Dojo Info 1/23/06

1. Fujitec eases bottlenecks
   Now that’s a smart elevator. Then I go and find out about something truly radical. I’d give those a chance to mature before I hopped on.
2. The Mystery of Larry Wachowski
   Reading long, strange tales like this is what happens when you’re stuck on a 6-hour conference call in which you’ve been asked to attend but in which your participation is purely optional. Oh, this story? Before reading I thought Larry a visionary. Now I just think that Larry is one sick dude. Sick=bad, not good. Bad=bad, not good.
3. Remembering Rupp
   I have no doubt that although Adolph Rupp was a pioneer in the world of college basketball, establishing the excellence that is Kentucky Basketball, his supposed reputation as a racist will be what the historians (and filmmakers) will choose to highlight. Here are some interviews with Pat Riley who played for Rupp and Jon Voight to studied history to play the coach in the film Glory Road.
4. Nextel – Dance Party
   For those of you who don’t watch much TV, or TiVo past the commercials, here’s one you really should enjoy. At least I do. What does that say about me?
5. CareerBuilder commericals
   My other favorite ads are these from CareerBuilder featuring a truly tortured soul who works with monkeys… literally. I especially love the one where the monkey picks up the phone that didn’t ring. Classic.

This Game of Life

Anyone who knows me, knows that I’m ultra competitive. Been that way since birth. My parents could tell you some stories and after they finish, I’m sure you’d feel sorry for them. It’s all even now, my oldest boy is just like me.

Yesterday in the shower I was thinking. My view of life was all-wrong. You see, I thought that each day was like a game. If more bad than good occurred in that day I lost; with the reverse gaining me a victory. So then several months’ worth of games made a season. And life became a giant keeper league of sorts.

I’m beginning to see that this is an unhealthy way to view life.

According to this ideology, I’ve been losing a lot lately. Rather, I should say “we” as my wife and I are on the same team. A son gets sick. We lose that game. Another breaks his arm and needs surgery, we lose a big game. Those can carry over for weeks. Getting laid off just about kills the season. When it happens year after year, you begin to feel like the Bad News Bears or the overmatched Kentucky football team in the powerful SEC.

But yesterday I started to wonder if my thinking was incorrect. Maybe life wasn’t made up of many smaller games, but that life itself was one big game? While this may seem to make little difference, I was encouraged by the thought. Perhaps I haven’t been losing, but instead am just behind in the game with time still left for a comeback.

There’s another person on my team that I haven’t mentioned yet. He’s our best player, in fact, He’s the one who really scores our points. So while things may look bleak, remember that we already know the outcome of the only game that really matters. How do I know? Our star player told me. In the end, everyone on His team wins.

Hello World

I’m proud to introduce the newest ninja to Paladin’s family. This morning at 8:40, we welcomed Barret Elijah into the world. He was 5 lbs 5 ounces and came after 7 hours of labor. We give thanks to our God. Photos upcoming.

Update: Here are a few of the shots from the hospital today.

Update 2: We’ve just learned that little Barret has 2 small holes in his heart. We would so greatly appreciate any prayers lifted up on his behalf.

Dojo Info 1/19/06

1. Terri Schindler Schiavo Foundation
   The Terri Schindler Schiavo Foundation has been restructured as a 501(c)(3) tax–exempt organization. Take a moment to consider a donation. If we don’t highly value life, everything else pales.
2. The Omarosa Experiment
   Fascinating (at least to me) view into our reality TV contestants are evaluated and eventually selected.
3. Bill’s sponsor: ‘It’s a victory for the day’
   I don’t know if this is a “victory” really; more of a post-poned decision. The interesting part is that those fighting this bill are essentially fighting for a law to be made where minor’s should be allowed to have an abortion without their parent’s knowledge. How is this even debatable.
4. No Christian hoorays for Hollywood
   No one should think that Hollywood cares about moral behavior. It’s profits and the praise of their peers.
5. Advertising with Google Maps
   Marketing is everywhere. Why should we be surprised? Pretty soon, every square in of everything will have a logo or two on it.

