Square Galaxy

I’m from Oregon, and I’ve heard from my family about the recent storms and floods there. I’m also a ham radio operator, so when I read on slashdot how ham radio saved the day, I got excited. I remember 12 years ago being one of those ham radio operators helping out with emergency communications, and I remember listening in to the communications going out to Vernonia, Oregon and wishing that I could do more.

Even duck luck in Las Vegas isn’t going to keep the University of Oregon from being just another course on BYU’s dominating dinner plate this season.  While Oregon has 7 wins, they have been generally pathetic:

They beat Stanford, but so did just about everyone else.

They beat Fresno State, who couldn’t even find a winning record in the WAC.

They didn’t lose to Oklahoma in what is widely regarded as the most controversial officiating of football this year.  It really should have been Oklahoma’s game.

Oregon gains a few cents in the credible wins bank with a win over Arizona State, who did have a 7-5 overall season, but still couldn’t find a winning record in conference play.

The most impressive win maybe was over UCLA, who found Oregon at the beginning of their tough loosing streak.

A win over Portland State, a division I-AA school, hardly even counts as a win.

Oregon’s last win came a month ago over Washington, who by the way, was Stanford’s only victory on the season.

When the bowl game is finally done, Oregon is going to wish that what happened in Vegas, stays in Vegas.

The following article is from 2006. Click here for 2007 Las Vegas Bowl information.

I’m not all knowing when it comes to football bowl games, but I do know enough to try and guess. The number 4 team from the Pac-10 will go to the Las Vegas Bowl to play BYU. It could be any of these teams: Oregon, Oregon State, UCLA, Arizona, Arizona State, and Washington State.
(continue reading…)

School was good today, I actually got some good studying done on the train to school. Solid state physics is all about crystals. Mostly silicon crystals, although sometimes we talk about hard carbon ones.

Its another rainy, blowy, Oregon day. I really like it, especially with the new waterproof coat that I bought myself. It is a little chilly, but I just put my hood on, and all the wind and the chills and the rain stay outside, and the good warm feelings stay inside.

As soon as I got home, I got this incredible desire for pie, specifically, pumpkin pie. The Sara Lee pumpkin pie went even more on sale this week, and is now less than a dollar fifty per pie. But the thing is, I know I should be cutting back on sweets and things so I don’t get fat. I mean, what girl is going to marry a fat Jacob? So I want the pie, but when I compare the options of a piece of pie against eternal companionship….. but there are no promises that the pie will make me fat or that I’ll ever get married, so it’s not really a competition like that. I don’t think I have any whipped cream, and that could be a problem. What I really want is just for someone to give me permission to eat the pie.

I wouldn’t feel so guilty about eating pie if I was more active. I really want to hike a mountain, but I have no one to go with me.

We talked about the creation in institute class today. I can’t believe how much people on both sides of the evolution topic get worked up. I know I’m a child of God. I exist. All the little details about how Adam was created…. well, if it was important to my salvation, then it would be in the Book of Mormon.

Dear friends and loyal readers,

Please remember and take the time to vote. If you haven’t voted yet, and you have the next 30 minutes free, I suggest voting now–don’t put it off any more. Even if you haven’t reviewed all the issues, at least vote on the few issues you know about.

For those of you in Oregon, remember that it is too late to mail your ballot, that you will have to drop it off at a collection site by 8pm tonight.

I would also encourage you to make sure you vote Ron Saxton. He has pledged to put partisan politics behind and work not for any particular political party, but for Oregon. Oregon needs change, and Ron Saxton will get it done (or you can elect someone else next time).

Oh, and the whole measure 45 thing about term limits for state legislators… vote that down please. Term limits may have a place on the national scene, but local politicians don’t really carry huge names or budgets (like national politicians do), so it is more important that we allow experienced representatives to use their experience in office. Besides, we already have term limits… if someone has been in office too long, then we just vote for someone else. At least that is what the Hillsboro Argus said, and I agree.