States Game Revisited

I used to play this game a ton probably about a year ago after Alison told me about it, but I haven't been back in a while. Today I thought I would try again....

I lost my screenshot of the game, but I got a 90% with an average mileage error of only 10 miles! So I guess I couldn't land all the states perfectly, but I never got more than about 25 miles away.

It's a fun game :)

We did it!

Well, we actually did end up breaking the world record for World's Largest Water Balloon Fight! You can read what the Daily Universe had to say about it here.

It was really fun!!!

One of the reasons to stay at BYU during summer...

Tomorrow, BYU is hosting an event to attempt to break the record for the World's Largest Water Balloon Fight! A day off from classes and work, free food, free t-shirt, and a water balloon fight - does life get any better??

We'll see if we actually end up breaking the record, but it'll be fun either way :)

Obama Signs Financial-Regulation Bill

Today, I was about the Financial-Regulation Bill that Obama signed this morning because, frankly, I had no idea what was in this 2,300 page bill (and it's unlikely that anyone has read it all the way through except maybe those who wrote it). I found some good information about the topic, including this interesting poll:


I guess, at least for now, more people think this bill will hurt the financial sector with over-regulation and unnecessary costs to an industry that is already having difficulty gaining any profits.

As for me, I tend to side with Peter Wallison, Co-director of American Enterprise Institute's financial policy studies program, who said this about the bill: "Banks and bank holding companies will continue to weaken because of limits on their permissible activities; they will be required to focus increasingly on small business and real estate, making them more vulnerable to downturns in those areas in the future. Hedge funds and other unregulated institutions will take their place, but will only thrive if they can remain outside the Fed's regulation. In general, U.S. financial firms will lose their role as world leaders."

Only time will tell the true effects of the bill.....

Kindle vs. iPad

There's been a lot of press lately about the various eReaders in the market. I got a Kindle for Christmas from my wonderful parents, and I absolutely love it. It's so easy to read, feels good in your hands, is extremely lightweight, and works amazingly. I bought my first textbook for the Kindle for this term, and I love carrying my Kindle around to class rather than a huge textbook. Needless to say, I'm a Kindle fan, and I read something on my Kindle nearly everyday.

Then today I found an article from someone who's not a big fan of the Kindle and sides more with Apple and their iPad. I've played with the iPad, and I think it's an amazing game changing device, but not in the eReader market. I think the iPad is an internet and media device, but it's not fit for the eReader market as it doesn't use electronic ink, the most important aspect of an eReader. Comparing these two devices is like comparing apples to oranges, as they consist of different features and serve different purposes based on the users' needs.

If you want an eReader to read books and other articles (as if you are reading paper), look at the Kindle, Nook, Sony Reader or other device that use electronic ink.

If you want an internet/media/game device that you can read from (like a computer screen), look at the iPad or other tablets that will be released in the coming months.

Arches cont...

More pictures from Arches, as promised...

The Delicate Arch

And now you can see how big this thing really is - we look so teeny!

Kenny with the sunset

iPhone 4

There's been a lot of news circulating lately about the issues with the new iPhone 4. Don't get me wrong, I love my iPhone 3G, but I think it's funny that Apple is getting so much criticism for this. Steve Jobs even knew about the antenna issue before the phone was released, but he loved the design so much that he didn't care. I'd hope Apple would learn their lesson about selling faulty products with all this bad press, but I doubt it.

Here's a funny image I found online about it:

Arches National Park

Three weeks ago, I went with a few friends to Arches National Park in southern Utah. It was beautiful! Here are some pictures from the trip:

Driving through the park

Hiking up to the Delicate Arch

....More pictures to come!...