Friday, December 12, 2003

 

Heading to the Beach

Taking off with A to head on over to Oceanside, Oregon for some secluded study-time and occasional walks on a stormy beach. Back on Monday to take my Secured Transactions final.

posted by The Brooklynite 4:07 PM

Tuesday, December 09, 2003

 

The Hell That is Finals


Just got home after completing my first final exam of the semester. It was Bojack's Income Tax I final. It was challenging but fair which is all you can ever really ask for in a final. The first "half" was a 90-minute, 36-question multiple choice test. I am known for buzz-sawing through multiple choice exams and finishing with plenty of time. When I took the Patent Bar I finished the morning session with 15 minutes to spare and the afternoon session with 20 minutes to spare. I only had 5 minutes to spare today. Then came a 2-hour, 2-question, essay exam. The first question was time consuming with lots of avenues and issues and it took me just over an hour. I dispatched the second question in about 45 minutes.

Now there are only 3 more exams to go and a minor paper to finish up for my Business Advising class.

One last thought while my brain can still function: as I was sitting in the room listening to Prof. Jack go over the exam procedures, I started to wonder if I was ever going to get to a point in my life where I didn't have to take scan-tron multiple choice tests with the explanation of how to fill out the stupid little form. I've been taking scan-tron tests since at least third grade. I'm 37 years old. When does it stop???

My favorite scan-tron experience was the unbelievably stereotypical federal government bureaucrat that couldn't even give out the instructions correctly on how to fill out a scan-tron when I took the Patent Bar in Seattle in October of 2002. It was even worse when, at the beginning of the afternoon session, he made the same blithering mistakes in reading the instructions again. It was so bad in the afternoon that at least half of my fellow test takers and myself guffawed or even laughed out loud at him.

posted by The Brooklynite 6:33 PM

Sunday, December 07, 2003

 

Is it Time for the Pac-10 to Get Out of the BCS?

First, a couple of years ago, the Ducks got screwed out of a chance to play Miami for a "National Championship." (quotes are on purpose). It was down to the Ducks and Nebraska and everybody knew the Ducks were the better team. The Ducks ended up completely thrashing Colorado, a team that had done the same to Nebraska. And the ratings appropriatly sucked for the Nebraska-Miami game in which Miami completely controlled from wire to wire. I'm not saying the Ducks would have won; but, I believe the Ducks would have given Miami a better game and the ratings would have been much, much, better.

And now USC gets screwed, but even worse. USC got ranked Number 1 in the human polls today by garnering the most first place votes. Heck, Oklahoma only got two fist place votes in one poll. However, USC will not be allowed to play for the now officially-only-quasi-national-championship. It will be LSU and Oklahoma playing in the Sugar Bowl.

How much money did the Pac-10 lose by not having its teams in the "national championship" games the last few years? How long is its contractual agreement with the BcS (emphasis heavily on the BS)?

My only hope now is that USC clobbers Michigan in the Rose Bowl (at least the Rose Bowl will be back to its traditional Pac-10/Big-10 roots). And that the other game (that doesn't really matter) is dominated by LSU. Then some ridiculously wealthy corporation steps up to the plate and offers tens of millions of dollars to the NCAA and USC and LSU to play one more game two weeks later. F&*! the BCS. Oklahoma didn't even win their own conference!!!!!!

And wasn't the motivation for the Pac-10 what happened with the other pre-BCS rediculous result of Washington not even being recognized as co-champs with Miami the year both went undefeated???

Bah humbug.

posted by The Brooklynite 2:57 PM