Random Musings #3

• 5 days until Penn State football begins
• 10 days until Kelly's birthday
  
• 13 days until the Miami Dolphins take the field
• I would list the number of days until the TV series Star Wars: The Clone Wars starts but I don't think the premiere has been revealed yet
• The Phillies are wildly inconsistent, both offensively and in terms of success. They can come out one night and post 10 runs and then struggle to notch 3 the next day. They will go on a multiple game winning streak only to lose that many the next week. A little consistency, please. I'd much rather have a team that goes 6-4 every 10 games throughout the course of the year than 8-2 one span and 1-9 the next. This team is better than they are playing now, despite the 3-game winning streak. Who would have thought pitching wouldn't be our problem? And by the way, if a team went 6-4 every 10 games for the entire season, that team would finish the year at (approximately) 97-65. Not too shabby, eh?
• I am so excited for football season to arrive. I know it training camps and such have been going on for close to a month now but I want real games! Penn State starts in less than a week and then the following week the NFL begins. And thus begins the best time of the year. Nothing beats September through January. Football season, October baseball, the start of hockey season and then eventually Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's. Enjoy it while it lasts, because soon enough it'll be March.
• I am thoroughly enjoying the iPhone 2.0. Though I didn't get a 3g model, the 2.0 upgrade really adds more possibilities to such an great phone. And from what I am hearing, the 3g phones are having a bunch more problems than the originals. I can't say I have had many problems, other than on launch day of the 2.0 software. The new applications are absolutely wonderful. Though there are many great ones (At Bat, Facebook, PhoneSaber, Pocketpedia, Simplify, Sportacular) I have to single out Shazam. Shazam is so far the greatest iPhone application ever. What does it do, you ask? It helps man solve this age-old question: what was that song just playing on the radio? Shazan will listen to any song and identify it for you by artist, sing title, and album. Plus, it links to YouTube videos and ways to buy the song through iTunes. I have tested an abundance of songs so far and it has nailed everything. And the bets part is the software is free! It cannot detect anyone humming, singing, or live performances but any recorded song it should be able to find. Pure genius.
• I am looking for a second part-time job. Most of you know I have been working at Purdue for just over a year now. Well, I have been employed as a temporary worker (which basically means I don't get benefits). The University only allows someone to be employed as "temporary" for 1 year. My time was up on August 22nd. We asked to have the "temporary" status extended at the same rate I had been going - 30 hours/week - but the request was denied. Human Resources required the Climate Office to hire me with benefits, let me go, or drop my hours below 20/week. My boss wanted to keep me but does not have the necessary funds to pay for the benefits. He dropped me down to 19 hours/week. As a consolation he gave me a hefty raise to try to offset losing 11 hours/week. That's nice and all but I already wasn't saving too much money after rent, food, electric, and gas. When I was working 30 hours/week I didn't feel like adding a second part-time job. Now that I am only working 19 it is a necessity. It'll be nice to have more money but finding another job will be tough. Hopefully something enjoyable turns up. It will only be for about 8-10 months, hopefully.