Zoltar Machine

I watched Big the other night and it got me thinking about what I would wish for if I came across a Zoltar Machine.  Then I remembered I did find a Zoltar machine a while back!  It wasn't quite the same though.  I didn't have to land a quarter in the genie's mouth and it worked just fine while plugged in.  And as of yet my dream has not come true.  Not quite the fantasy that was the movie.  But maybe it only works for physical wishes.  Perhaps I had to wish for something that would cause some sort of physical change.  Or maybe it only works when a kid uses it.  Who knows.  And of course, as I'm writing this I realize that I can't reveal my wish or else it will never come true.  I also won't ask any of you to reveal yours either.  But I do challenge you to think about it.  And maybe I'll ask you to think back to when you were a kid and what you might have wished for then.  I probably would have wished to be better at baseball.  That's not my wish now, though!  Don't fail me Zoltar!  Anyway, it's just something to think about.  Also, go watch Big if you haven't seen it in a while.  It's a really great movie.

I need an It's A Wonderful Life Moment

George Bailey proclaims in It's A Wonderful Life that he wishes he'd never been born at all.  He is promptly visited by an angel who proceeds to show him a world without George Bailey.  And what a different world it is.  Well I'm having one of those moments right now.  Not so much wishing I'd never been born, but really just wondering if I've actually made an impact in the world.  Were my students better off having me as a teacher?  Have I made a positive difference in the lives of my friends?  I hope I haven't made a negative difference.  But these are the things I wonder.  I just want to know that what I'm doing in life is worth it, because right now I'm just not sure.  I kind of feel like nobody would know if I disappeared.  Would anybody's life really be worse off without me in it?  It really would just be nice to have an angel show me some of these things.  Plus it would be cool to meet an angel.  But I figure maybe a moment like that would make me feel better about the things I've done and the things I'm doing in life.

My Hierarchy of Sports Teams

Now that NCAA Football and the NFL have both kicked off their seasons more people seem to be talking about sports.  And while I love talking sports, football isn't exactly at the top of my list of favorite sports.  Don't get me wrong, I enjoy watching football, but I don't live and die with every snap of my favorite team like some people.  This did get me thinking, though, about my hierarchy of sports teams.  Which teams do I care more about and take more of a vested interest in?  For the sake of keeping this concise I will keep it to the four major professional sports and two major college sports.  Here we go!

1. Philadelphia Phillies
I'm pretty sure most of you saw that coming.  I live and die with this team.  Baseball is my favorite sport and the Phillies are my favorite team.  I watch every game that I can.  I plan my days around when the Phillies play.  I hate it when they lose, I mean hate it.  This year has been exceptionally difficult.  But even though the Phillies have no hope of making the playoffs this year, I won't give up on them and won't stop watching.  Even during the offseason I read articles about the Phillies and follow their moves.  The start of Spring Training excites me and I live for Opening Day.  That's why they are at the top of my list and always will be.

2. University of Arizona basketball
Bear Down!  College basketball is the perfect winter sport for me.  The season starts pretty much right after the World Series and the Final Four ends right around Opening Day.  That makes it perfect to occupy my time when there's no baseball to watch.  It also helps that I went to a school with a big time basketball program.  I love watching Wildcats basketball.  This is another team that I hate to see lose.  It just puts me in a bad mood.  And I hate missing a game.  I watch every game and I expect us to win every game.  But they are still just a notch below the Phillies because it's not baseball.

I had a hard time setting the order for numbers 3-5.  They kind of all blend together.  While I like all three teams and follow them all during season, I don't live and die with their results.  Since I can't really decide how to separate them, I've decided to lump them all together.

3-5. Philadelphia Eagles, Los Angeles Clippers, University of Arizona Football
The Eagles seem to continue to disappoint every season, but I keep watching and keep hoping they catch lightning in a bottle one year.  I'm not a huge football fan, but as a Philly sports fan I do love the Eagles.  But seeing as the beginning of the NFL season runs over the end of baseball season and the end of the NFL season runs through the middle of college basketball, the Phillies and Wildcat basketball tend to occupy more of my time.
I'm one of a few people who can proudly proclaim that he was a Clippers fan before their recent run of success.  Since they haven't really been very good up until a couple years ago it was really easy to casually root for them.  Now that they are better and more of their games are on TV it makes it easier to watch them.  But in the end they are still the Clippers and I don't keep my expectations too high.
Finally, UA football is another team that I don't really expect too much from.  For the first ten years I was in Tucson the team was abysmal.  They have been much better the past few years, and a lot more fun to watch, especially with Rich Rod as coach, but I'm still not as invested in every game like I am with the Phillies or Wildcat basketball.  I do still watch every game though.

6. Philadelphia Flyers
Finally, we have the Flyers.  I follow their progress throughout the year and watch them in the playoffs, but that's about it.  It was exciting when they were in the Stanley Cup finals a few years back, though.

So there it is, my hierarchy of teams.  What does yours look like?  What teams do you live and die with as opposed to just following casually?  Feel free to share.

Why do people dislike YouTube videos?

