As Jerry Seinfeld would say, what is the deal with retail credit-card swipe machines that, when you swipe your debit card, ask whether you want to use it as a credit or debit card — and then, even after you’ve selected “credit,” still ask you for a pin number, thus forcing you to hit “cancel” in order to use it as a credit card?! What the hell is the point of asking the question initially, if it’s just going to assume “debit” no matter what your answer is?!? ARGH!!!

It’s like how, at the Quizno’s in downtown South Bend, the first guy in the sandwich assembly line — the one who puts the sandwich into the toaster thingy — asks if the order is “for here or to go,” even though his job is exactly the same regardless of the answer to that question. The second guy, who receives the sandwich at the other end of the toaster thingy (and adds lettuce and so forth), inevitably asks the same question… which makes sense, considering he’s the one who actually needs to know, since he puts the completed sandwich either on a tray or into a bag, depending. So why does the first guy always ask?!?

Redundancy is maddening.

Hey, I could use $2,000! Perhaps I’ll enter… thanks for the tip, Brian Foster!

Speaking of money: a random tip for fellow 3Ls who, like me, are financing their own bar-exam costs, and need a way to bridge the gap between spring-semester student-loan funds and the receipt of that all-important first paycheck: If you don’t mind taking on an additional few thousand dollars in student-loan-like debt (because really, at this point, does it make a difference? we’re all going to be in debt until we die anyway), you can apply for up to $11,000 from Citibank via the CitiAssist Bar Study Loan.

This is especially convenient if you’ve taken out Citibank Notre Dame Loans and/or used Citibank as your lender for your federal loans, as the Bar Study Loan will show up right alongside your other loans and thus will be easy to keep track of. One major difference: the funds will be sent to you directly via check, not placed in your student account; Notre Dame’s only role in the process is certifiying that you are, in fact, a law student (or a law graduate within the last 12 months).

I don’t know why NDLS doesn’t publicize this loan more; I suspect it’d be awfully helpful for an fair number of folks. Yet I only know about it because I stumbled upon it while Googling around for something else. Anyway, I thought I’d share it with y’all, just in case it’s helpful to anyone else.

Well, it does involve spiders!

Weatherblogger Margie Kieper has a really cute cat.

The Michana region may be torn about next Sunday's Super Bowl, but Martin's on South Bend Avenue has apparently taken sides.

While Brendan may get lots of snow near the end of the weekend along with bitter cold (forecast here), an even stranger series of events is taking place in the Borderland.

You see, we don’t usually get snow. Not this often (some on Nov 29, Jan 2, Jan 5, and both Tuesday and Friday of this week, accumulating both times). Latest updates courtesy of KFOX Channel 14 out of El Paso.

It’s 41 degrees right now, after 33-36 this morning. Only one day this week has it been well beyond 50 degrees, but it’s supposed to get to seasonal normals in the next few days.

Bring on 60!

A scientist in North Carolina has developed a caffeinated donut.

And you thought the Patty O kerfuffle was bad… check out what’s happening at UConn Law School:

The interim dean of the University of Connecticut School of Law has scheduled a schoolwide roundtable discussion for today to air concerns raised by a weekend off-campus party in which some law students dressed in hip-hop clothes and toted 40-ounce bottles of malt liquor.

Photos of the “Bullets & Bubbly” party were posted on the popular website facebook.com, dismaying some students who regarded the party theme as racially insensitive. Photos depicted partygoers wearing do-rags, muscle shirts, hoodies, and necklaces with gold medallions.

The party, attended by several student leaders, seems to reflect a trend toward these kinds of parties among college students nationally; one of the more notorious, a “Ghetto Fabulous” party hosted by University of Texas law students in September, garnered national headlines after photos ended up on the Web.

Interim Dean Kurt Strasser scheduled the roundtable discussion Wednesday after hearing from members of the Black Law Students Association, as well as some faculty and staff members who were upset about the party, which was held in a private home and drew up to 75 people.

Strasser said he hopes the session will bring the law school community together and provide a “teaching moment.”

“My basic take on the situation is that if we look at ourselves as a community, some have taken action that is deeply hurtful to other members of the community,” he said. “I don’t think it was at all intended that way. I think it was an exercise in very poor judgment. I want to spark a discussion where people come to understand what they did has proven to be hurtful.”

(Hat tip: my dad.)

UPDATE: The Smoking Gun has photos.

Holy crap! I just discovered that the majority of the posts which I thought were lost forever when my website crashed back in February 2005 are on the Internet Archive. (See also here; full list of archived versions of my site here.) WOOHOO!!

Tom Tancredo, the gadfly Republican presidential candidate who once said we should consider bombing Mecca — and who is best known these days for his ultra-hard-line stance on illegal immigration — has proposed something that actually makes sense:

White House hopeful Tom Tancredo said Thursday the existence of the Congressional Black Caucus and other race-based groups of lawmakers amount to segregation and should be abolished.

“It is utterly hypocritical for Congress to extol the virtues of a colorblind society while officially sanctioning caucuses that are based solely on race,” said the Colorado Republican, who is most widely known as a vocal critic of illegal immigration.