Doom 3 Is Hyper Scary

Just finished up Doom 3. Top priority alert! *bells* *sirens* This games isn’t for the easily frightened. Really, it’s more of a horror game than your standard FPS. Monsters are jumping at you from behind hidden panels, dropping from the roof or instantly appearing out of a red puff of smoke. And the sounds? The audio in this game is truly evil. Those who can’t handle demonic imagery and themes should not play this game. I didn’t let my kids watch me play, like I generally do with games like Star Wars: Battlefront or Freedom Force.

So is it a good game? That depends on what you like. At the sensory level, this game is incredible! The environment is very realistic and the audio is intense. But as a game, it’s more of the same. Fight through the hordes to kill the king baddie. But what a fight it is.

My complaints are common amongst all games. Things like,
“How in the world can I carry all this gear? Am I Atlas?”
“Touching a wall panel instantly heals even my most grevious wounds?!?”
“So you’re telling me I can pack up my Chain Gun and pull out my Plasma Gun all in 1.5 seconds?”

These kind of “features” really detract from the realism. At least to me. But I expected this stuff and bought the game anyway, so my expecations were met. All-in-all it was a wild ride, all except that lame final boss (too easy).

6.5 out of 10

Dojo Info 1/18/06

1. Intelligent Design
   I’m a bit confused by the IOpian because doesn’t scientific theory rely on our senses? If we can’t trust our senses and repeatable experiment then all of science is worthless by this view.
2. Look-a-likes
   This is the largest collection of look-a-like photos that I’ve seen.
3. What DO the Iraqi people think?
   Well, ABC does its best to put a negative cast on obviously good news. Color me optimistic.
4. UNC, Duke students finish longest continuous game
   Love ‘em or hate ‘em, this is pretty cool.
5. Video: A puzzle gone wild
   11 seconds isn’t very long. Espcially when you’re trying to solve a Rubik’s cube. Clearly, the human brain is phenomenal.
6. Kentucky 69, Georgia 55
   Yeah, I know. It’s just a win. But after three straight losses (practically unheard of in Wildcat country) any win is a big win.

Everything Begins with Recruiting

Spent a bit of time crunching some numbers I found on the RSCI. And Kentucky’s recruiting is actually worse than I thought.

As you can see, Kentucky is trailing such notables as NC State, Memphis and Oklahoma State. This is clearly a negative trend that doesn’t correlate to Kentucky’s stature as the country’s winningest team. This needs to be corrected. Unfortunately, our next incoming class won’t significantly improve our ranking.

The Bachelor, Paris: Week 2

Welcome to the 21st Century Paladin’s ongoing coverage of The Bachelor, Paris. Just like we did with Survivor and Rock Star: INXS I’ll be punching tickets, taking names and making these poor girls wish they’d never allowed themselves to be talked into coming on this show.

(shh… down here… if the truth be told, my wife is making me watch… so since I have to watch… I’ll be Truman Capote’s towel boy if I won’t blog on it… please don’t tell her… thanks!)

So, after a mind-blowing Week 1 where poor Allie (the Oncologist!) went uber-hormonal with “You just don’t want reproduction!” Perhaps the greatest all-time Bachelor moment. Travis didn’t know what hit him. We’ve got a tough challenge to keep up with that brand of insanity. So on to Week 2!

Roses… “Yes!”

First off, more than half these girls are about half Travis’ age. Or at least, that’s how it seems. Tara is 23 working at ‘The Gap’ while Travis has been saving people lives in the ER for 10 years. Yeah, that’s a good match. Still, she might grow on me later… nah.

Jehan sells vitamins. That’s all I’ve got.

Jennifer is this year’s top slut. And with Yvonne roseless, Jennifer takes the top spot on Chicks Who Need the Boot. But wait! She’s a model. So I’m guessing Travis keeps her around for a couple more weeks, at least until he can give her tonsils a thorough examination.

