If The Big XII Was The Middle East

KANSAS: Saudi Arabia. Not altogether a bad place; has had historical success in oil and basketball, and continues to be a world leader in those areas. However, parts of the ruling family tends to thrive on its excess, much to its detriment; a certain prince's fondness for American culture (especially for its sweet baked goods) could very well lead to its downfall.

KANSAS STATE: Armenia. No one wants to be here, especially the Armenians.
What's more, nobody really knows where it is. First came to prominence just a decade ago, and nobody can really remember it existing as an independent nation before that. Primary exports: Corn, junior college transfers.

NEBRASKA: Egypt. Was once a great power; its history, through the ages, is matched by few. Has languished in recent years, failing to recognize its new place in the world order as a follower, and not the leader it once was. Its people tend to be the friendliest to its neighbors, though still harboring a long simmering, yet contained, hatred for Israel.

COLORADO: United Arab Emirates. An incredibly refined populace-- probably because it's impossible to make it your home unless you're incredibly wealthy. Does its best to compete with its neighbors, but has resigned itself to being the playground of the region, instead of one of its traditional powers. Doesn't have a baseball team.

IOWA STATE: Afghanistan. There's really no reason that this nation should even exist, and if it weren't for previous colonial empires, it probably wouldn't. Easily overlooked over the last 300 years, its people are a ramshackle alliance of groups that don't belong anywhere else. Wishes to God, Allah, and whoever else that it would either cease to exist, or be swallowed up by Pakistan to the south, or the University of Iowa to the west.

MISSOURI: Turkey. Still trying to figure out how it got mixed up in this region, anyway. They're a member of NATO. Shouldn't they be in the Big Ten?

OKLAHOMA STATE: Syria. Nobody pays attention to them until they start mouthing off to the other nations around it. Will occasionally attack its neighbors, with varying success, with most of its successes coming in areas that others couldn't care less about, like wrestling.

TEXAS TECH: Iran. Really, REALLY wants to be noticed in the international community. Will go so far as to fake the development of nuclear weapons, or choose homicidal, maniacal, self-aggrandizing men as their president/basketball coach, just to get noticed. Incredibly eccentric as a nation. Has a deep-seated hatred of both Israel and Iraq--and a huge inferiority complex to go along with it. Very arid, dry climate featuring frequent windstorms.

BAYLOR: Lebanon. Everything they do is just a cluster, and no matter what they do, nothing ever seems to get better. Every once in awhile, it'll nip at the ankles of one of the larger nations, and piss those other nations off just enough to where they're smacked down and consequently can't achieve anything noteworthy for the next ten years.

OKLAHOMA: Iraq. Lies, cheats, and steals to get its way in the international community. If caught doing something wrong, or illegal, its excuse is that "everybody else has done it, we just get caught." No one wants to live here, but everybody that does wishes they could move away. Recently has undergone minor restructuring due to numerous ethics violations.

TEXAS: Israel. Pretty much everyone else in the region hates them. Can destroy lesser countries at will using incredibly advanced tactics. Not relegated to the stone-age lifestyle of some of its closest neighboring nations. Home of God's chosen, but some of the most annoying, people.

TEXAS A&M: Palestine. Doesn't actually exist as an entity to really be dealt with, but loves nothing more than to take pot-shots at Israel, just to tick them off. Economy based on farming, with an emphasis on sheep. Continuously complains that they're the real power in the region, and that their status should supersede that of Israel. Religious zealotry abounds; small, infrequent attacks on its neighbors are hailed as moral victories.

BAR STOOL ECONOMICS

Suppose that every day, ten men go out for beer and the bill for all ten comes to $100.If they paid their bill the way we pay our taxes, it would go something like this:

The first four men (the poorest) would pay nothing.
The fifth would pay $1.
The sixth would pay $3.
The seventh would pay $7.
The eighth would pay $12.
The ninth would pay $18.
The tenth man (the richest) would pay $59.

So, that's what they decided to do. The ten men drank in the bar every day and seemed quite happy with the arrangement, until one day, the owner threw them a curve.'Since you are all such good customers, he said, I'm going to reduce the cost of your daily beer by $20.Drinks for the ten now cost just $80.

The group still wanted to pay their bill the way we pay our taxes so the first four men were unaffected. They would still drink for free.But what about the other six men ? How could they divide the $20 Windfall so that everyone would get his 'fair share?'They realized that $20 divided by six is $3.33. But if they subtracted that from everybody's share, then the fifth man and the sixth man would each end up being paid to drink his beer.

