October 6th - Basketball

October 6th


See Purdue win a National Championship in Basketball



Fill this under the items I have no chance to impact, but that I really want to experience. So I’ve been a Purdue fan my entire life, with basketball being my favorite sport. I know we will probably never take a football championship home, but there is hope for a Basketball one in my lifetime. I guess I should specify Men’s basketball as we have already won a Women’s basketball championship in my lifetime.

Anyway I don’t have a whole lot to say on this one, I can tell you about how my Freshman-Sophomore years at Purdue was the worst two year span in the 100+ year history of Purdue basketball, yet I sat through every single one of those home games and even went to 5 away games in those two years. Now that Coach Painter has righted the ship so to speak, injuries have slowed us down… but maybe, just maybe… this year will be our year!

Oct. 5th - Job

October 5^th

Get a Job

Yes, I’m out of work right now*, but I’m also thinking more long term with this one. Like finding a job I’m going to like for the long haul. It seems like a lot of people now days switch jobs all the time. While When I was working my last job with hotels I worked at 3 different hotels (same company though) and it doesn’t even seem like it’s uncommon in that industry to switch employers multiple times. A lot of people I know have worked two or three full time jobs. I guess it just seems like most people these days never find a job they really like** for the long term. Both of my parents have pretty much solely worked one job their entire lives. My mom had a brief position as a bank cashier while looking for a teaching job, and my Dad did some other part time jobs until he was able to get into farming enough to do it full time, but they have both been doing their jobs for over 30 years, it just seems crazy and I don’t know if I will ever have a job that I will have/like that long. In fact most studies now days say people in my generation will change careers/job fields at least 3 times… let alone individual jobs/employers in those fields. I guess this is just another one of those ways in which society has evolved over time.

*Redacted as I just accepted a job offer this afternoon, about 30 minutes after writing this

**Is it even possible to really, really like your job? I know many people say they do, but I’ve always wondered if they weren’t more attached to the idea of having a job, the money they make, Liking it over their other alternatives or the standing it gives them. Opposed to the actual job/work itself.  I’ve always wondered this, I suppose it’s possible but I’d say maybe 1/50 people at the most actually find this.

October 4th - Laser Disc

October 4th

Own a Laser Disc Player






To be honest this will be one of the easiest to complete items on the list by far, as I could easily go on to ebay and purchase one now. In fact I already own a laser disc, a copy of The Great Mouse Detective! I had it hanging up in my apartment on the fall because I figured I should have some sort of artwork on the wall :P



So you’re probably asking two questions right now; 1) why in the world would I want to own such an outdated piece of technology and 2) Why don’t I just man up and buy a laser disc player? Well here are your answers.

The Answer to the first question goes back a long, long time ago (like the late 90’s) when I was in elementary school and I had a certain science teacher who was really really proud of his laser disc player and told us multiple times about how it was such a great piece of technology that was going to revolutionize the world. For some reason I felt compelled to believe him, and it made the laser disc just seem like such a cool idea. I mean it had to be expensive because the remote control was tethered to the player! Now you will also have to remember this was the late 90’s and about 2 years before I’d be getting on the internet regularly and another year or so before it would become this great tool of knowledge for me. The fact that the laser disc was going to be obsolete in three years wasn’t even in my mind, add in the fact that this teacher had done some work for NASA and you’ll understand why we believed him fully. So I guess the main reason I want one is…. Because I want it to be cool? Or I want it as a joke? Or maybe I want it to remind me of a simpler time? I don’t’ know… I just know I want one.



Laser Disc vs a DVD

The Second Question was why don’t I just buy one, well first off I’m really cheap and it is a well known that I hate spending money and I have a reputation to keep. This means wasting money on something so out of date and worthless seems foolish at best. Now you might be saying… how much does a freaking laser disc player cost anyway? They should be super cheap since they are just a heavy piece of junk now days. Well, yes they are a piece of junk, you can find a working one for around 20 bucks… but it’s the heavy part of the equation that keeps me from buying one at this time… We are talking 30 dollars just to ship the thing and up to this point I haven’t been able to justify spending 50 dollars on a piece of technology that I just want to sit around for the simple fact of saying I own it.

Needless to say I will own one of these before I die… I just haven’t yet.

Oct 3rd - Moonshine

October 3rd


Make Moonshine



I attempted to do this once with a couple friends when we were Sr.’s in high school… needless to say it didn’t pan out or it wouldn’t still be on my list. (Because someone had to hide the mash down by the river…) Needless to say… we were pretty naive on the subject of making it, and it could have had disastrous results, which is probably why we never revisited the project at the time. I also honestly doubt any of us would have drank it…. Well on second thought we probably would have. Anyway, we totally could have built the still between the talents of our group and with more research I’m sure I could now build a good/legit still by myself.

I should explain why I want to do this, as it is most certainly not to get drunk. I want to do it for the challenge, and to say I have/can do it. Honestly the chemistry isn’t that hard, I mean “hillbilly” moonshiners have been doing it forever. Though these are the same people who make meth, so they must have basic chemistry skills or at least more than people want to give them credit for.

