And down the stretch we come

4 days left. Actually, not even. 3.5 days left. 3.5 days left of last minute packing, stressing, saying goodbye to good friends and family, and trying to stay sane. (And staying sane for me during a normal week is tough enough - you can't imagine what I'm going through now.)

I've been getting asked a lot what the current plan is, so here it is.

We depart on Friday afternoon with just enough stuff to survive in Houston. Karin has plotted out hotels that accept dogs between here and there (her first concern is, of course, Roscoe.) We hope to land on Sunday so I can start up the new job on Monday.

My new job is the exact same thing that I'm currently doing. Karin hasn't begun to look, but I can say with 100% certainty that it will not be what she's currently doing.

We've got a 3 month lease out there, and we're going to use the time to figure out where a more permanent spot for us is going to be. A friend of ours has generously agreed to house-sit for us while we are gone, and keep the place tidy. Hopefully our place will sell shortly; our real estate agent has been busting her tail on it trying to get it sold.

So between now and then, it's just as I mentioned above - packing, stressing, saying goodbye to good friends and family, ...

Friday Five

Well, Friday came and went and I completely spaced putting this posting up. So, a day late, here are the Friday Five. Since we've got a huge trip coming up next week, I figured 5 things about travel would be appropriate.

1. I love road trips. I love the freedom. I love the scenery. I love stopping at rest areas, gas stations and the like in the middle of nowhere. I love just being in my own personal cocoon on wheels.
2. I've never been off of this continent. Karin, before our honeymoon, had never been out of the country.
3. Of all the trips I've taken, spending July 4th in Washington, DC is probably my favorite. It's an experience everyone should partake in at one point in their lives.
4. I get motion sick very easily. Dramamine is my friend.
5. My favorite mode of transportation is train. It's a shame that railways in this country have mostly been neglected.

A loser without a winner

The National Collegiate Athletic Association, or the NCAA, represents around 1,200 colleges according to Wikipedia. These institutions of higher learning exist for people looking to expand their horizons, learn a trade, increase their knowledge, and generally attempt to become better people. Thousands of students also wish to participate in athletic events, and the NCAA is there to help coordinate events, enforce rules, and help ensure that these students maintain "amateur" status.

One would then assume that the NCAA would show some level of intelligence. However, the NCAA has once again shown they don't grasp what they should be doing; or they think we're all idiots.

Word came down from the NCAA that Oklahoma football program had violated NCAA rules regarding part time jobs that students are allowed to have while accepting an athletic scholarship from the school. The punishment includes a lost of scholarships for a couple of seasons, and the vacating of all wins the Sooners earned during the 2005 season when these violations took place.

I have several problems with this. I think players should get a stipend, and I find that whenever the NCAA hands down punishment they wind up punishing the kids currently at the school, not the kids or the adults actually involved in the transgression. But the punishment I really love is the vacating of wins.

The way the NCAA's punishment works is that from the Oklahoma side of things they did not play the 2005 season. Oklahoma's official 2005 final record is 0-4. So, Tulsa, Texas A&M, and anyone else who lost to Oklahoma that season doesn't actually gain a win; they keep their loss with no corresponding team having any record of winning the game. I guess the Aggies lost to the grounds crew. And the 2005 Holiday Bowl apparently didn't happen. Well, Oregon still keeps the loss, but nobody actually won.

Who is actually hurt by this? The only victim I see here is common sense. Does not having a record for the 2005 season really hurt the school? Do the people that attended these games now have to forget it? Should Agent K and Agent J do the little flashy thing on every Sooner fan?

Does the NCAA honestly think that you can simply eliminate the just the winner of a game via fiat but still leave behind the loser? Granted, this is not a new concept for the NCAA; numerous games simply didn't happen as far as the NCAA is concerned.

I just can't for the life of me figure out how an organization of colleges can show such a low level of intelligence.

Vegas, baby. Vegas.

Karin and I took off with some friends for Vegas this pas weekend, as a last getaway, and as a chance to blow off some steam. We've both been very stressed out, and this was a nice chance to forget about life for a while.

