Merry Christmas 2007!

As for posting about my life... New girlfriend. New car. Research and school are going well. Life is good! And yes, you read that right, I have a new girlfriend! I'll try to post details at some point...

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Research update

I just wanted to fill you in on what's been going on since the fist pumps of the previous post...

The means were great, but there was way too much variability in the numbers. That means a lot of the excitement I had wasn't statistically significant.

That doesn't mean we're giving up. In fact, my adviser and I are pushing forward. We've added another factor to the experiment and are hoping the results help us tell a worthwhile picture.

I'll let you know when this makes me famous... (at least as famous as a PhD marketing student could be!)

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Research ROCKS!

Today I collected data on a project I've been working on. I've taken a quick look at some of the numbers that came out of it and they're working out almost perfectly with our hypotheses.

That rocks.

I literally did fist pumps in the air...

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What would Magnum do?

In case you hadn't heard, last night was Halloween! I know the suspense has been killing everyone, so here is a picture of me last night on Santa Monica Blvd in West Hollywood...



Yep, I'm dressed as Magnum PI. I got interesting reactions to the costume. I had friends that didn't recognize me with the mustache (or at least needed a few seconds to realize it was me). I also had an instance where I wore the costume to the party and one of the people I met there didn't recognize me when she saw me the next day without the 'stache.

The interesting part was among people I didn't know. I wore the costume to school yesterday and the undergrads didn't even notice. They're too young and just assumed I was a random guy with a mustache in a Hawaiian shirt, not in costume. The people my age and older would do a quick double-take. Last night in West Hollywood I didn't stand out too much to people who didn't get the costume (again, maybe they were too young), but when people did get the costume, they loved it. I got a bunch of "MAGNUM PI!!" shout-outs and had my picture taken a few times (though not nearly as often as any of the cross-dressers).

In case you haven't been to West Hollywood for Halloween, they close down Santa Monica Blvd for the night and people just roam around in costumes. They've got food booths and stages and thousands of freaks on parade. It's a blast. Especially since every attractive girl (and many unattractive girls) seems to dress up as a sexy something... sexy nurse, sexy cop, sexy Snow White, or sexy mostly-naked girl.

My only main piece of advice if you go next year: don't make eye contact with the dudes dressed up as girls...

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Iron Mike at LAX

This is one of my biggest celebrity sighting to date... Mike Tyson.

I'm right now at LAX (which has free internet access) waiting for a flight to Vegas. When I got in the security line, Iron Mike was at the front of the line.

Two observations: First, it looks like he really is having financial problems - no more private jets - but he's still wearing nice suits. But he still got preferential treatment, boarding his flight to Phoenix before anyone else (I wasn't stalking... his flight left from the same gate as mine). Second, he's a big dude. I guess I forget how big athletes are... on TV they're surrounded by other athletes, so their size isn't as obvious. But among the common folk, Mike Tyson was big.

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World Series predictions

So far, I've predicted four out of the six playoff series correct this year. Not bad, but not too good. I think I've been a little tainted by who I want to win (the Cubs and Indians were my picks) instead of who I thought actually would win (Arizona and Boston were more obvious picks).

That ends now... I'm going to say Boston in six, even though I want the Rockies to win. Boston just has too much power and for the Rockies to overcome. Plus, the eight day layoff for Colorado can't be a positive thing. Nothing breaks a hot streak (21 wins in 22 games) like a week off to get rusty...

Can the Rockies win? Yes. They need to take advantage of their opportunities. Beckett has been dominating for the Red Sox, which pretty much guarantees two wins for them. That means the Rockies have to come out swinging against Dice-K and Schilling, both of whom have been unpredictable. Also, Colorado's pitching needs to be as good as it has been lately for them to have a chance.

As a side note, the DH is really going to be a disadvantage for Colorado. It's always an advantage for the AL team, but more so for Boston. Their DH is David Ortiz. Who's Colorado got... Ryan Spilborghs? That's just not fair. American League teams pay a guy to play that position full time. National League teams use their best bench player (or sit a position player and start the bench guy), a guy who's not good enough to play every day. It's unfair, but that's they system.

Anyway... GO ROCKIES!

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Game day!

Today USC takes on Arizona. Mark "Dirty" Sanchez will be in at quarterback over John David Booty, making the first start of his college career. (I've taken to calling him Dirty Sanchez since he was arrested on suspicion of sexual assault. Charges were never filed, but the name lives on!)

This will also mark my first USC game of the year. If you're at the game or watching on TV, look for me... I'll be wearing a red t-shirt that says "USC Trojans" - I should be hard to miss!

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LCS Predictions

In my first round predictions, I was 3 for 4 in terms of choosing the correct team. The Cubbies were the only team to let me down. More surprisingly, however, was that I picked there to be one sweep - the Indians over the Yankees - and that was the only series that was not a sweep.

But based on the overwhelming show of support for my predictions from you, my loyal reader(s), I now present my League Championship Series predictions.

NLCS: Arizona vs. Colorado
First off, I think it's awesome that two teams from the NL West are in the NLCS and one of them will be in the World Series. I'm just upset that neither of those teams plays in LA. It's pretty nice to see given the fact that the Padres won the division with 82 wins a couple years ago.

Who am I rooting for? The Rockies. I really don't like the Diamondbacks. I really don't like their left fielder, Eric Byrnes. In comparison, I actually have reasons to like the Rockies.

