Lack of Updates
It's exam season again, and you know what that means- time to disappear into the library for awhile. Ah, seems like old times. Bottom line is, things will be light around here for awhile. I've got a ton of reading to do though for real and I'm not looking forward to it at all. Well, at least after this it's summertime- oh, wait.

Thoughts on Train Accident near Osaka
I'm sure many of you have heard by now about the terrible train accident that occured yesterday. It's a real tragic situation, with many people possibly still trapped under the rubble. The train driver was only 23, not much older than me. I wonder if they will establish an age limit after this.

When you go out on a train, a lot of trust is involved. You're going at a high speed in what can be a very crowded car. Once when I was on a train that was leaving Machida, it had to stop abruptly for some reason. It was a crowded car during rush hour and every body flew forward on top of each other. Even at a low speed, it was a rough jolt- I can't imagine what this accident could have been like.

I send my condolences to the families of anyone who lost or injured in this tragedy.

Interesting Weather Today
I was out and about enjoying the weather today, but I kept noticing something seemed a little out of the ordinary- then it hit me. The weather was like a cool fall day, but all the trees and flowers were in full bloom. After a couple days of heat and humidity, it was a nice break. Still, I'm ready for the warm spring weather.

21st Century Technology
Thanks to Google Maps, you can now see satellite pictures of just about anywhere in the United States! Neat! Of course, both MapQuest and Microsoft have had these features for a couple of years, but since it's Google, it gets all the press. Go ahead, check it out- type in your address or the city where you live and odds are good it will show up.

Just like anything else on the internet, this has led to some, ah, interesting applications. Check out this webpage for sights to check out.


Edit: Be sure to click on the "Satellite" link in the upper right corner at the Google Map webapge!

Sad News to Report

Sam Mills, 1959-2005

Atama ga Itai
It seems I've gotten a rather intractable migraine-ish headache going on today, and I can't say that I'm too happy about it. In fact this whole semester I've been getting them regularly every few weeks or so. In trying to figure out what causes them, it seems that I always come to the conclusion that it's somehow food-related- too much sugar, not enough sugar, eating too little, caffeine-related, etc. I'm still not entirely sure what it exactly is though. I used to get migraines pretty often when I was a kid, so living with headaches is nothing new.

But it's strange now, instead of puking like I did with migraines, I normally just fall right to sleep for about 10 hours, no matter what the time of day. If I get one of these bad headaches it's not uncommon for me to sleep from 8pm or earlier until the next morning. Now I'm all about a good night's sleep, I just wish that it wasn't forced on me by a headache, you know?

Why aren't I sleeping now, you ask? 24 comes on at 9, and you know I can't miss an episode. Silly question.

S.O.P.
Normally I try to do two things on this blog. One is link to other blogs, especially when I think I can say something myself. Two, discuss politics. So linking to political blogs has got to be really out of the question, right? Well, not today. Read this post about the estate tax and just let it marinate for a while.

Josh Marshall- Talking Points Memo

No Respect
The '05 Panthers schedule was released yesterday, and while there are several highlights, all I can say is we got disrespected by the league office. There is only one primetime game, the Monday-nighter against Green Bay, which puts us in the same area as other one-timers such as Jacksonville, Cleveland, Cincinnati, San Francisco, Detriot, and Arizona.
So that's what the league thinks of the Panthers? In the same class as the Lions and Cardinals, two years after a Super Bowl berth? No respect, no respect at all I tell you.

Games I'm looking forward to-

9/18 vs. Patriots. Expect the crowd to go nuts on this one. Should be good fun and a win would feel really good here.

10/3 vs. Green Bay. Always a treat to play on Monday Nite. I hope Steve Smith has a huge game to make up for getting injured in last year's matchup between these two.

11/6 at Bucs. This rivalry still has some heat to it. Should be a good game, as always between the two.

12/4 vs. Atlanta. Vick comes to town yet again. With the playoff race in full swing, maybe this is the time the Panthers finally take him down.

Whoops
I was going to see Chevelle at Tremont Music Hall tomorrow night- seemed like a good show, was looking forward to it. Except that it turns out the show was actually tonight. So I missed my chance, playing table tennis and watching 24 instead. Well, next time.

It's been a long time
A lot of stuff going on since the last blog entry. Sorry, I've been a little busy. Let's see, Friday I finally finished by policy paper on British Missile Defense, I thought it would never be done, but sure enough I got it finished. Its not being graded by the teacher, but by his teaching assistant in Chapel Hill who I have never met, so I can't say I'm feeling too at ease over that. Hopefully she'll grade it fairly, or at least not too strictly. We'll see.

Interestingly enough I came down with a little bit of a sore throat problem about the time I was wrapping up the paper. Guess it was from the nonstop use of public computers and water fountains, along with the endless shaking of hands at the job fair on Wednesday. With all that going on I guess I can't say that I am too surprised.

I had a job interview with Target on Friday, lucky me I got to dress up all in a suit and go to class. Overall I think it pretty well. It was for a management postion and basically they asked you questions to see how you would react in a leadership situation. I was stumped by some of the questions too but I think I ended up doing alright.

This weekend was Charlotte's big series against Tulane, who is either ranked #2 or #3 in the country depending on which poll you look at. Charlotte ended up getting swept in three games, which stinks, but when two of the three starting pitchers are All-Americans, it's pretty tough. The Niners almost took Saturday's game, but couldn't complete the comeback for a dissapointing loss. It's funny, C-SET was showing today's game, and I actually got kicked out of the press box to make room, and ended up getting a bitchin' sunburn all over. It's gonna feel real good tomorrow. I did see some the highlights on TV, they looked pretty sweet. C-SET should show some more baseball games, even if it does mean I can't stay in the press box with the cool kids. And be sure to pick up the Tuesday UTimes, free on campus, to see my rundown of the week's action.

I had to go back home to sign some tax papers yesterday, and got to see my Aunt visiting from Ohio. We had a good time, went out to eat, shopped at the BJ's Warehouse Club, etc. It's funny, she asked me for something I normally couldn't afford at a supermarket, and all I could think of was Chex Mix. No fancy steaks, no lobster tails, no nothing. But if you think about it, Chex Mix is over two bucks for just this little bag. It is kind of expensive. Or, I'm just that cheap. One or the other.