“If we are serious about achieving the goal of a colorblind society, Congress should lead by example and end these divisive, race-based caucuses,” said Tancredo, who is scheduled to pitch his long-shot presidential bid this weekend in New Hampshire.

‘Twas a sad day recently when Becky and I ventured to Wal-Mart and discovered that the local branch of everybody’s favorite evil corporation has stopped stocking my favorite carbonated beverage, C2.

I really like C2. It has half the sugar of regular Coke — thus preventing me from experiencing a major sugar high, and a correspondingly major sugar low, whenever I drink it — but still tastes pretty much like regular Coke, if not a bit better. (Once you get used to C2, regular Coke tastes awfully sweet and corn syrupy. Because, well, it is.) I typically try to keep at least one 12-pack of C2 around the apartment at any given time, and it’s my standard beverage of choice when I feel like having a soda. Especially during finals week:

But C2’s market share has been decreasing ever since Coke Zero was introduced, and more and more stores have stopped stocking C2 altogether. Martin’s, the supermarket that’s walking distance from our apartment complex, has until recently stocked C2 only irregularly (so whenever I would see it, I’d typically buy three or four 12-packs), and now it seems they’ve discontinued it altogether. But until this semester, I could always depend on Wal-Mart to have some C2 in stock, so on the rare occasions when we shop there, I’d always buy a bunch of it. Alas, now it seems Wal-Mart has discontinued it as well, which appears to leave me with no local C2-buying options. :(

This is bad news for me because I’ve always hated Diet Coke, Coke now generally tastes too syrupy to me (plus there’s that whole sugar-high issue), and I don’t like Coke Zero nearly as much as C2. It doesn’t taste as good, and it doesn’t have any sugar, so unlike C2 — which gives me just a little bit of a sugar pick-me-up, but not too much; in other words, it’s “just right,” Goldilocks-style — it does nothing for me when I need a little sugar boost. I suppose I could mix some Coke and some Coke Zero together and drink a half-and-half mix, but the process of doing that robs the soda of some of its carbonation, and anyway I like soda directly from the can better than in bottles or cups. Besides, I’m lazy. ;)

Anyway, this post doesn’t really have a point, I just wanted to complain. And because I have a blog, I can! Muahaha! So yeah. Stupid Coca-Cola Company! Stupid Martin’s & Wal-Mart! Give me back my C2!! Harumph.

I just noticed: among the various Wi-Fi networks that my computer can pick up from our living room, one of them is called “JackBauer.” Heh.

I wonder if logging into that network would give me access to secret government databases, satellite tracking systems and such? Because that would be awesome. Alas, I’ll never know: access to JackBauer is restricted by an Access Control List (presumably maintained by Chloe).

You might also notice “bruinpimp” on the list of networks. Not sure what to make of that, but I think I’ll keep a closer eye on Mike Tran; he may be spying on me. ;)

Dr. Jeff Masters offers a reality check with regard to President Bush’s proposed methods of tackling “the serious challenge of global climate change.”

In a way, it’s almost worse that Bush is finally acknowledging the problem — and then proposing grossly inadequate solutions — than if he wasn’t acknowledging it at all. At least in the latter case, his position would be internally consistent (though wrong). As it is… well, his “solution” to global warming is a bit like his “solution” to the violence in Iraq: announcing the existence of a dire problem that must absolutely be solved and will have apocalyptic consequences if it isn’t, and then proposing band-aid-like measures to fix it.

Have you ever suffered through the disheartening experience of tuning into a college basketball game that you actually care about, only to discover that Dick Vitale is in the announcing booth, meaning the commentary will inevitably have nothing to do with the actual game? If so, you’ll appreciate this list of 156 topics unrelated to the game at hand that Vitale mentioned during a recent broadcast. At the top of the list, of course, is Duke. (I’m genuinely surprised J.J. Redick didn’t come up at some point.) And I’m inclined to agree with Deadspin: “you know what? We bet this is in the low range.”

Yahoo! Sports reports:

A federal investigation into extortion claims by New Orleans Saints running back Reggie Bush and his family has revealed the existence of taped conversations that could confirm Bush took cash and gifts while he was playing football for the University of Southern California. …

The U.S. District Attorney’s office in San Diego has issued grand jury subpoenas to multiple witnesses in the probe since October, requiring them to appear before federal investigators. According to a copy of a subpoena obtained by Yahoo! Sports, at least one of the witnesses was asked to produce “any recordings in your possession of conversations between Lloyd Lake and Reggie Bush, Denise Griffin, or LaMar Griffin.” Denise Griffin is Bush’s mother. LaMar Griffin is Bush’s stepfather.

If such taped conversations involving Bush become public, Bush and USC could face penalties from the NCAA and Pacific-10 Conference, which are conducting ongoing investigations into reports of extra benefits.

If the NCAA rules that Bush received extra benefits during his playing career at USC, he could be ruled retroactively ineligible. Since some of the benefits date to the 2004 season, the Trojans’ national championship that season could be rescinded. USC could face further NCAA sanctions and Bush’s 2005 Heisman Trophy could be in jeopardy. The Heisman ballot indicates that an athlete must meet NCAA eligibility requirements to be considered for college football’s most prestigious award.

Stay tuned, as they say.