A Series of Amuse Bouche

Yeah. So I like my career choice. More to the point, I like my research budget, which covers travel expenses to conferences. Last year, I realized that I had never been on a cruise, so I rectified that sin by going to a conference that just happened to be on a cruise ship. And this year, I've realized that I've never been to Vegas, so I'm rectifying that sin by going to a conference in Vegas. I'm also going to rectify my lack of experience in our nation's capital by going there twice this summer. What I really can't wait for is the international conferences that I'll be going to once I get a little more ambitious (and a larger research budget).

The Illini are going to be just fine. People are jumping off the bandwagon awfully quickly, but I still think that we'll be a tournament team, and I honestly think that we'll be a scary team in the dance. We're still trying to figure out what lineups we should be using, and once we get our rotation set, we'll be fine. We still need to get the ball inside to Pruitt more and have Chester/Randle penetrate more often. Carlwell moves well for a big guy, and will only get better.

I know that Florida handled the Buckeyes pretty good, but not having Ginn in there hurt. Celebration injuries? Time to just shut up and line up for the next play.

Since the Bengals choked their way out of the playoffs, I'm just rooting for every team to lose. And get injured.

The Knicks are playing some decent basketball. I think that Starbury has finally decided to not cut off his nose to spite his face and has figured out a way to get his while making sure that Curry is involved in the offense. I wonder if we'll make a playoff appearance.

I think that I've finally shaken this ridiculous cold/bronchitis/whatever else. I'll be back in the gym soon, and can hopefully get in shape sooner rather than later. I'm sort of angry that I lost the 2.5 weeks of gym time that I wanted to have over break to get '07 off on the right foot.

Too many of my friends are married or are getting married. What's worse is that not enough of them have bad marraiges. I mean, if I can't gloat and tell them, "I told you so," then what's the point?

I was amused by the taunting in the Saddam hanging, but botching his half brother's hanging so that his head popped off was even more amusing. This dude's head popped clean off with an 8' drop. If you read Esther, think about having 75' gallows. Old Testament justice was pretty bad-ass.

I think that consumer trends are moving toward more environmentally-conscious decisions, which is good for us all. The New York Times had a neat article talking about how Wal-Mart is pushing for broader acceptance of the energy-saving light-bulbs. Apparently, if 100 million of these light bulbs are used (which is Wal-Mart's sales goal from now until 2008), the reduction in energy usage would be the equivalent of powering a 450,000 homes, or roughly a city of 1.5 million people. In addition to the financial savings that each person would enjoy from using less power, there would be less power used overall which has more subtle benefits.

I believe that the next consumer/environmental trend will be with bottled water. For a moment, just think about the infrastructure that we've invested in to have drinkable water. Now consider the cost of making plastic bottles and labels, and then trucking water (which isn't exactly light) from factory to store. I know that it only costs a buck, but there are many greaters costs involved there. Next time you're thinking about buying a bottle of water, consider dusting off your fancy Nalgene bottle, and filling up in the sink or water fountain.

If trends in cell phone prices hold true, I figure that the iPhone will be pretty affordable the next time my service contract is about to expire. Maybe I'll finally have an iPod equivalent then.

I'm bored of the night scene. Too much pretense and not enough IQ. I think that I forsee more sleep, and more time spent in public during the daytime for myself. Having said, that, I've decided that I look cool and enjoy running around in a faux-hawk, which is more of a night scene look. But I also have decided that playing Guitar Hero (either I or II) at home is just as amusing as running around in a faux-hawk. Of course, I haven't tried playing Guitar Hero with a faux-hawk, so that may actually end up being the entertainment of choice.

I need to play more poker. I've felt sort of hollow the last few months not getting my regular gambling fix.

Maybe next posting won't be so ADD.

-Chairman