So, the bar owner suggested that it would be fair to reduce each man's bill by roughly the same amount, and he proceeded to work out the amounts each should pay!And so:

The fifth man, like the first four, now paid nothing--(100% savings).
The sixth now paid $2 instead of $3 ---------------(33% savings).
The seventh now pay $5 instead of $7---------------(28% savings).
The eighth now paid $9 instead of $12------------ (25% savings).
The ninth now paid $14 instead of $18 ------------(22% savings).
The tenth now paid $49 instead of $59------------ (16% savings).

Each of the six was better off than before. And the first four continued to drink for free. But once outside the restaurant, the men began to compare their savings.'I only got a dollar out of the $20, 'declared the sixth man. He pointed to the tenth man, 'but he got $10!'

'Yeah, that's right,' exclaimed the fifth man. 'I only saved a dollar, too. It's unfair that he got ten times more than I!'

'That's true!!' shouted the seventh man. 'Why should he get $10 back when I got only two? The wealthy get all the breaks!'

*'Wait a minute,' yelled the first four men in unison. 'We didn't get anything at all. The system exploits the poor!'

The nine men surrounded the tenth and beat him up.

The next night the tenth man didn't show up for drinks, so the nine sat down and had beers without him. But when it came time to pay the bill, they discovered something important. They didn't have enough money between all of them for even half of the bill!

And that, Blue Staters and Red Staters, boys and girls, journalists and college professors, is how our tax system works. The people who pay the highest taxes get the most benefit from a tax reduction. Tax them too much, attack them for being wealthy, and they just may not show up anymore. In fact, they might start drinking overseas where the atmosphere is somewhat friendlier.

Ph.D.Professor of Economics, University of Georgia

For those who understand, no explanation is needed.
For those who do not understand, no explanation is possible

Big Decision

Well, I have finally made a huge decision...and just in time too...you see today I purchased a brand new bike (well actually Don bought it for me, how sweet!). Now you may ask why this is such a big decision, after all in this day and age there are many things requiring decision and yet I chose to make this my important decision of the week. Well the thing is I have registered for the MS 150 - a daunting 180 mile trek from Houston to Austin over a period of two days on a bicycle. And now I have made a decision as to what bicycle I will be riding for that trip. Stay tuned for more information as I will try to post things as I begin training and my thoughts on the ride...

Update

It’s been a while...ok it’s been a really long while since I posted anything on this blog. Although I would like to say the reason for that was that I have been off on a grand adventure; unfortunately that is not the case. Well some adventurous things have been happening but primarily I have been busy with work (which is just too boring to blog about)...so to fill you in on the goings on in my life, i have decided to start back up with my blog.

Married life is going well. Don is finally employed and in Houston!! He successfully defended his thesis and will officially graduate in December.

We bought a house – actually I should say we built a house. Which is awesome!! I never thought I would want to have the permanence of owning a home but it’s so nice to come home and have all the space we want and the flexibility to do what we want with it. There are still several rooms that are empty but the main livings areas are coming along nicely.

Finally, (for now) my sister just got married!! Don and I went to Oklahoma for the wedding. The chapel was gorgeous, the ceremony very nice, and Jess looked amazing. I can't wait to see the pictures.

So in the future I plan to keep this site more up to date - but dont be surprised if there isn't a lot happening outside of work :(

Wedding Photos

The wait is over...I have posted some (only a few in comparison to the hundreds we have) of the photos from the wedding on the site below. It was truely a wonderful expereince. Thanks to everyone who made it so special.

Enjoy...http://walker-wedding.blogspot.com/

Wedding Stuff

Well as most of you who read this already know...Don and I are finally getting married. Hopefully thats not too big of a suprise for anyone given how long we have been dating. The date is December 20, 2007. According to the calendar thats only about 46 days away. People are always asking me if I am excited...I am, but its hard to be super excited when I have loads of work stuff to worry about.

Luckilly most of the arrangements are taken care of...got the dress, location (Dalhousie Castle in Scotland), minister, visa (you have to have one to marry in the UK if you are not a resident), hotels, plane tickets, flowers, cake, ring bearer (his name is Bandit, see picture)...We are working with a group called Highland Country Weddings. They are based in Inverness Scotland, but also have an office in LA. So far its been pretty good, and rather easy.

We decided to register at Pottery Barn, Williams Sonoma, and JC Penney. At first we weren't going to register since it will be a small wedding but some of the people at work are throwing us a shower and wanted us to register. Its not like we need a whole lot of stuff, but it was fun to pick things out.

