Riley

Since we were assigned to write about research, I didn't have time to write about the new dog I got.  My girlfriend and I got a dog from this couple in Muncie.  She is a one-year old Lab/Greyhound mix.  Her name was Kiyah but we decided to change it to Riley.  She is a young, energetic dog that loves to go on walks.  I've had her about 3 weeks now.  She is a great dog although she seems to have had a troubled past.  She was very timid for the first couple weeks but has loosened up some.  She still shows some signs of being afraid but I think that will just take time.  She shows that she is more confident and upbeat everyday.  Hopefully by the time school is out, she'll be the confident dog she should have been all along.

Research Process

I'm not sure how I feel about working in groups for a paper.  I don't know how much will be group oriented but I hope its not much.  I don't really enjoy working in groups too much, but I will make it work. I think for our topic, we're going to do replays in the MLB.  I feel that the topic can be argued either way fairly well.  Baseball traditionalists don't want to see the game tainted by replays.  They want the human element.  Some people, and myself, would like to see some form of video replay in baseball, on plays that change the game or history.  I believe replay should have been made on the missed perfect game earlier this year.  It was a missed chance at history.  I think we are going to have a good topic for the paper.

Upcoming NBA season

When I was much younger, I followed the NBA pretty closely.  Most people remember the days of the Pacers having Reggie, Rik Smits, and the Davis boys.  Its been a long time since those days and I've hardly watched a game since.  I have found the the NBA to be to drama filled and whiney.  Every player seems to whine and complain about every missed call or a call they think was bad.  It all really deterred me from watching the game.  I don't think the NBA is really going to catch my attention all that much now either.  A few teams seem to be stacked and the rest and lined up with mediocre players at best.  It doesn't help that the home town team isn't worth much either.  The only players I really like to watch are Kevin Durant and Derek Rose and that really isn't worth watching an entire whiney, complain-filled game.  I recently picked up NBA 2k11 and that game is great.  All the NBA action without the whining and complaining.  Maybe it will provoke me to sit and watch a couple real games this year.

As School Progresses

The further we delve into the school year, the more the work piles on.  I have classes assigning papers, and research, and reading entire books, along with online quizzes, mixed in with regular, everyday homework. I knew that it would all come eventually, but I never figured it would be all at one time.  Its become harder to balance everything, such as a social life, leisure time, and time to study.  I was never the master of allotting that much time for studying, but I need to find a way to incorporate more into my weekly schedule.  Its always been easy to flip on the TV or squander an entire afternoon away talking to someone. Planning for studying is about the opposite.  In the coming weeks, I'm going to have to plan better or become crushed under the weight of everything.

Stray Dog

Today, one of my roommates came home from a walk down by the river with her dog with another dog.  At first I thought she was dog-sitting but it turns out the dog is a stray.  She said she tried knocking on houses nearby but no one answered.  Now, we have the dog temporarily until the pound opens back up.  The Muncie Public Pound doesn't open til Monday but she doesn't want to take it there because they exterminate dogs.  The private pound in Muncie isn't open until Tuesday, so either way, we are likely going to have the dog for some time.  I'm going home this weekend so hopefully when I get back, the dog will be reunited with its owner or have found a good home.  If you're missing a white, fluffy, mail dog, let me know... We might have your dog

NFL Week One

The first week of the NFL season was full of surprises.  Colts lost to the Texans for just the second time in history.  Colts have rarely lost games in September over the past 6 or so years.  Bob Sanders ended up getting injured and is likely out for the season, which is actually not much of a surprise now.  There were also a number of unlikely upsets.  I helped one of my roommates make her picks before the opener and I ended up making her finish near the bottom of her bracket.  I was just judging based on last year and off-season acquisitions and I figured that I had made solid picks.  I guess there is going to be plenty of surprises this season which is no surprise in itself.

NFL Opening Night

Tonight the NFL season begins with a rematch of the NFC Championship game, which looks to be a great game.  The Colts begin their season on Sunday against the Texans and are the favorites to win the Superbowl, despite not winning a single preseason game.  The NFL season being back isn't just a good thing for football fans, its a great time of the year for a ton of people.  Football can bring friends, family, or even complete strangers together.  Families will grill out and gather together to watch the hometown team.  Friends could go out to eat and watch the game where they could meet strangers who also root for the same team.  Then it turns into a new friends or common enemies who meet every week to root on or battle it out.  Either way, the NFL season is a time of hope and I'm looking forward to a great season.