Halloween!!!

Today is the big day, October 31st. After switching my costume choice twice, I am finally ready to hit the town as Wooderson from Dazed and Confused. I made a second trip to Goodwill and purchased some pink pants and a white YMCA shirt. I also went to Wal-Mart and bought some brown wingtips. All in all, I spent only $29 on my costume, with $20 of that coming from my shoes. But, at least I can wear the shoes again with my dress clothes. My advice to you, check Goodwill early for the best clothing selection.

Bleeping Wierd Al

Wierd Al Yankovich has a song called "Don't Download This Song" which, I'm sure, has been downloaded millions of times to date. The song states 4 music sharing websites: Morpheus, Grokster, Limewire, and Kazaa. I have used two of these programs :) I am still trying to figure out why MTV would bleep out the names of these programs, people can just look up the lyrics online. They will definitely be wondering what words are bleeped out, so MTV is only adding to the fire by adding the bleep. I am definitely not against file sharing because, well, it's free music and who doesn't want that? MTV has turned into a joke over the last 10 years and this song only proves my point even further.

Dome Dreams

Last night was the first round of the high school football playoffs and the Lyman Raiders rolled over the Newell Irrigators 42-12. Lyman is still undefeated this season (9-0) and looking to head to the dome for only the second time in the schools history. I am a 2007 graduate of Lyman so I was a senior when this talented class of Juniors were merely Freshman. I thought they had talent at the time and they proved that to me last year and this year alike. The amazing thing about this class is that they still have one more year to win a championship if they don't do it this year. Their chances of winning this year a pretty good because of Dawson Jandreau, who rushed for 291 yards last night. He has over a 1,000 yards rushing on the season and looks to be All-State material. Our defense crushes oppenents and our offense is potent. Our next game is against Gregory, a team that we beat 53-0 earlier in the season. A victory won't come as easy this time around but I still expect us to win.

weight vest experiment

I borrowed a 20 lb weight vest from my friend yesterday so that I could hopefully build up my leg muscles a little bit. I wore the vest for an hour and realized it was a little too heavy so I took some weights out so now it only weighs 10 pounds. I can definitely feel the weight of the vest on my shoulders and back and on my legs when I walk up stairs. I hope after a couple of weeks my shoulder and back will get used to the weight so I can add more weight and reap the benefits.

Extreme Weather

Yesterday was one of the windiest days of the past few years. Driving around Brookings, I saw numerous branches in the road, monsterous piles of leaves, and even some smalls trees blown over. I don't know what is next after receiving rain, snow, and a wind storm in the last week. Perhaps a tornado or earthquake will hit next.

my birthday

Yesterday was my 20th birthday and it went well. I woke up to some eggs and toast and then I had a chocolate cake baked for me by my girlfriend. Then I just hung out the rest of the day and didn't really do anything. I ate supper at Applebees and then went and hung out with some friends afterwards before going to bed early. I have already started the countdown to my 21st birthday.

Weather

The rain this past week has put a damper on my fun time. I can't go outside without getting soaked and the farmers aren't too happy either. They can't combine their crops which hurts the economy. I wish we had a climate like Florida but without the hurricanes! Not only did it rain, but it also started snowing. I can't wait for the winter to be over and it hasn't even started yet.

what an arrest....

A Japanese woman was arrested for killing her online husbands digital "avatar."
This is so rediculous that it is funny. I can't believe this woman would get so mad that she would log on and kill this poor man's character. I have played "The Sims" and I know how long it takes to build up a character so I feel bad for this guy. He shouldn't have divorced her though.....I don't know if it was the smartest thing for her to do, because now she is facing up to 5 years in prison and a $5,000 fine. But if it made her happy than so be it.

John S. - Exam 1

I added music from freemusicplayer.com and also added an audio transition to the music. I added some text to each clip and also a background. The pictures didn't really fit anywhere in particular so I just kind of stuck them in. This video wasn't very hard to make because we have done a couple of videos similar to it.

Weight Lifting

My weight training class is halfway over and I have seen a noticeable improvement in my weight lifting capacity. I can now use more weight in every lift than at the beginning of the year. It doesn't take much for this to happen as it is mostly muscle endurance that allows for more weight to be lifted, but I am happy that I can lift more. Hopefully I can continue my workout program after the class is over.

Hunting 2008

The pheasant hunting season opened this past weekend and it was a great success for me and my fellow hunters. We went out and got our limit both days in under and hour. I shot 3 birds the first day but only 1 the second day. It wasn't because of a lack of birds, it was because of a lack of skill. It was a little windy the second day resulting in some tougher shots. I haven't shot a gun since last year's opening weekend so I was a little rusty. Oh well, we had fun and the weekend was injury free.

