SobekPundit's Elegy to New Orleans

My friend and first roommate has created a photo tribute to New Orleans. Check it out here.

Can I say 'Wow!'

First of all, my good friend Joe gave a link to an interesting site. It's called reddit. Basically it's a fully democratic news site. Meaning the readers are the ones who determine what news stories are presented. These news articles come from all sorts of networks like CNN, BBS, etc. I highly recommend it if you'd like to stay on top of breaking news in many topics. So there's my plug.

Now to the heart of my post. I was just on reddit and checked out an article from the Sunday Times. Now this is breaking medicial/scientific news. A certain strain of laboratory mice have been discovered to have regenerative properties. The strain, known as MRL have regenerated amputated toes, tail and ears or damaged organs, such as the heart. And as the scientist said "[We] just watched them regrow." For those of you wondering about the science of this miracle here it is:

“We have found that the MRL mouse seems to have a higher rate of cell division,” she said. “Its cells live and die faster and get replaced faster. That seems to be linked to the ability to regenerate.”

Professor Ellen Heber-Katz has also said that humans almost certainly have comparable genes.

Wow.

At work

I'm writing this from work right now. And for those that know me, that is odd. BRG does not allow us to get online normally. However, our project has not yet come in. So we're sitting here waiting for it to come. I just heard that we're not supposed to be clocked in (meaning not being paid) but I had already clocked in before that. lol.

I was also just reading about the aftermath of hurricane Katrina. It seems that most of New Orleans is under water. All refugee centers have been ordered to evacuate. Our hearts, thoughts and prayers go out to those who have lost loved ones and are suffering. It makes me wonder if I am prepared for a natural disaster. Here in Utah, there's always the lingering fear of the "Big One" meaning an earthquake. Here at BYU there is enough food for (I believe) three days for every student. That's 30,000 students. After that..

Whoops, gotta go.

To liven up the debate some.

A little earlier I had a short discussion about "Intelligent Design" being taught in our schools. Just to clarify, I believe in God and that he created all things. However, I don't think that we should teach that as fact. There are no facts to prove or disprove the existance of God. Then on a purely logistical sense, whose Creationism would we teach? Baptist, Mormon, Jewish, Muslim, Hindu? I don't think it is possible to teach Creationism without a certain religious skew. Afterall, not all creation stories are even based on the Bible. If these things are to be taught, it should be in it's own class.

What a Dilemma.

Amen! "Intelligent Design" is not science. It should not be masqueraded as such. I personally believe that God created and organized all that is. But that is my religion not my science. If parents want intelligent design taught in their schools, then perhaps they should create a Religions of the World or Religious Theories class. There is certainly a place for creationism to be taught. But it is not in any science class.

Let's get you updated.

So I just got an e-mail from my good friend Lori-Ann. She had recently moved from here in Provo back home to Merced, California. She is doing well and already has a job. I'm envious. I want to be graduated and have a good job. She did an interesting thing with her e-mail. She gave different sections headings like: The Good, The Bad, The Ugly, The Bureaucratic. And then wrote paragraphs under each. That is a *really* good idea. Perhaps I will use that from time to time on this blog. Thanks Lori-Ann! And good to hear from you!

And I think I'm going to start making my blog even more creative. If you've noticed I have a "Things I Am Doing" list on the right. It comes from a site called 43things.com It allows you to list things -both long and short term- that you'd like to do. In tandem with that site there is a 43places.com site where you (apparently) list places you've visited or would like to visit. And I think I'm going to add another list: My Top Ten Music List. I'll have to use all my vast html skills (HAHAHAH) to make it happen. Basically that means I'll be copying and pasting some html from elsewhere on the site.

Tonight we had our first games night in quite some time. We played Tibbits, Mafia, and Signs. It was quite fun and we had many new people and some old favorites. I was Mafia once... but they found and killed me quickly. Dang. I'm usually much better at that. Well, hopefully I'll get more practice.

For us bloggers

Here's a chuckle

What a long day...

I went to my grandma's funeral today. It was sad, yes. But in a way it was happy too. My grandma was 81 years old and had been paralyzed over half her body for 33 years. That is a long time. But it was a full and worthwhile life. She did so many things even with the paralyzation. I guess the most moving part of the funeral was when each of her six children got up and gave memories they had of their mother. My mom's talk especially touched me. Missing my grandma wasn't the hard part. It was feeling how much my mother and her siblings missed their mother and wondering what that would be like. Sad. On the bright side, she is no longer paralyzed. She can run and jump and dance. (I did not know this till today, but she used to love to dance.) As well, the food was very good too. :)

It was an emotionally draining day. Besides that I got up early too. So here I am, it's 12:21 am and I really should go to bed. But I'm going to go play SkipBo. Woot.

I did just win at Cities and Knights too. I really like the game. You can still win even if you're trapped. The game has so many ways to undermine other people and still build yourself. How I love that game. What a great investment.

Origins

Ah... the origin of the BigRedHammer. I remember when... *wavy lines appear* It was July of 2004. Turbulent times were afoot in America. Our presidential candidates were at each others' throats. And a young (one year younger anyway) Scott got it into his mind to start his own blog. Now he already had two internet/life nicknames. But he didn't feel that either were appropriate for his blog persona. So a brief brainstorm ensued. Scott looked around the room for ideas. His eyes rested upon the game, "Killing Doctor Lucky". There is a card in that game, "The Big Red Hammer" which is Scott's favorite card in the game. And then it hit him like a... well, a big red hammer. That should be his name! So, contrary to popular belief, the BigRedHammer was not named for covert communist missions or politics, but rather for a card in an immensely fun game. I also find it odd that the BigRedHammer lives in the WhiteHouse. Very odd.