I’m the kind of person who loves to do stuff like this as a personal challenge, and once I have the plan in my head it will stay there and peculate until I do it, or do something about it at least. I enjoyed Chemistry in high school, (college was a different story) and with the backstory/memories of the group I schemed with in high school, well I still want to do this as it sort of feels like an open chapter in my life that still needs to be closed. One of those original friends is out of the picture and the other is probably out when it comes to this for personal reasons, but that doesn’t mean I can’t close this by myself.

I have since made several batches of wine. The first batch was horrible but I now consider myself skilled enough to make as good of quality as you found find in your average box wine at the supermarket. If I ever got serious and bought all of the correct equipment, I am fully confident I could make some good quality stuff. Though I must say making wine for your personal use it 100% legal, whereas moonshine is still illegal**.

** I think there are probably a few loopholes, such as making “ethanol” for person fuel uses.

October 2nd - "Experience List"

October 2^nd

Serve on a Jury

So this is one of those “Experience List” Items that I have no control over, but I really want to experience none the less. I want to be selected as a jury member for a trail. What kind of trial doesn’t really matter to me, I’ll take a low level case…. But I have to admit that being a member of a high profile murder case would be exciting. Honestly I think it’s great that our country picks random people to serve as jury members, and I want to complete this civic duty at least once in my life.

I know this makes me the exact opposite of a lot of people in the country, who dread the thought of being selected. Yes, I know the pay is subpar and that there is a lot of pressure as your decision can deeply effect the life of someone. But, I am sure I could handle that pressure, and I’m willing to give up the pay to gain this experience. I think I’m a rational and understanding person who would be able to think through the issue, see both sides of the argument and make the correct decision regarding the trial.

The Problem with completing this is that the selection process is randomly done, well the first part at least. You have to be called in by the county/state for the selection process; some people are called multiple times… some never. Then even if you get called in, the attorneys pick who they want to sit on the trail based on strategy on who they think you will side with, their client or the opposition.  So this is something I really have no control over unfortunately.

October 1st - "Experience List"

October 1^st

Have a Strange Tombstone

When brainstorming/reflecting on this topic, the thought of death is obviously something you have to at least give a few moments’ thoughts to whether you intend to or not. When thinking about death you obviously have several choices that either you or your family has to make before you are finally out of the picture. (at least here on earth, depending on religious views and the such) Funeral planning is a major step for one’s family and the first item on my “experience list” involves these decisions. When I die I would like to have a Strange/Interesting Tombstone.

There was a time, when graveyards were built to serve not only as a place to bury our dead, but also a place for families to gather/picnic almost in a park capacity. Today the idea of having a picnic in a park seems morbid and would be frowned upon by most people. But one thing I consider very interesting from this period was the more elaborate gravemarkers that sprung up in greater frequency during this era. Sure since the ancient reaches of time, leaders and the highest tier of society have made extraordinary and ornate tombs such as the Great Pyramids or the Taj Mahal. But if you ever visit a cemetery that was built in the Victorian Era, you will also find a wonderful array of cool/interesting grave markers.

Sure many will claim that building yourself a cool tombstone is a sign of vanity, but I for one find graveyards at least a little interesting as you feel yourself getting a little glimpse of the past when you visit one.  And these elaborate markers are the graves you are most drawn to, they seem to shout a story and make you think about someone who you never knew and would have never thought of ever in your life. In a small way maybe having one of these markers is an effort to make sure you are remembered, but isn’t a bad thing to try and place your stamp on the world.

Honestly I don’t know what I would want to have as my marker, not a direct representation of me though. Maybe something cool like a big hippopotamus? Also defiantly not one of those flat stones with a picture drawn on it, those are alright but not my style. I want something that stands out/above my plot.

October Series 2010

October Blog Series:

So I have pretty much failed on my last couple blog series, but it has been several months and I haven’t been blogging lately so I felt like it was time to make another run at a blog series. During the Month of September I spent a lot of time helping my Dad haul in crops from the fields and for whatever reason, while I was thinking of blog series ideas this came up… Things I would like to do, see, or experience before I die/pass on. Now I know the idea of a “bucketlist” is fairly common, heck they even made a movie about it. However I would hesitate to call my list a “bucketlist” because some of the things I plan to include on the list, well their completion isn’t entirely something I can personally control. Things like scientific advancement and performance of others have more of a hand in making the items possible than what I will be able to influence. So with that said, hopefully this will be a great series. I’m not promising a detailed explanation for all entries, as some will be straight forward in nature but hopefully you will find this reading entertaining.

As I’m getting ready to type up my first one blog for the series right now, I realize I need to have some sort of term for this list since I don’t want to use “Bucketlist”. I thought about “achievement list”, but that implies I am responsible for completing the item, and like I said above, I don’t feel like all items are entirely up to anything I can personally control.  So I am going to go with “experience list”… I just think that sounds right.