Blog 2.0

Posting on The View from the Seven-and-a-Halfth Floor has been an occasional hobby of mine throughout the past few years, though recently I haven't contributed very much (it's been nearly 2 months since my last post). On the other hand, my father has become a prolific blogger, sharing his opinions and stories frequently on his blog, Too Early To Call.

I've decided to 'close up shop' here at The View from the Seven-and-a-Halfth Floor, and combine forces with my dad over at Too Early To Call. Since he already adds to his blog on a regular basis, even if I only post periodically it will be on a much more active and well-read forum.

Most of the posts on this site may disappear in the near future, though I intend to repost some of my favorites over at Too Early To Call.

If you're amongst my loyal reader(s) (Do I have any of those?), please update your bookmarks to reflect my new web address, www.tooearlytocall.com

Bush's Approval Rating At All-Time Low

But what amazes me most is that more than a third of Americans still think this president is doing a good job.

Burger Porn

With apologies to DB


This is the most unbelievable thing I have ever seen. Oh, how I miss In-N-Out...animal style, of course.

Joey Cheek (Dartmouth '10)

Hey, Dartmouth, Joey Cheek--Olympic Gold Medalist, and philanthropic all-around nice guy--was rejected from Harvard, and is now searching for another college to let him in. Continue the proud tradition of being a Winter Olympics powerhouse (and a place for outstanding people, regardless of whether or not they've participated in the Winter Olympics), and send this guy an acceptance letter--even if he didn't bother to apply.

Delusions of Grandeur

According to a recent Gallup poll, 21% of Americans think that their phone calls have probably been wiretapped by the government. Now I know that our present administration is extremely paranoid, completely disregards civil liberties, and loves warrantless spying and torture, but--gimme a break--I really don't think they're interested in the conversations of a fifth of all Americans.

Dartmouth at the Olympic Games

This website provides a continuously updated rundown of Dartmouth student and alum performances at the 2006 Torino Olympic games. I watched some of the women's hockey yesterday and young Sarah Parsons '09 (who deferred enrollment at Dartmouth to compete in the Olympic games, so she has not even played college hockey yet) was excellent. I'm sure she'll be a great addition to Dartmouth's hockey team next season.

Incontrovertible Evidence of Global Warming

Here's a really sad looking photo of the Green at Dartmouth College, the day before the start of the annual Winter Carnival. The pile of snow you see in the center of the Green is the world famous snow sculpture. The green you see everywhere else is, well, the Green. And it's not supposed to be that color this time of year.

Why, Poindexter, Why?

Why did you have to take one of the best books of all time and turn it into just another football movie?

I mean, Dexter Rutecki, you shook the film world with your earth-shattering performance in Aspen Extreme. Why'd you have to butcher Friday Night Lights? Poindexter, I know you're better than that!

On Rediscovering My Ability to Read

I've spent the better part of a year doing very little, and I was beginning to become convinced that not only my body, but also my mind, had begun to atrophy. Having never been a particularly fast reader, I found myself starting numerous books this year and being completely unable to finish them. I was certain that I was driving in the fast lane on the long road to complete illiteracy.

Then David Sedaris hitchhikes his hilarious, Naked self into my life and, lo and behold, I can suddenly read a novel longer than Horton Hatches The Egg from cover-to-cover. Furthermore, I read 300 pages in 3 days. Now I am so inspired, and brimming with self-confidence at my newly discovered ability to read, that I am determined to read every David Sedaris novel in the very near future. And I personally think that you should too.

The Paralympics

Having had two friends who have participated (or are currently participating) on the US Disabled Ski Team, I'm always amazed that so few people seem to be aware of the international disabled sports circuit and its crown jewel, the Paralympic Games (However, thanks to the awesome documentary, Murderball, about the US Disabled Wheelchair Rugby team, I think that this is changing). Just like the other Olympic events, the Paralympics are run in conjunction with the International Olympic Committee, and are held in the same venue. This year, the Paralympics will take place March 10-19 in Torino, Italy. Though they don't receive the same level of television coverage as the Olympics, for the first time ever portions of the Paralympics will be broadcast on every continent.

When my alma mater, Dartmouth College, published its list of Winter Olympians this year (a proud tradition for the college that has produced more Winter Olympians than almost every other school), it seemed that it had excluded my friend and classmate, Carl Burnett, a member of the disabled alpine ski team participating in the Paralympics. This morning, however, I was delighted to see that Carl had merited his own press release from the school.

Make no mistake about it: Paralympians are just as much world-class athletes as their fellow Olympians. When I was living and working in Telluride, Colorado, I decided to pursue my precertification in adaptive (disabled) ski instruction. I got the chance to train in a monoski, the same type of equipment that Carl uses. Despite having skied for nearly 20 years, the monoski required me to use muscles I didn't know I had and to have a much better sense of balance and center of gravity than I do. Needless to say, I sucked.

You can follow Carl on his road to Torino on his blog, No Two Are Alike.