Funny and very true

Hurricanes and cars

Well it looks like Houston has avoided the first major hurricane of the season. It would have been a nice few days off work but also a hassle to deal with. I think that the consensus for most of my friends and neighbors is that we are likely to stick it out here in H-town. The reasoning being that we are far enough inland to get any major damage. Now if an evacuation was ordered for our area (unlikely) we would leave and head north. Yes I do have an almost full tank of gas in the event of an evacuation. Although don't forget that my car does run on an electric battery also.

Speaking of cars, Don bought a new one this weekend. Its very cool ... a Nissan Versa. Its a small hatchback, ultra low emissions and above 30 mpg. It also has a surprising amount of space and cost about half of my car. Below is a picture (shamelessly borrowed from Nissan's website). It's pretty cool because of some of the technology that is built in. It is Bluetooth capable and has a hook-up for an mp3 player. But the neatest thing is that you can keep the keys in your pocket and start the car. Its hard to explain but weird to watch at first.

Other than that not much happening outside of work. A group of us got together for a night at one of the Museums called "Mixers, Elixers and Imax". Basically its a Friday night event for those above 21 to explore the museum and watch an Imax with a cash bar and appetizers. It was pretty fun and there were a wide range of people in attendence. It appears to be a summer things (probably to get people out of the heat and humidity). Well thats all for now folks!

Good Search

If you google a lot you might check out Good Search http://www.goodsearch.com/ . Its a search engine powered by Yahoo! that allows you to select a charity and for every search you preform that charity gets 1 penny. This can really add up over time as more people use it to search...

Its been a while

Its been a while since I last posted something, and yet it doesnt seem like much has changed. I am still employed, perhaps over employed would be more suitable. My project at work has become a massive endevor, suposedly on the radar of the CEO. It seems like I am always behind where I should be and can never seem to get to a place where I can take a breath and relax. One of my good friends is moving to a different area, which is sad for me because his work is very good and I could use the help. Its a good opportunity for him though so thats the happy part.

Outside of work, the summer is well. Don is here so life is pretty good. We have been to Austin and San Antonio but not really farther than that. The days quickly turn into weeks and the weekends are too short, particularly since I seem to be spending a lot of them in the office. In fact that is where I write this blog...my office on a sunday. Its not pretty here since the ac is turned off on the weekends and Houston summer without ac is unbearable.

I wish I had some really exciting thing to post but unfortunatly nothting comes to mind. If I'm not at work I am working out at the new company gym or reading/watching movies. In a way its good since I can save some money to put towards my car, but otherwise pretty booring.

Don and I did go see a frogs exhibit at the Museum of Natural Science. It was really cool. They had all sorts of different frogs on display with some facts about each. They also had some preditors (snakes and piranahs). I'll try to be better at keeps this up to date....

Running in the Rain and other News from the past month...

February 24th, I ran in my first 5K race. It was exhilirating. Well I didn't run the entire way but I finished in about 43 minutes. Not bad for my first time, huh? It was the 20th annual ConocoPhillips Rodeo Run. There were over 7,000 people participating and it was raining for pretty much the entire time. All the money raised goes to support scholarships.

I guess this is also from February, but we (a charity orginization at COP) had its annual Chili Cook-Off. It went really well and was a lot of fun. As you can see from the above picture, I was on a team "The Mad Cow Chili Chefs". Don't ask how we got someone to dress up in a cow costume but it did get us an Honerable Mention for Theme.

In the weeks since that time things at work have been very busy. I think this month is probably the most extreme. I will be away from home for some period of time every week this month. Yikes... at least I am earning some miles for most of the trip. Some highlights so far....

Amarillo: I was in the Panhandle for a few day and I was supprised that there is a canyon that is actually quite pretty. Also, most of the towns were bigger than I expected (bigger than Yale for the most part). We made sure to stop by the Big Texan but no one attempted the 72 oz. steak.

Oklahoma: I just got back from Oklahoma, for the most part its the same as I left it. My flight was 3 hours delayed because of bad weather in Houston. Its the state's centennial this year so that was neat. Plus is was good to see some friends and family.

Up for this week is Dallas and Austin for work related stuff, and then back to Oklahoma next week for some new hire training. I think that is all that has been happening recently. Oh, I did move to a new apartment, only its the one next door to my old one. Its a long story but basically the complex is remodeling and now I have a remodeled apartment.

How Well Traveled are You?