Moana is this year’s mystery girl. Who knows what she’s thinking. Eventually the house will ostracize this loner which is sure to bring some drama and tension to at least one episode. Then the Bachelor will have had enough and drop her at the curb.

Sarah B. is another young one that’s caught our Bachelor’s eye. Then he goes and gives her rose to someone else. Reerrrr, cat-fight. Should be fun going forward. This laid back camping chick will bring out the claws at some point.

Sarah S. is the other nice girl. Now that Elizabeth the Social Worker is gone, this kindergarten teacher has to be the decency spokesperson for the whole house. We’ll see how long she lasts. I’m guessing she’ll follow Moana to the door next week.

Has Shiloh even spoken on camara? ABC is making it too easy. See ya!

Susan is in for the long haul. Probably the most attractive of the contenders, she did a wonderful job of flattering Travis during this episode. Everyone knows the men like to be told how wonderful they are. I can see Susan in the Final 3.

Roses… “No.”

Poor girl. Thought she could win him over with a little false-teeth made of oranges gag. It’s tragic really because what young American girl isn’t taught this technique of impressing a male? I’m sure she’ll find some young produce stocker and live happily ever after.

Biggest surprise of the No Rose crowd. Thought she had a legitimate chance to make some noise. She handled the rejection well though. Because if she hadn’t, I’m sure ABC would have plasterized her rant front-and-center like they did with Allie last week. Heck, Allie got a repeat performance earlier tonight. That’s a lot to live up to.

Elizabeth is the nice girl who showed up to the party only to find out that everyone else was 2 octaves higher on the wild scale. She’s even a Social Worker. I’m not sure that Travis gave her enough time truly.

Yvonne, I’m saddened by your leaving. Every show needs a true villian and you were the closest thing this cast had. Your arrogant attitude. Your me-first, shop-til-you-drop lifestyle. Your good-lighting, bad-lighting appearance a la Seinfeld. I think Yvonne summed it best when she answered her perfect date question with, “Being with someone who did nothing to annoy me.”

Until next week, tell us what you think!

Military Seen as ‘Good Guys’ in Iraq

Years from now, if the democracy can survive and grow, who will the Iraqi people love? When they think of America, who will they picture?

Most likely it’ll be the on-the-ground military of both Americans and Iraqis who’ve fought and given their lives for this newly birthed country. These are the faces they see up close. Faces of people like Lana Aziz, an Iraqi citizen and junior engineer for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Aziz is focusing on the children by organizing the distribution of shoes and school supplies. Things that the children need and can touch with their little hands.

These are the faces that will be remembered.

Dojo Info 1/16/05

1. Symantec closes off hiding place for hackers
   And those are just the hackers they tell us about. I’ve always wondered if the Virus protection people were also responsible for someo of the viruses. It’d be good for business, right?
2. The Good Samaritan’s heart
   John and Jackie Rowe have loved 87 foster children. Incredible!
3. SinceSlicedBread.com
   “Americans submitted more than 22,000 ideas to SinceSlicedBread.com… [to] improve life for working men and women and their families.” A great idea about ideas.
4. Time
   Another visual way to watch how time passes.
5. Troubling
   Mazurland hits the Democrats far from polite treatment of Alito. Even though Alito’s wife was distraught Alito himself came through like Teflon. From now on, let’s just call him Teflon Alito and if duPont wants to sue, let ‘em… it won’t stick.

When Is It Tough To Be a Kentucky Fan?

There’s a thread on my favorite UK message board now titled, “Embarassing [sic] to be UK fan right now.” Some in the thread say basically despite whatever happens, they’ll never be embarrassed to be a Kentucky fans. Others aren’t so determined. We have our (unfortunately large and vocal) share of fair-weather fans who are now experiencing their first drought.

