing of tides. at that point in my life i know that i had absolutely no clue what i wanted. in a relationship, career, or in general. now a few years have passed an i hope that i have gained a sense direction and refined clarity.

is that at that point in your existence, you simply could not see the other person was a great fit for you? or is it that at the moment you happend to pass into each other's view, one was headed for the waves and the other to sit on the shore? regardless, the tides of life and the maturity and strength we gain through them is an awesome testiment to the providence of God.

who can tell the plans God has for a life? an individual's destiny? it is impossible even to guess. it is the small things in life that put me in wonder, and make me appreciate His wisdom and care. reconnecting to an old friend; hearing a favorite song on the radio. watching the sunrise over the alaskan mountains, and watching it set over the rockies. as times and places change, God never does. as the tides go in and out, He is watching over His oceans and His children.

regarding katrina ... pt 1

2005-09-15T22:16:00.000-07:00

ok so everyone that is even remotely connected to reality has by this time hear about hurrican katrina, and the disaster it wrought on the central-southern US. i feel sorry for what happened, but to be brutally honest everyone that has been affected by this disaster could have reasonably foreseen the scenario.

the citizens of new orleans knew well over 24 hrs in advance that the hurricane was heading directly for them. i grew up on the gulf coast. i have never be directly affected by a hurricane, but i have learned enough to know that you simply do not fuck with hurricanes. a few years ago tropical storm allison hit houston and flooded a substantial portion of the city's east side, turning neighborhoods into lakes and below-ground freeways into giant concrete ditches. i must also mention the hurricane of 1900 - which hit galvestion and leveled the entire town. to the ground. in the end, the conservative estimate of the dead was 8,000. it is listed as the most deadly natural disaster in US history. how does this relate to new orleans you ask?

the city was built BELOW SEA LEVEL! everyone with an ounce of common sense knew that this city, bordered by lake pontchartrain to the north and the gulf of mexico to the south would eventually be flooded. the army corps of engineers has stated that the levees protecting the city were only built to withstand a category 3 storm. the COMPLETE FLOODING of the city at some point was INEVITABLE.

the federal government knew it. the state knew it. the city government knew it. the city's residents knew it.

now i am not a total cold-hearted jerk. i feel sorry for the people who lost everything. however, that loss was a calcualted risk they took by living below sea level in a hurricane zone. who should bear the responsibility for the response for this disaster in another conversation for another day. but to state my point bluntly - the first group to take the blame for this event should be the individuals who consciously decided to place their entire lives in the path of imminent disaster.

bumper sticker politics ...

2005-09-13T11:34:00.000-07:00

i have never really paid any serious attention to bumper stickers in the past. they were only afforded a passing glance ... a quick glimpse into the world of the person in front of you. there was a laugh at the sarcastic, and a strange look at the odd. they basically reflect headlines on the thoughts of complete strangers. i have never had one on my car ... i thought in general that they were somewhat tacky. however, my views on the subject have changed.

when i moved to 'liberal mountain city' - i became completely surrounded in bumper sticker politics. it is impossible to go anywhere without having 'make peace not war,' 'kerry-edwards,' or 'ban bush' flashed in my face. now let me just say that it is not that people in texas do not have bumper stickers. perhaps their use is not that prevalent, or a more likely possibility is that i did not notice them as much because they agreed with my point of view.

regardless, after a month in 'liberal mountain city' i got sick of seeing these stickers everywhere. so i went online and bought a sticker that is now proudly displayed on my car:
GEORGE W BUSH
is saving you ass whether
you like it or not
my roommate has said several times that someone is going to bash in my car window because of the sticker. if you combine texas plates with a snippy republican bumper sticker, you are not going to be the recipient of a great amount of colorado hospitality.

oh well it is not that i care what other people think of my southern heritage or polictial views. it is the potential response (ie brick through window) that has be annoyed. it is not unconcievable that such an incident could reasonably happen in 'liberal mountian city.' at any rate i am taking my chances and choosing to believe that educated americans can respect each other enough to allow differing ideas in the all important world of bumper sticker ideology.

i have made my views perfectly clear ... and if some subaru driving hippie doesnt like it ... well they will just have to deal with it like the rest of the world.

in the beginning ...

2005-09-12T22:55:00.000-07:00

well they say there is a first time for everything ... so hell ... here goes. i am a 22 yr old guy originally from the great state of texas. i moved up north about a month ago to start my first year of law school.

it's going ok so far ... much more difficult than undergrad but that was to be expected. i spend most of my time either going to class, reading for class, writing briefs for class ... you get the picture. ok so to be perfectly honest i suppose the previous sentence should be modified by .... 'should.' yeah i gots procrastination issues.

so why the hell am i doing this? i just figured that it would be a fun way to express myself and simply write out what i am thinking and feeling. if this happens to interest you ... i am impressed!

what you get here just me ... plain and simple. thats the theory anyways. well here goes ....