Your Travel Profile:

You Are Very Well Traveled in the Southern United States (62%) You Are Well Traveled in the Middle East (50%) You Are Somewhat Well Traveled in Scandinavia (40%) You Are Somewhat Well Traveled in the United Kingdom (38%) You Are Somewhat Well Traveled in Western Europe (36%) You Are Somewhat Well Traveled in Southern Europe (33%) You Are Somewhat Well Traveled in the Northeastern United States (29%) You Are Somewhat Well Traveled in Africa (25%) You Are Somewhat Well Traveled in the Midwestern United States (25%) You Are Mostly Untraveled in Eastern Europe (20%) You Are Mostly Untraveled in Latin America (7%) You Are Mostly Untraveled in the Western United States (5%) You Are Untraveled in Asia (0%) You Are Untraveled in Australia (0%) You Are Untraveled in Canada (0%) You Are Untraveled in New Zealand (0%)

How Well Traveled Are You?

National MS Awareness Week

Its National MS Awareness Week this week (March 5-11). So in to raise awareness here are the basics on MS (FYI... I did plagarize this piece from the National MS Society so if you want more info be sure to check out www.nationalmssociety.org).

Multiple sclerosis is a chronic disease of the central nervous system that affects the brain and spinal cord. It usually strikes adults in the prime of life, between the ages of 20 and 50. It is a disease of the central nervous system that affects the brain and spinal cord. One new case of MS is diagnosed every hour.

What Is Multiple Sclerosis?

• MS is thought to be an autoimmune disease that affects the central nervous system (CNS). The CNS consists of the brain, spinal cord, and the optic nerves. Surrounding and protecting the nerve fibers of the CNS is a fatty tissue called myelin, which helps nerve fibers conduct electrical impulses.
• In MS, myelin is lost in multiple areas, leaving scar tissue called sclerosis. These damaged areas are also known as plaques or lesions. Sometimes the nerve fiber itself is damaged or broken.
• Myelin not only protects nerve fibers, but makes their job possible. When myelin or the nerve fiber is destroyed or damaged, the ability of the nerves to conduct electrical impulses to and from the brain is disrupted, and this produces the various symptoms of MS.
• People with MS can expect one of four clinical courses of disease, each of which might be mild, moderate, or severe.
• MS is a chronic, unpredictable neurological disease that affects the central nervous system.
• MS is not contagious and is not directly inherited.
• Most people with MS have a normal or near-normal life expectancy.
• The majority of people with MS do not become severely disabled.
• There are now FDA-approved medications that have been shown to "modify" or slow down the underlying course of MS.
  

Relapsing-Remitting Characteristics: People with this type of MS experience clearly defined flare-ups (also called relapses, attacks, or exacerbations). These are episodes of acute worsening of neurologic function. They are followed by partial or complete recovery periods (remissions) free of disease progression. Frequency: Most common form of MS at time of initial diagnosis. Approximately 85%.
Primary-Progressive Characteristics: People with this type of MS experience a slow but nearly continuous worsening of their disease from the onset, with no distinct relapses or remissions. However, there are variations in rates of progression over time, occasional plateaus, and temporary minor improvements.Frequency: Relatively rare. Approximately 10%.
Secondary-Progressive Characteristics: People with this type of MS experience an initial period of relapsing-remitting MS, followed by a steadily worsening disease course with or without occasional flare-ups, minor recoveries (remissions), or plateaus. Frequency: 50% of people with relapsing-remitting MS developed this form of the disease within 10 years of their initial diagnosis, before introduction of the "disease-modifying" drugs. Long-term data are not yet available to demonstrate if this is significantly delayed by treatment.
Progressive-Relapsing Characteristics: People with this type of MS experience a steadily worsening disease from the onset but also have clear acute relapses (attacks or exacerbations), with or without recovery. In contrast to relapsing-remitting MS, the periods between relapses are characterized by continuing disease progression. Frequency: Relatively rare. Approximately 5%.

Top Ten London - Finale

So to finally finish my London post (only took me one month)....

8) Borough Market ~ Spending Saturday mornings browsing the market for goodies like fresh fruits, cheese, and of course brownies. YUM! This open air market is perhaps one of the coolest places in London and its featured in "Bridget Jones' Diary". In fact we saw where she lives in the movie just by shopping at the market.

9) New Years Celebration ~ New Year's Eve was a cold and rainy night, but luckily for us we had a wonderful inside view of the festivities. Not only could we watch the fireworks through the windows, but we also got to see all the crazy, drunk people down below. Loads of fun!

10) Walking ~ London, unlike most American cities, is an amazing place to just walk around. There is so much history and so many amazing buildings that you can find just by walking around the city. This year we decided to walk from Royal Alber Hall, through Hyde Park, by the Palace and Green Park, past Westminster, across the bridge to the London Eye, and then on to the apartment. Its a long way but very worthwhile.

Weather Stuff

Apparently there was supposed to be a massive ice storm move into the Houston area Monday night. Well I went to the grocery store for my regular food shopping and and lo and behold...so did everyone else. I think the whole community must have been there preparing for what they thought was going to be a blizzard. I have never seen the grocery store that crowded. Anyway the ice never hit and life is returning to normal.

