From The Back Row

To say I’m an infamous tv watcher would be accurate. Besides the squadron of Tivos, SlingBox Pro and everything, besides how one of my favorite weeks in the year are the Upfronts, besides how I’m taking a class about Broadcast Ratings… here’s what my summer tv schedule looks like, in order of Tivo season pass rank (based on school’s cable system which is shoddy at best):

1) Big Brother 8, 2) John from Cincinnati, 3) Entourage, 4) The 4400, 5) Big Love, 6) Miami Ink, 7) Rescue Me, 8] Monarch of the Glen, 9) Late Show with David Letterman, 10) Late Night with Conan O’Brien, 11) PTI, 12) Poker After Dark, 13) IndyCar Racing, 14) American Chopper, 15) Burn Notice, 16) Iron Chef America, 17) Jim Rome is Burning, 18) Jericho – - Notable Wishlists: Doctor Who, Eureka, Formula 1, UFC, Sports/Sailing

Edit Note: America’s Cup ended and I made some decisions on what was important and not, so I’ve made some corrections to the above list

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As of right now, I’ve well-covered the southern 1/3 of this country. In August, I’ll add the middle part. Here’s a little snap showing all my stops on 3 cross country treks, with the full trip plotted out here:

Ok, so I had 7 exams this week, including my requisite 3 finals. The grades look to be astounding considering my past math history and how I couldn’t write a complete in sentence in spanish 5 1/2 weeks ago. Now it’s a few days off before next session which starts Wednesday.

On tap for Summer II – Measurement and Analysis of Electronic Media Audiences (which used to be just Broadcast & Cable but I guess they changed it…), Finite Math (Math 103, Sets, logic, counting, elementary probability and statistics, matrices, linear programming, applications to finance) and another “interdisciplinary colloquia” class – Conducting “Real World” Research in Social Sciences. Good to see I’m taking the easy way out.

Had occasion to get myself a decent Rush ticket on ebay, so I checked ‘em out on the 2nd stop of their current tour. I’m not too familiar with any of the “new” material save for what is played on the radio, but I hadn’t seen ‘em in awhile so I figured it was time. Setlist was fine, sprinkled heavily with new stuff, most of it the same rocking and rolling tunes that have been coming from them. A few notable oldies included Mission, Circumstances, Natural Science and Tai Shan. The usuals were in-effect as well with Limelight, Dreamline, Spirit of Radio, Tom Sawyer. They closed with A Passage to Bangkok and YYZ. The reductions in Neil’s kit were evident, so much so that I noticed the absences more than a few times. He had a great solo, of course, and closed it with an homage to Buddy Rich, which I understood but few around me noticed. Florida has it’s share of aging rock fans though and the whole gang was there including Mullet Guy, Fading Star and a special appearance by Neon Hat/Parachute Pants guy. Cameras were actually encouraged so I snapped a few choice shots from my seat, including the one below and a couple more on my Flickr site (see link on right). Good times, well worth the effort to check out a class(ic) act.

Alright, he’s something for the ol’ Christmas list (see, I’m not hard to buy for): The World’s First Inflatable Pub

Just wrapping the 2nd to last week of this 1st session. Nothing too earth-shattering to report, basically into the daily routine of not having enough time for anything (thanks to math and spanish). Rains alot more these days, so that’s good. I always get paranoid in Miami when it’s not raining. I was going to provide some thoughtful analysis to explain the Ducks winning the Cup, but I don’t have time right now. What I can say is that it was basically expected after signing Pronger, except no one wanted to admit that it was expected or even come close to jinxing the situation. Personally, and I didn’t even attend all the games, especially in the last 2 rounds of the playoffs, but personally a routine of showing my pass to the guard outside the officials lockerroom and using the same bathroom before games and occasionally visiting the pressbox before games and all the other silly routines might have (and I say might have) paid off in the team winning. It’s superstition for sure. I should get a ring (kidding).

Anyways, classes are going well, average-to-above-average grades. Next week is killer with many exams (less than 10, more than 5), but it’s the last week and the unofficial halfway point, so it’s not all bad. Tonight (Friday June 15th), I’m heading up to West Palm Beach to see Rush. After I get back on Saturday, guess what – that’s right, homework. I’ll take some pictures and post something new later this weekend, early next week. Right now, it’s just a push to get these classes done and in the books. PS: It was nutso to take math and a language at the same time.

When you’re at the Hooters Hotel in Vegas and you’re putting down futures bets, you don’t think to put $100 or more on any one team to win the Stanley Cup, the hardest title to win in professional sports. $220 is $220 any way you look at it! Congrats Ducks…

Ok, so endemic to the UM dorm facilities (aka ‘The Institution’, aka ‘The Prison’) is a huge dust and debris problem. You can’t walk down the hall without picking some sort of item up on your feet or shoes (dust, crumbs, misc bits). As such, everyone wears sandals or Crocs or whatever.

To fight this problem in your room you can do one of two things: 1) Buy a carpet. Get yourself a carpet, crop to fit the built-in furniture, enjoy for 9 months, throw out after spring semester. or 2) Constantly sweep. I chose a 3rd option and Woot‘ed myself a Roomba. Walk out the door for class, hit ‘Clean’ on the remote, come back and everything (even under the bed) is cleaned up & Roomba is back on it’s cradle.