Toyota jump!

It is official. We are moved into White House North. And let me tell you, life is good. I still don't have a digital camera, so I can't show you the house room by room. But it so very clean and nice. Beautiful white walls, clean carpet, new furniture, new bunk beds, and tons of space! Yesterday I bought a wireless router and network card so we're online too. *happy sigh* I missed you dear internet. Come see our house. You'll be impressed.

On another note, I am volunteering at BYU Education Week this week. Today was the first day. I am hosting at the Smith Field House for youth classes. I spend most of my time directing the youth the right way and checking for name badges and proper clothing. It's not bad. But I'm standing nearly the whole time. Oh it felt good today when I finally sat down. I met my mom and and aunt for the traditional "meal on mom". I went to some good classes as well. I really love BYU Ed Week. I learn so much and the Spirit is excellent.

That is all. Goodnight.

**Attention**

BigRedHammer is popular. Here are the real-time results:

Yahoo lists 12 instances and 81 actual of my perennial name.

Google lists 17 instances and 156 actual of the incredible BigRedHammer.

I've looked through the links and well, Google wins for quantity and Yahoo wins for quality. All but one link on the Yahoo search actually point to me!

I just checked both search engines' picture finding ability. Google comes up with my trademark Big Red Hammer on a green and white field icon and my favorite posted pic, that of Kerry pretending to be a fighter. (As a reminder, my 7 year old nephew could beat him up.) Yahoo is slightly more disappointing.

More on the BigRedHammer later.

Tomorrow...

... is the day we move in. And what a busy day it is too. Check out/in is at noon. And I found out yesterday that orientation for hosting BYU Education week is tomorrow from 10-12. So this morning I really should be packing up some of my stuff in preparation. But thinking about it now, it won't be as hard as moving in was. I only have to make sure that everything in my bedroom is gone. The other stuff I can keep where it is and then move it when we're allowed in the apartment. Phew.

Daniel has decided not to move back into the ward. He will be missed. He was an excellent roommate and I'm glad I chose him all that time ago. I am still hoping that he is able to have his Japan experience. That would be so incredible.

My current (and future) roommate Chris is very excited to move in with us. Just like I have, he has been making plans in his head of how he'd like things. I think we'll get along very well. Kyle has decided to stay in the small room with our new roommate John. I wouldn't have done that, but oh well. I peered into my bedroom yesterday. It looks finished. I have to say it looks very very nice. Everything is painted, the new carpet is laid, we have new furniture. Interestingly, one piece of new furniture is a bunkbed. Now, you may not know, but my bedroom is very large. Having our beds bunked leaves TONS of space. I think I'll prefer having them unbunked but we'll see. Maybe I'll love the new space. I will also need to go to Home Depot or something and buy some of those sticky wall mounts. Yeah, no nail holes in these walls. Ugh. All that's left in our apartment to complete is our bathroom and kitchen. I'm hoping when I go over there today both of those will be finished.

This is exciting. Our place was large and ghetto. And now it may just be large. I need to buy a digital camera (for many reasons besides) and take some pictures of the new place. Then your jaw can drop like I know mine will.

The only surprise left now is our new roommate John. I hope that if he *is* an overflow from WHM that he will still be a good roommate for us. I want a real roommate not just someone who sleeps in the same apartment. We'll see.

Wish me luck!

Three more days!

Yes, it is only three more days until I can move back into White House North. I'm excited, my "mini-vacation" in Fort Apache is soon coming to an end. We will be able to move back into WHN on Saturday. They still have a lot to do from what I can tell. Thus far they've put in new outlets and light switches. There's now actually a switch to the livingroom at each doorway! I can't count how many times I've rubbed the wall looking for a non-existant switch. They've also painted. And I'm glad... it's actually white, not cream of olive like the Red Brick apartments. Unfortunately we'll have an electric stove (flat top). I've really learned to love gas stoves. I don't think we'll get all the improvements that they said. "Pipe dreams" no doubt. Which means the apartment won't be wired for internet, get vinyl windows, a new tub, etc. Ah well, some remodeling is better than none.

In other news, I really love Seafarers of Catan. I won our game tonight. And let me tell you I dominated. "I'm a winner!"

All the Rage

Apparently making self quizzes are all the rage. Around a half dozen friends of mine have created their own self quizzes. And even more than that have taken my test. Congrats to Sobek for getting the highest score (without the use of quiz enhancing drugs). He got a whopping 8 out of 10 questions correct. Bravo!

In other news, the movie "The Island" rocks! If you hang around me at all, you'll know that I like the movie a lot. It achieves my rating of "Best Summer Film" beating out War of the Worlds. It is full of action, chase scenes, sci-fi thought, and some discussable issues. I've already seen it twice and I wouldn't mind seeing it again. Go see it!

And a quick White House North update: The pace has not changed at all. Perhaps once a week we see one person working in our apartment. On our way to work we saw our manager loading the soda machine. My roommate Kyle asked if we'll be able to move in on time. He kind of nodded and said he thought so. Move in date is the 13th. Now for those of you have not seen the current state of the apartment, it is no where near ready. (I need a digital cam.) They need to paint the walls, install the carpet and linoleum, gut the bathroom and replace all of the fixtures and counters, wire the house for internet, and replace all of our windows. None of that has happened. Basically the house is gutted. That's it.

*sigh* I want my White House North back.