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Work is good. It looks like I will be moving to a new area shortly, Permian. I will still be based in Houston (which is good because I just renewed my lease), in the same office even. But I am excited to be joining a different area. Its more active than the Panhandle for us so there should be some challenges. The move will officially be in the next month or so but I have already gotten some work from the new area.

Top Ten London - PartTwo

To continue.....

5) Trips outside the city ~ Ok perhaps they dont belong on a list of "Top Ten London" but really one of the cool things about this trip to the UK was getting outside the city and visiting Windsor Castle (a royal residence for over 900 years) and Bath.
You cant take pics inside the castle so all I have are outside shots but it was really awesome and worth a day trip (or half day if your like us and sleep in). Bath was also cool, we only saw the Roman Baths and the Abbey then walked around the city. There are many more museums that we didn't get to.

6) Food ~ I never thought I would say that a top ten thing about London was the food but its suprisingly true. I think my favorite was L'Atelier de Joel Robuchon (five stars, lamb chops were outstanding, mashed potatoes out of this world, I wish I could have gotten 10 of the prawns). Also good were the Butcher and Grill (pork chops were excellent), the Savoy (Christmas Dinner), and Browns (gotta have fish and chips). Of course for places easy on the wallet Wagamama is great noodle bar and La Tasca is good for their selection of Tapas (yum!). I'm sure I'm forgetting some but the food in London has definitaly improved in the past few years.

7) Shopping ~ Well let's face it most girls like to shop, in keeping with that tradition....I really like ot buy clothes in the UK . I dont know why but they just seem to be very smart in style and fit. Although you have to be careful since the size scales are different from the US. My favorites are Next for work stuff and Monsoon for more casual / fun clothes.

ok I'm about to be kicked out of my apartment computer lab so ...till next time.......

London Top Ten

1) Ceremony of the Keys ~ Probably the coolest thing about this trip to London was the Ceremony of the Keys, or the nightly locking up of the Tower of London. It is a ceremony that has been preformed every night for the past 700 years. You can go and watch but you have to request tickets 2 months in advance. Check out
http://www.historicroyalpalaces.org/webcode/content.asp?ID=704 for more information.

2)Tea Time ~ What could be better for a tea drinker than a country that actually sets aside time in the day for drinking tea. Not only that but not just any old tea will do...the variety of teas is amazing...assam, darjeeling, breakfast, earl grey, oolong. And to top it off, you can have tea in a 300 year old tea shop that sells to the Queen.

3) Stonehenge (aka Stonehedge) ~ After racing around the English Countryside in the rain, when we arrived at Stonehenge the rain stopped and instead rainbows were out. Of course part of the fun about Stonehenge was a certain person mispronoucing it.

4) Theatre ~ For only being in London for a little over a week you would like it difficult to see many theatre preformances and concerts....wrong. We went to four shows (Wicked, Spamalot, Avenue Q, and Phantom of the Opera) and two concerts (Christmas Eve Carols and New Years Eve Vienese Music).

ok I got to top four....the rest are comming soon.....

Celeb. Look Alike

AARRRHH, Matey

Happy Halloween!!! I'm starting to think I work for one of the few groups that likes to have fun. Today is Halloween, and one of the charitable groups of the company decided to have a lasagna lunch complete with pumpkin carving and costume contest. Our group decided to go as Pirates, "Land Lubers" to be accurate. There was only one other group entry (they were the different candidates for the state's gubnatorial election, and they actually won the contest). There were some other individual entries but ours was only one of two with group entries. Well, below is a picture of me and a friend from work! Aaarrrrhh!

Amazing Iced Pumpkin Cookies

Cookies
2.5 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
1/5 tsp. ground cloves
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup butter, softened
1.5 cups white sugar (you can also substitute brown sugar)
1 can panned pumpkin puree
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract (I usually use about 2 tsp.)

Icing
2 cups confectioners' sugar (powdered sugar)
3 tbsp. milk
1 tbsp. melted butter
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, ground cloves, and salt; set aside. In a medium bowl, cream together the 1/2 cup butter and white sugar. Add pumpkin, egg, and vanilla to butter mixture, and beat till creamy. Mix in dry ingredients. Drop on cookie sheet by tablespoonfuls; flatten slightly. Bake for 15-20 minutes. Cool cookies, then drizzle glaze with fork. Enjoy!

To make icing
Combine confectioner's sugar, milk, melted butter, and vanilla. Add additional milk as needed to achieve drizzling consistency.