This is something I've been wondering for a long time.  I watch my fair share of YouTube videos, probably not as many as some, but enough for my liking.  And naturally, I don't like all of the videos that I watch.  But when I don't like a video I just stop it and go on to the next one.  I don't feel the need to hit the little thumbs down button or write some nasty comment expressing my dislike.  Yet I see that people do that all the time.  So I have to ask why?  I could understand if the video was horribly offensive in some way, but most of the time they are just stupid, innocent videos of foxes on trampolines or pandas.  So what is it that people dislike so much about all these videos?  And why do they feel the need to express their dislike so vehemently?  I'm really befuddled by this, especially when one of my videos gets a dislike.  I mean, most of my videos are just useless facts.  I can understand why people might not want to watch them.  They're not terribly exciting after all.  But to hit the dislike button?  That seems a little harsh.  Just move on to the next video.  If someone could please explain to me the appeal of disliking YouTube videos I would very much appreciate it.  I'm just really curious because it doesn't make sense to me.  But maybe I'm missing something, or maybe I'm just old fashioned, who knows.  Either way, I encourage all of you to buck the dislike trend and really make a video earn a dislike.  No more frivolous dislikes!  Something tells me this won't catch on.  But seriously, what's not to like about this video?!

I Challenge You!

The more and more cell phone commercials I see, the more appalled I am.  Almost all of these commercials show people walking around in public with the face in their phone.  They advertise how fast the service is and how much better connected you will be.  All I see is a bunch of people so disconnected from the actual world they are living in that they escape into the world of their phone.  Another commercial shows a girl taking a picture at a concert and then spending time zooming and panning to find the image she likes before sending it to all of her friends.  So basically, she is more concerned about sending a cool picture of the concert to all her friends than actually enjoying the concert that she is attending!  The sad thing, though, is that these commercials are rooted in reality.  I see this in real life all the time.  Walking around the campus of the university I work at, people are constantly on their phones and it's a wonder more of them don't run into walls, trees, or other people.

So here's my challenge to you.  Try to spend a day where you only use your phone as needed.  Wait until you get home to check your messages or go on Facebook or Twitter.  When out in public instead of looking at your phone as you walk, try paying attention to what's going on around you.  Make an effort to notice at least five things that you've never noticed before.  If you see something cool that you want to take a picture of, resist the urge.  Instead, talk to someone about it and try to describe it in your own words.  Think of it as a way to work on improving your creativity.  Basically, I'm challenging you to reconnect with the physical world and disconnect with the virtual world, if only for a day.  Who knows, you might end up liking it.

The Mystery of the Packrabbit

I accidentally invented a new creature today.  It's called a Packrabbit.  Here's what happened.  I was in the lunch room at work today waiting for my food to cook in the microwave.  We have a very small lunch room and there were a lot of people in there today.  It was getting difficult to maneuver around everyone else and shuffle through whose turn it was in the microwave.  One of my coworkers said something to me that I didn't quite understand.  I was very confused and was trying to figure it out in my head before I just asked her to repeat it.  It turns out she said, "We need more microwaves."  That made a lot more sense than what I heard which was, "We need more packrabbits."  I told the rest of the lunch room about this misunderstanding and it started a hilarious conversation about the mysterious packrabbit.  Ironically, someone else heard the same thing so I'm not totally crazy.  But we decided that the Packrabbit should be our new mascot at work.  That got us talking about what a packrabbit might look like.

Here's what I think.  A packrabbit is a smaller looking rabbit, with ears that don't stick straight up but slant towards his rear.  He has to be able to get in and out of tight places after all.  And he wears a tiny little backpack to hold all his stuff.  Or maybe a fanny pack.  Packrabbits are cool enough to pull off the fanny pack.  I thought about giving him a pouch like a kangaroo, but that felt too much like a kangaroo.  He would be light brown in color and always look like he's smiling.  He might even be wearing sunglasses, but that may be a stretch.  And instead of a puffy tail, packrabbits have a thin tail, but it's still short.  And they have a distinct reddish brown patch of fur on their chest.  Packrabbits need some sort of distinguishable characteristic, other than the backpack or fanny pack of course.  So those are my thoughts on the packrabbit and what it might look like.  What do you think?  Maybe I can actually design a picture one day.

Until then, we'll never really know, and that is the real mystery of the Packrabbit.

What's the Difference between Nervousness and Excitement?

I'm about to embark on a new adventure in my life.  Tomorrow I begin teaching my first college class.  I'm really excited to be taking this step, but I'm also nervous as hell.  I'm realizing tonight that I'm having a hard time distinguishing the line between my nerves and my excitement.  Have any of you been in a similar situation?  I mean I'm excited to have this opportunity, especially since it is something I can cross off my life list, but I'm nervous that I'm not cut out for it.  But maybe part of the excitement comes from facing my fear and being able to overcome it.  And I should state that I'm not really afraid of the teaching part, but this is a college class and there's a lot more at stake than there ever was when I taught middle school.  On the other hand, maybe my nerves come from the fact that I'm so excited about this new opportunity that I just want to make sure I make the most of it.  I don't know.  I can't tell.  What I do know is that tomorrow is the beginning of a 16 week adventure in which I'll be fulfilling one of my dreams.  And whether I'm feeling nerves or excitement, I have to fight through it and teach the class to the best of my ability and try to provide my students with a memorable experience that they will take with them long after the class has ended.  So wish me luck and stay tuned for my reflection post after the class ends.