We went hiking again today, this time with the parental units coming along as well, and this time on a much longer and more challenging trail than the previous day’s trek. As opposed to our 50-minute stroll on Christmas Eve, on Christmas Day we did the Bluff Spring Loop, which is a 9.1-mile trail with several relatively steep uphill sections. (Here’s a map.)

It took us just over five hours, which is exactly what the book says it should — not bad! (We usually take a good 125% or more of the recommended time.) And we saw a tarantula!

He was pretty small. Here’s a video:

Creepy crawly creatures aside, it’s a damn scenic hike. For example:

More pictures in the full photo gallery. And you can also view photos of the same loop in 2004 when just Becky, Ginny and I hiked it.

P.S. If you’re wondering why we were hiking at 9:00 AM instead of opening presents or going to church… it’s the Zak family tradition to open presents on Christmas Eve, rather than Christmas morning. It’s taken me a while to adjust to this, but I’ve finally gotten used to it. :) As for going to church, Ted and Ginny went to the Christmas Eve vigil mass Sunday night — and, well, Becky and I didn’t go at all, but personally, I think spending some quality time appreciating the awesomeness of nature is at least as good a way of giving glory to God as going to church.

Anyway, speaking of Christmas presents, I got a bunch of cool stuff, but of particular note (in addition to the NCAA Tournament tickets mentioned previously) is the Apple Store gift card from Ted and Ginny, which will allow me to buy an iPod with video — my first non-Shuffle iPod ever. So, stay tuned for some giddy posts about that in the coming days. :)

Becky got an iPod, too — a blue nano, from me (but also sort of partially from Dane, since his wedding gift card helped pay for it; thanks, Dane!) — so we’ll both doubtless have tons of fun buying cool iPod accessories and such. That’s an aspect of the Apple experience that I’ve been missing out on until now, but not anymore! Woohoo!

Oh, and I also got a copy of the Spike Lee movie that I was in. Hehe.

Here are the NFL playoff scenarios heading into the final week of the season.

Carson Palmer’s Bengals are still alive, despite losing Sunday on a botched extra point, but they need some help. They have to beat the Steelers and then hope for either a Jets loss to 2-13 Oakland or else wins by San Francisco over Denver and Kansas City over Jacksonville.

Vince Young’s (and Norm Chow’s) Titans — who have won six straight games after an 0-5 start — are also still alive after eliminating Buffalo on Sunday, but they need even more help, as they’re one spot behind Cincinnati in the pecking order. So, in addition to beating New England, they too must hope for wins by San Francisco and Kansas City, plus a loss by the Bengals.

On the other end of the spectrum, the Battle for Brady (or whoever the #1 pick is going to be) is headed down to the wire between Oakland (2-13) and Detroit (2-13). If both teams lose their final game (or if both teams win), it’ll come down to strength of schedule — whoever had the weaker schedule gets the #1 pick. Detroit currently has the edge in that department; its opponents are 127-113, four games worse than Oakland’s opponents’ 131-109. But if both the Lions and Raiders both lose on Sunday, Oakland actually narrows the strength-of-schedule gap from 4 games to 3 (because the Lions played Oakland’s final opponent, the Jets, earlier in the season, whereas the Raiders did not play Detroit’s final opponent, the Cowboys, so Detroit gets “credit” — which is bad — for a Jets win, whereas Oakland does not get “credit” for a Dallas win).

If both the Lions and Raiders win, rather than both losing, Detroit’s strength-of-schedule “lead” would remain at 4 games, pending the outcome of other games. (Of course, if one wins and the other loses, the loser gets the #1 pick, regardless of schedule strength.)

Detailed scenarios after the jump.

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Last basketball season, Becky and I went to St. Louis for the Missouri Valley Conference tournament. This season, we’ll be going back for something even cooler: the Sweet 16 and Elite 8!

As a combined Christmas/anniversary gift, Becky bought me two tickets (well, okay, one of the two is for her… but it’s still fundamentally a present for me) to the NCAA regional semifinals and final on Friday and Sunday, March 23 and 25, at the Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis. WOOHOO!!!

Now, Gonzaga just needs to be in the Midwest Region, and needs to make it to the Sweet 16… :)

I got lots of other cool Christmas presents, but this is the one I’m most psyched about at the moment. I love Becky!

…and to all a good night.

…to start “looking” for the first star.

