Thursday, September 23, 2010

The Next Clue

By now, readers know of my not-so-secret mission to FRAME CHINA. A few weeks ago I received the first clue of my mission - a cryptic numeric code conspicuously placed on a document. Since then, I have been eagerly awaiting the next clue.

This afternoon, I stumbled upon a USB drive with a large white sticker on it that caught my attention. It simply said "1GB CHINA." The casual observer might see this and think nothing of it, interpreting the sticker as meaning that this flash drive holds 1GB worth of data and was made in China. But the casual observer is not on a mission to frame china. There was no doubt in my mind that this was the clue I was searching for.

I was fortunate enough to find the clue next to S-Dub, my partner in crime. We sprang into action as she pulled up a list of 85 things GB means or stands for. And so in another effort to get feedback from my superiors about my progress, I present my top 10 interpretations of the meaning of GB in this context:

1. Ghetto Booty
2. Generation Breakdown
3. Generalized Bootstrap
4. Good Bye
5. Galactic Battlegrounds
6. Gastric Bypass
7. Gorgeous Blonde
8. Gerard Butler
9. Ginkgo Biloba
10. Sarin

Once again, I am reaching out to the higher ups for another message. If I am on the right track with one of these, please send me a sign confirming the option and how I should continue. If none of these 10 is the correct interpretation, please show me which way to go.


I await your next message.

Thursday, September 16, 2010

Study Breaks with Animals

My friend Chris sent me an interesting story tonight from Above the Law. Apparently at Yale Law School, you are allowed to check out a dog for half an hour. That's right. An actual dog. His name is Monty. It's a great idea. I think it was Plato that once said "the only thing better than a study break is a study break to play with a dog."

In his subject, Chris wrote "Bring this to UR." Well a dog has been done - I say we need to be more awesome and go down a different road to not be copycats. Speaking of cats, the obvious alternative would be to have a kitten to check out, but a lot of people are allergic or just don't like cats. Our school's mascot doesn't lend itself well to the project - no one would want to play with a spider. I would rather just keep working.

And so it is with great pleasure that I announce the 2010 University of Richmond School of Law Students Campaign to Let Us Check Out a Koala From Our Circulation Desk

Koalas are cuddly, adorable, and loved by all. One could easily live behind the circulation desk with the small addition of a small tree and some eucalyptus leaves. They would be great to hang out with for thirty minutes, and would really add some credibility to the new International Center across the street. Oh, and just to clear up any confusion - there is not currently a koala living behind the circulation desk. That's DeVon.

Bottom line: The general morale of students under the academic pressure here could be greatly improved by the ability to make like Dora and leave the real world behind for 30 minutes. You know what they say - the worst 30 minutes with a Koala is better than the best 30 minutes of law school. Incidentally, also Plato.

If you are with me and would totally check a Koala out from the library to play with on a study break, update your Facebook status to say "KOALA." Feel free to like or comment on other statuses that you see. Together, we can throw endangered species lists to the wind and make this happen. Koala!

Monday, September 13, 2010

Vamos Rafa

They said he was a clay court specialist.
They said he couldn't win on grass.
They said he couldn't win on hard court.
They said he didn't have a backhand.
They said he could only play defensively.
They said he couldn't volley.
They said his serve would never be a weapon.
They said he couldn't stay healthy.

A big shout out tonight to my man Rafa Nadal, who took home the US Open tonight, completing the career grand slam. As some of you may know, I have been a huge Nadal supporter since he came onto the scene in '04-'05. Rafa continues down the path to greatness, and with the win today you will start to hear some people say what I have been saying for a year - that Federer's hold on the "Greatest of All Time" title may not be as solid as some people think. There will be plenty of time for speculation, and there is a TON of tennis to be played in the next 10 years, and if you really want to argue it I will, but for now, Rafa caps his third grand slam of the year. I'm gonna go ahead and make my prediction now: Nadal will win the 2011 Australian and complete the "Rafa Slam" - holding all 4 majors at the same time. Say what you want about the draw, the schedule, whatever you want, but if you watched him play this tournament, you know just how good he was and how much his game has improved in the last 2 years. It's scary.

It is a great time for the game. I cannot wait.

Monday, September 6, 2010

Farm Life

As some of you may know, I currently live on a farm. While I may have initially had some doubts about farm life, I must say that after 4 months I must say I am a big fan. At no time was this more evident than yesterday, when I was making a sandwich. I decided it needed some tomatoes. So I went out in the back and picked one, sliced it up, and put it on the sandwich. Exquisite, to say the least. The food has got to be the biggest perk. Lettuce, tomatoes, squash, and eggs are always at my fingertips - fresh and delicious. It is glorious.

Everyone needs a good hello to start their day. I get a chorus of them every day as I walk from my door to my car. Fine, in all likelihood the goats and chickens are probably trying to express something other than salutations, but its still nice to hear. Full disclosure - sometimes I talk balk. Don't judge, you probably would too.

But one of the most awesome things about the farm life has been watching the peacock babies. Our peacock eggs hatched earlier this summer (3 at first and then 3 more about 2 weeks later) The babies have grown up super fast. I realized recently that in an earlier post I mentioned "peacock babies falling from the sky" but never elaborated on the story. So, here it is. After the first group of babies was born, mommy and daddy peacock decided at some point that they could bring them up to the top of the big tree out front. And I do mean BIG. For a peacock, climbing a tree involves standing on one branch, and hopping up to a branch a few inches higher, then repeating until he/she gets to the top. Well the babies made it up to the top...at least for the most part. I was walking by the tree when a baby peacock came tumbling down from the top of the tree. He landed about five feet away from me in the grass. I stopped, momentarily shocked by almost being hit from above with a peacock baby. What happened next was an amazing moment.

The baby peacock got up and shook it off, and then stared at me. I stared back. I don't know if he needed encouragement, but I nodded towards the base of the tree and said to the baby peacock "you got this." As if on command, he then waddled back over to the base of the tree and began making his way up again. I stayed and watched as he made it all the way up the tree to join the rest of his family.

Bottom line: It's a good life, down on the farm.