Movie - Hack vs Pong

This project turned out to be quite a debacle. We didn't have our video until today because we saved it wrong somehow yesterday, but in the end it all worked out. I think this video turned out pretty good with the footage we had to work with.

Narking On Bullies....

Nowadays there is a website that lets kids report bullies anonamously. Is this website really necessary? Are kids being bullied so much that they need to report it in secrecy? I was never bullied as a kid and I never did any bullying but I'm sure it happens all the time in bigger schools. Why can't they just tell their parents, who inturn, tell the correct authorities at school? I know they are worried about retalliation by the bully, but that's what the punishment is for - to make the bully not want to bully anymore kids. Obviously the punishment isn't severe enough if they keep bullying...

Dow Industrial Stock Exchange!?!?!?

The Dow was at its lowest point in 5 years last week but now it has jumped back up 936 points; a total that is more than double the previous record. Banks such as Wachovia are failing which is causing this sudden drop in the market. President Bush put $700 billion into the economy to try and fix the problem and for now it seems to be working. I don't think this problem will affect my spending or investing (which I don't do anyway) but it sure has hurt a lot of people so far. I can only hope that this economic hiccup doesn't turn into another Great Depression.

Online Gaming

The new Diablo is finally going to be coming out soon and so I would like to take a moment and reflect on all of the great times I've had while gaming online.
I started online gaming in middle school, back when I had dial-up internet service. It wasn't that fun because the internet was terribly slow. My game of choice was Diablo and then Diablo II. I played with a bunch of friends from school and we all had a good time. Then I took a break from online gaming during high school before starting back up in college with Battlefield 2. With up to 64 players in a single game, the action was always nonstop. Call of Duty 4 came out last year and that took over every dorm room on campus. My roommate just got it so we have been playing it nonstop for the last couple of weeks. When people say that MMOG (Massively Multiplayer Online Games) are dumb, they have most likely never played one. If you have never tried one, please do so. It is fun to taunt your opponents and also make friends online. MMOG's are they way of the future and online gaming is definitely here to stay.

Campus Construction

Every day I am reminded of the millions of dollars that are being put to use around me. The new Wellness Center, stairs for HPER,a brand new Avera nursing building, and another building behind Crothers are some notable projects. Every year there is more and more construction. It seems as if the construction will never get done. As soon as one project is done, another one is started immediately. While I am all-for improvements to the campus, the construction around Yeager Hall is particularly annoying because I have 3 classes there. Hopefully next year when I come back everything will be done and there won't be any new projects to worry about...

This PSA is made possible by Dr. Cecil and Right To Vote council.....or Ross,Devin, and me. This video was challenging because we didn't know what to say. It had to be something around 8 seconds long and it had to be meaningful. The other challenge was to find a suitable location. The video isn't the best as far as lighting is concerned, but the audio is decent. I was glad to see the final product turned out alright and I am looking forward to making more PSAs.

Quoting "Critics"

Disney is in trouble for citing critics from IMDB (the Internet Movie Database) in one of their advertisements for a new movie. They aren't really in trouble per say, but they are definitely turning fans away by using this tactic. I myself am a member of IMDB and in no way, shape, or form do I consider myself an experienced critic worthy of an advertisement. I think this is a cheap ploy by Disney and no one should ever see one of their movies again. That last statement was not completely true, but I do think that the public relations guys at Disney should be ashamed of themselves.

Nigerian Scammers

When one of my teachers said that her email account had been used by scammers, I could only laugh. She said that there were approximately 800 emails in her inbox and she didn't know who any of the people were. They were trying to send her money because someone had used her address for a scam. The most common scammers are Nigerians for some reason. They won't stop doing it because old people are very gullible and will send money to anyone who says they need help. That was, of course, a huge exaggeration but you get my point. One blogger named Maddox has taken things into his own hands and actually sent emails back and forth with a scammer. The whole exchange is very funny and can be found at his website. If I was ever sent an email asking for money, I would definitely do what Maddox did.

Hobo Day

Tomorrow is the all powerful Hobo Day at SDSU! Don't get Hobo "Day" confused with Hobo "Daze", "Days", or "Dazes." All of these are not the correct spelling of the annual event. Many college students party all week, making it through Hobo Day in a "Daze" I guess. The parade is tomorrow morning and hopefully I will be in attendence for the first time ever. I went to the football game last year and it was a blast. Hope to see everyone there!

Ryan Berry Interview

Ryan Berry talks a little bit about the game against NDSU. SDSU won the title by beating the Bison in Brookings. He also talks a little bit about playing in Coughlin Alumni Stadium. I learned how to put audio over a text clip and also worked with the chromakey more. I forgot how to do it but got it to work somehow. Eventually I will be able to put a movie together in no time.