1) First baseman Todd Helton is from Knoxville. He was the senior quarterback for the Knox Central football team, which we beat twice on our way to the state championship my sophomore year. (Yes, I was on that team... fourth string kicker. I have the state championship ring to prove it!) He went on to play quarterback for UT. In fact, he was a starter his junior year until an injury derailed his season. His replacement? Some guy named Peyton Manning.

2) Mike Coolbaugh. He was the first base coach for the Tulsa Drillers that was killed by a foul ball this summer. The Drillers are a minor league team of the Rockies. Even though he was a coach in the organization for only couple of weeks, the team has voted to give his family a playoff share. Playoff teams get an additional chunk of money. They vote on how to split it up. They voted to give a share to the Coolbaughs, a total that could be roughly $300,000 if they win the World Series.

3) They've pretty much always sucked, which has given me no reason to really dislike them other than the fact they play in the same division as the Dodgers.

Objectively, however, I think it's going to be a good series featuring some great young players. The Diamondbacks will rely on their pitching, especially Brandon Webb. The Rockies will rely on their offense, especially Matt Holliday. Webb will pitch maybe two games, which gives the Rockies up to five games to beat up on their other pitchers. Rockies in 6.

ALCS: Cleveland vs. Boston
Aside from Yankee fans, the most obnoxious fans come from Boston... and that stretches to Patriot fans. After five hundred years of complaining that they were cursed, they now think their team is they dynasty to end all dynasties. And they won't shut up about it. I don't want Sox fans to have the pleasure of winning the Series twice in four years. On the other side, I've got nothing against Cleveland. So my cheering this series will be for the Indians.

As for a prediction, things get tough. The Red Sox have a pitcher that looked unstoppable in the Division Series (Josh Beckett). The Indians have two pitchers that have been unstoppable all year and could both be near the top of Cy Young Award voting (C.C. Sabathia and Fausto Carmona). Advantage: Indians.

The Red Sox have a scary lineup from top to bottom with guys that can crush the ball at any given time. The Indians have a lineup that has some great offense, too, but isn't nearly as scary. Advantage: Red Sox.

They say pitching wins in October. I don't think that will change here. The Indians pitching will prove to be too much, something they proved against the equally (if not more) scary Yankee lineup. Indians in 5.

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Division Series predictions

I'm going to try to be objective, but I'm pretty sure these are going to be tainted by who I'm rooting for (Cubs) or against (Yankees).

Colorado vs. Philadelphia
I think this series will be fun to watch since it features the top two MVP candidates in the league - Matt Holliday of the Rockies and Jimmy Rollins of the Phillies. I just the Rockies are incredibly hot right now will ride it into the playoffs (similar either Marlins championship team). Also, the Phillies are too weak in the starting rotation. I'm going with the Rockies in four games.

Chicago vs. Arizona
Arizona really doesn't have much starting pitching other than Brandon Webb. He would need to win twice (in games 1 and 5) for the Diamondbacks to have a chance. I don't see it happening. The Cubs are a more mature team with a lot more playoff experience and I think they'll take the series in 4.

Cleveland vs. New York
This looks like it should be a one-sided series, especially since the Yankees won all six games between the teams this year. But I just really don't want the Yankees to win for a million reasons, one of which is that if they lose and A-Rod has a bad series, he may just be a Dodger come spring training. My 100% objective prediction: Cleveland in 3.

Anaheim vs. Boston
Yes, I still refer to them as Anaheim. They're not in LA. If the owner really wanted to appeal to a larger fan base by changing the team name, he should've used their old name and called them the California Angels of Anaheim. At least it would've made sense! Enough of that rant... I think the Angels may have too many players injured (Vlad, Figgins, Matthews) and the Sox have too much offense. Boston in 4.

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Another great Kaiser Permanente ad

This kid rocks!

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Rocky Top romance at Thompson-Boling Arena?

Today, Tennessee men's basketball coach Bruce Pearl filed for divorce from his wife of 25 years citing irreconcilable differences.

On August 25, Tennessee women's basketball coach Pat Summitt filed for divorce from her husband of 27 years citing irreconcilable differences.

Coincidence? Or something more???


Note: This is obviously 100% unfounded wild speculation...

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Dark day on Rocky Top

In this week's new college football AP poll, UT has fallen out of the top 25 thanks to their 59-20 loss at Florida.

That's bad enough.... but combined that with the fact that Kentucky (#21) beat Louisville and is now ranked for the first time since 1984, that just sucks.

Tennessee is out while traditional football powerhouses such as Kentucky and South Florida are in. Even Appalachian State (5), Tulsa (1), and Kansas (1) got more votes than Tennessee!

At least USC is doing well...

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31

So I'm now officially 31. Don't know what to do with 31. It's not exactly a milestone and it doesn't really feel any different than the last one except now I can say I've lived as many years as Baskin Robbins has flavors...

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Yikes!

I'm sure you're all sick of this already, but I can't get enough of this video!

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I wanna be a rockstar

In case you haven't heard it, this song explains it all...



The stations I listen to in Vegas (Mix 94.1) and LA (Star 98.7) both play this song, albeit different versions. In Vegas they play the version in the video, complete with all the censoring. In LA I get to hear the whole version, which includes the words drugs, drug dealers, ass, a**hole, and pills. You'd think Sin City would play the uncensored version. By the way, I've never understood why ass isn't usually censored, but a**hole is...

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Quote of the night

Me, last night before taking a swig from a 40 of Magnum Malt Liquor:

"I'm the designated driver!"

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