Becky, Casey and I went hiking on a short loop near the First Water Trailhead this afternoon. ‘Twas fun, and a good opportunity to engage in a little good-natured schadenfreude toward people in colder climes who are huddling around a fire this Christmas Eve. Hehe.

More photos in my full photo gallery.

The Wall Street Journal’s Joseph Rago bashes the blogosphere.

Dean Barnett responds. (Hat tip: Insty.)

More responses here.

USC stunned #8-ranked Wichita State Saturday, handing the Shockers of the Missouri Valley Conference their second loss of the season (and second in as many days). Woohoo!!

Nick Young was 11-of-14 from the field for a season-high 26 points as the Trojans knocked off a team that previously won at then-#6 LSU and then-#14 Syracuse. “They kept coming at us,” Wichita State coach Mark Turgeon said of USC. “They have a lot more athletes than us. Nick Young was unbelievable.”

Up next for the unranked, 10-3 Trojans: a home date with #17 Washington (10-1) in the Pac-10 opener for both teams. USC will hope to take advantage of a potential “look ahead” factor, as Washington travels to #1-ranked UCLA three days later.

Wins by South Florida, San Jose State and Utah in Saturday’s bowls mean seven contestants are still perfect with 6-0 records in the Irish Trojan bowl pick ‘em contest: Lisa Velte, Joe McDade (a.k.a. Texasyank), Marty West (a.k.a. ironlionOROKU), David Whelan, Dan Port, Colin Pedicini, and A.J. St. John.

28 contestants, including defending champion Brian Dupuis (DUP), have 5-1 records. 47 have 4-2 records, 25 have 3-3 records, 10 have 2-4 records, and one contestant, Tim White, has a 1-5 record. Nobody is 0-6.

If Arizona State beats Hawaii in the Hawaii Bowl tomorrow, McDade — a USC alumnus who lives in Arizona and counts the Sun Devils as his second-favorite team — will take sole possession of first place. If Hawaii wins, the other six (Velte, West, Whelan, Port, Pedicini and St. John) will be tied at 7-0.

P.S. So far, the team favored by a majority of Irish Trojan contestants is 5-1; the only “underdog” team to win was Troy over Rice. After the jump, a look at the number of contestants who picked each team in each bowl.

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Ted and Ginny have a train set around their Christmas tree, which gives me lots of opportunities to amuse myself. And so here you can see what happens when I suddenly have too much time on my hands after finishing my fifth semester of law school…

Heh.

Here’s a gallery of photos from my trip to Knoxville, including one of me with Jay, a.k.a. DrawingDead, the second pure blogfriend I’ve met in real life:

Note also my new Rocky Top t-shirt. :) And of course the “redneck couch” on the front porch — though Jay and his wife Ashley swear it’s only there temporarily. Heh.

Many thanks again to Jay and Ashley for graciously hosting me (and driving me to and from Nashville!). They were the epitome of Southern hospitality.

P.S. Of course, I had to leave a day too early to see this. And that after arriving two days too late to see this. Harumph.

There is a 24-way tie for first place in the Irish Trojan bowl pick ‘em contest through three bowls. Three more bowls are being played today — one underway as we speak. (South Florida leads East Carolina, 24-7 in the third quarter.) Here are the scenarios for which contestants will be 6-0 at the end of the day:

If South Florida, San Jose State and Tulsa win: V, uscroger, Jeff Vaca, Brian Dupuis (DUP), Brandon Minich, Ben Sloniker, alphadog

If South Florida, San Jose State and Utah win: Lisa Velte, Joe McDade (Texasyank), ironlionOROKU, David Whelan, Dan Port, Colin Pedicini, a.j.

If South Florida, New Mexico and Tulsa win: Stu Podaso, Randy, Brendan Loy, Admiral Halsey

If South Florida, New Mexico and Utah win: schmendel, Mrs. Brady Quinn

If East Carolina, San Jose State and Tulsa win: Shireen Garcia (Agent Shir), JR Dickens, Bill Pancoast

If East Carolina, San Jose State and Utah win: nobody still perfect

If East Carolina, New Mexico and Tulsa win: Jessica Cowans

If East Carolina, New Mexico and Utah win: nobody still perfect

The U.N. Security Council votes unanimously to impose sanctions on Iran for its nuclear program. Visit CNN for the latest.

There seem to be a lot of lost baggage problems at Sky Harbor this evening. A long line at the Baggage Service counter, much bitching in the air, and a LOT of people waiting an inordinately long time.
I just found my bag, though (on the wrong carousel).