Karin and I arrived on Friday ahead of everyone else, and did a nice dinner at Mon Ami Gabi, which is a very affordable steakhouse inside the Paris. They have a patio that is right across the street from the Bellagio's fountains, so it is a great place to people watch, as well as watch the water show. We followed that up with a trip to the Improv, where Ralph Harris was the headliner. In all the times we've been to the Las Vegas Improv we've always had a great time and this trip was no exception. Ralph Harris is very funny, rather clean, and I will be rooting for him on Last Comic Standing which he's currently doing. The night ended with Karin hitting the penny slots and me losing my shirt at the Pai Gow table.

Our friends arrived on Saturday, and after everyone got situated we went over to the Hofbrauhaus. Always a great time there, between the live German band, the food and the beer.

Most everyone took off on Sunday morning, leaving just a couple of us behind. The three of us who were left spent a good bit of time at the ESPNZone, watching the Padre game on Sunday evening, and the home run derby on Monday (Vlad won me $10 - I just wish I would have placed my bet when he was at 10-1). The rest of my gambling was a roller coaster that ended with me even - I was even at poker, down a ton at Pai Gow (which is strange), and up a good amount at craps.

Karin and I returned to San Diego refreshed and ready to take on the rest of the move nonsense. I can't believe it's only 9 days left.

Virus Prevention 101

While I'm here, I figured it was a good time to add one more post.

Recently I've had a spate of virus e-mails that have come in. I'm not exactly sure where it started or who's infected, but I've been getting about one a day for the past couple of weeks. Seems to me now would be a great time to review how to protect yourself from viruses.

Avoiding viruses is actually pretty straight forward if you listen to what your parents taught you about strangers as a kid.

1. Don't accept anything from someone you don't know. If you get an e-mail from someone you don't know, delete it. And, for the love of everything, don't open any attachments on it.
2. Even if you know someone, don't trust anything from them you weren't expecting. If you weren't expecting someone to send you a PDF file, don't open it.
3. If your gut tells you something doesn't feel right, it probably isn't. If you get an e-mail from someone with an attachment, it only takes an extra couple of moments to ask them if they really sent it to you.
4. Don't trust links or e-mail addresses. Well, OK, so your parents probably didn't teach you this one, but it still applies. Just because an e-mail says it's from someone doesn't mean that it is. E-mail addresses are very easy to forge, so just because it says it's from your friend, coworker, bank, or eBay, doesn't mean that it is.
5. Use protection. Again, getting a little away from the strangers analogy, but you should always (regardless of the OS you are using - Mac OSX doesn't magically make you safe) have anti-virus software installed. There's a great free one available from Grisoft that I personally use. But remember, anti-virus protection is there as a safety net. You must still practice caution.

Just following that simple advice will help keep you virus-free.

Friday Five

It's been a pretty mundane week - packing, living life, etc. Nothing really to blog about, which is why I'm glad I have the Friday Five to keep me connected to the blog. See - there is a method to my madness.

With our departure just a couple short weeks away, I figured it would be fitting to do a list of the top 5 things I'm going to miss about San Diego.

1. Having my brothers in San Diego. I hadn't lived in the same city as both of my brothers since the age of 18, and back then it was a strained relationship at best. Now one brother lives 2 doors down from me, and the other about 8 blocks away (when he's not floating.)
2. The friends we've made. I can't remember a time when we had managed to surround ourselves with better people. Karin and I love each and every one of you/them, and will miss you all greatly.
3. Kickball. Yeah, it's kinda corny to list it here, but it's been a big part of my life for the last 2 years. I can still hear Jumbo yelling, "CUPS AT THE READY!!!!"
4. The beer scene. San Diego has one of the hottest microbrew scenes, and according to Beer Advocate San Diego has collection of the best microbreweries in the world.
5. The weather. It's currently 72 and partly cloudy, with the clouds giving way to sun later in the day. Doesn't matter what day you read this post on, I can pretty much guarantee that will be the weather.

I hate packing

That is all