Those in middle require different degrees of hardship to forsake their favorite team. While, I’ll never give up on my team or (heaven forbide) switch teams, there is one thing that does cause me anguish. It’s when other self-proclaimed Wildcat fans behave like asshats. Thus giving the entire lot of us a black-eye or worse. Today’s example is tayprincetheman from Hermitage, TN who:

…put the UK coach up for sale on e-Bay about an hour after Kentucky’s 68-64 loss in Rupp Arena. As of midnight, Kentucky’s head coach had received 21 bids, with a high offer of $2,025. Typically, e-Bay tries to remove such off-the-wall postings from its site once identified. The seller told UK fans the posting was a joke. [link]

Yeah, that’s real funny. I don’t know which are the bigger idiots, the original poster or the genius who entered their bids?

Update: It appears that certain Wildcat fans don’t like being called to the carpet as a moderator at Wildcat Nation has deleted my messages.

Year in Cities

Per kottke’s desire to propagate this meme, I’ve included mine below. While far less expansive than his, it’s probably my busiest year since my trip to Africa in 1989.

2005
Louisville, KY *
Reston, VA *
Fripp Island, SC
Little Rock, AR
Dallas, TX *
Memphis, TN
Pittsburgh, PA *
Chicago, IL *

As meaningless as these things are, I accumulated 54,997 Program to Date Miles with American Airlines last year.

Mel Gibson’s ‘Apocalypto’

Apocalypto is certainly making a buzz. Unlike most trailers that give you 90% of the movie’s gist, this one leaves you wanting morer. What could it be about? Here’s your clue:

“A great civilization is not conquered from without until it has destroyed itself from within.” -Will Durant

This isn’t merely some flippant quote, there are plenty of in-depth volumes that document how the major civilizations crumbled from within. So is Gibson pointing a finger at America with this film? Guess we’ll have to wait until Summer 2006 to find out.

Movie: Munich

I went with a friend and my father-in-law to see Munich last night. Now I’m wishing I hadn’t. It was Spielberg after all, he makes entertaining movies right?

The concept of the film was to focus on the Munich Olympic games where some Palistinian terrorists captured the Isreali team. When they tried to get away at the airport, a firefight broke out and all were killed. Then we are taken through the sometimes exciting but generally depressing trip of five Isreali assassins trying to get revenge by taking out suspected terrorists across the globe.

Where the film broke down for me was that even though I cared for the main character at the beginning, he slowly became so obsessed and disturbed that it didn’t matter whether he and his team lived or died. The violence was extremely graphic and the nudity added nothing to the film. In the end, I just wanted the film to be over. Unfortunately, it was close to 3 hours long.

This movie is certainly no Schindler’s List. Heck, it’s not even Amistad. Take my advice and pass on this Spielberg film. I’m sure you’ll have more to choose from in the future.

3 out of 10

The Wheels on the Bus Go… Flat

When last season was cut short in the NCAA Tournament, I took solace in thinking that the Wildcats would have a very good team next year. Sure we’ll lose our leader Chuck Hayes, but another year of experience for our strong freshmen class combined with our leading scorer Azubuike, we should have a solid chance to make the Final Four.

Today I sit hoping we even make the big dance.

First, Azubuike signed with an agent and basically threw his last year of eligibility in the trash heap. Then Morris believes the sweet words and heads off as well. (Thankfully, no agents, so he’s returned mid-season.) But then what happens? Our “fabulous” freshmen progress only slightly. Our junior class has become even more disappointing. Patrick Sparks seems to have lost his mojo. The wheels on this bus have clean fallin’ off.

That brings us to last night. For the first time ever, Vanderbilt beat Kentucky in Rupp. Vanderbilt. In Rupp. Did we ever think this could happen?

Before the season started I thought we’d lose 5-6 games. After our first game against S. Dakota St. I adjusted those expectations to 8-9. Now here we sit at 10 wins, 5 losses and I wonder if 11 or 12 losses is more likely.

The anti-Tubby crowd is out in full-effect. So the question now becomes, just how bad does it need to get before Tubby could be moving on?