5 Best Moments of 2010

1) SFSU Filipino Graduation 2010

-Overall, the event itself was great. Met a lot of dope folks who I hope to see do some big things in the near future. Had the chance to get to know some fellow grads a little better (graphics committee!) while getting a lot of work done. And of course, seeing my family the day of. They were the main reason why I did it and it meant to world to see most of them there. Also, figuring out what “graduation” means to me and how that differs from how others may see it. This was a journey that didn’t end on the actual day.

A Christmas Gift from Where The Sideblog Ends

 

PRESENT?!?! WHAT COULD IT BE?!?! Photo: Faye Lacanilao

Since I probably won’t have internet access on Christmas Day, I wanted to make sure I got this through. Thank you for dealing with my randomness, long-winded entries, and weeks/ months of inactivity. I truly believe in gifts that keep on giving. So my present to you are two videos that really define the holiday season…and make me laugh no matter how many times I watch them (courtesy of Saturday Night Live). Enjoy and have a good and safe holiday weekend (go Chargers)!

A Nerd’s Xmas Wish

Dear Jeebus Yoda Claus,

I know it’s only a couple days until Christmas, but I wanted to make sure you knew what to get me. I’ve been a very good boy all year long. What I want, out of the entire world is…

IRS fails government audit

I had to post this up. It’s always good to know our government agencies are doing their jobs. Especially the one that takes a whole lot of our money.

USA USA USA!

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ynews/20100630/bs_ynews/ynews_bs2966_2

Wed Jun 30, 3:18 pm ET

Getting audited is such a hassle! Just ask the IRS.

A new report from the Government Accountability Office inspected the tax agency’s financial statements from the 2009 fiscal year with the exacting thoroughness of, well, of an IRS auditor, and found a few billion-dollar errors.

According to the report (PDF), the IRS made a variety of accounting errors last year that “could adversely affect the reliability of its financial statements” and result in “duplicate or erroneous refunds.” Among the mistakes were a “failure to record the receipt of a taxpayer’s $3 million payment” and an $8 billion discrepancy between two accounting systems tracking how much money taxpayers owe. The audit also found a $5.1 billion “unexplained variance” between the total amount the agency took in last year and the amount its detailed tax files said it took in.

But what’s a few billion here or there, right?

In truth, the shortcomings are all relatively minor infractions given the size of the IRS, and don’t materially affect its performance of its duties. And you’ll find similar lapses in virtually any close examination of a huge bureaucracy.

But it’s still good to know that the IRS had to go through it, if only so it can empathize with the American taxpayer.

— John Cook is a senior national affairs reporter for the Yahoo! News blog.

Twilight Fans’ Vampire Addiction Affecting Relationships

With the new “Twilight” film opening up…I think today?…I thought this would be funny to put up. I hope people remember that this is only a movie and you can’t compare your own relationships to the ones artificially created on-screen/ in a book. At the same time, if it helps someone realize how unhappy they are in a relationship, then maybe it’s a good thing? As long as you don’t put unrealistic expectations on your relationship, like your partner having to be a supernatural creature. But far be it for me to offer relationship advice…

In the end, there are better movies out there. Please, watch them. Please.

http://movies.yahoo.com/feature/movie-talk-twilight-fans-vampire-addiction-affecting-relationships.html

by Lindsay Robertson · June 28, 2010

With fans turning the area outside the Nokia theater in L.A. into a tent city in advance of the “Eclipse” premiere, the Los Angeles Times examines the phenomenon of fans whose lives are upended by their fierce love of the vampire books and movies. The Times found women who have nearly lost their marriages by neglecting their husbands in favor of “Twilight” fan sites, blogs, and message boards. One woman gushes that she’s seen the movies “over 300 times.”

So-called “Twilight addiction” proliferates on the Internet, where a fan can take any of hundreds of quizzes to self-diagnose their condition, and websites sell hand-made crystal-encrusted T-shirts that say “Twilight Mom.” Some “Twi-Moms” as they’re known, have even argued that their love of Edward and/or Jacob has actually improved their marriages.

AT-AT Day Afternoon

Now, this is the kind of pet I can get into! Enjoy.

Yoda tells Padres: Do or do not, there is no try midway through the season

San Diego Padres player Ryan Webb wears a "Star Wars" Yoda doll on his back before the Sunday, June 27, 2010 game in Miami against the Florida Marlins. (AP/ Photo/J Pat Carter)

If there’s one reason for me to be a Padres fan, this is one of them. Even one of my favorite sports team has some nerds on them!

Honestly, I wasn’t expecting much for the Padres this year. New owner. New GM. Payroll at an all-time low. Talks of trading our  best ONLY offensive player and our closer. Everyone picking us to be in the basement of the NL West. Yes, it was another year of low expectations for the San Diego Padres.

But I’ll be the first to admit and say the team has really surprised me so far. 75 games into the season we’re:

Coffee’s Mysterious Benefits Mount…FTW!

This article is good news for those of us who drink large amounts of coffee. Just like when they did that study on wine, leave it to science to justify some of our most addictive vices.

So who wants to get some coffee later? In a way, I’m saving your life. Think about that for a while…

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http://news.yahoo.com/s/livescience/coffeesmysteriousbenefitsmount

From lowered cancer risks to a sharper memory, more studies are showing that coffee is good for you – but why?

Regular coffee drinkers have a 39 percent decreased risk of head and neck cancer, according to a new study published in the journal Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention. Those who drank an estimated four or more cups a day had significantly fewer cancers of the mouth and throat than non coffee drinkers, the study found.

“Coffee contains more than a thousand chemicals, some of which have antioxidant and antimutagenic activities,” Mia Hashibe, assistant professor of medicine at the University of Utah and the study’s lead researcher, told Life’s Little Mysteries. “Further research is necessary to identify which ingredients in coffee are responsible for the results we observed in our study.”

Scientists are still trying to determine exactly what it is about coffee that gives it its disease-fighting properties, but recent research is getting closer to unlocking the mysterious power behind the energizing brew.

5 Foods that Boost Your Mood

As someone who eats a lot of crap and has days where he can’t get out of bed, this is good info. Especially when a good mood is hard to come by.

I now have my excuse to eat chocolate. Not like I ever needed one.

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http://health.yahoo.com/experts/healthieryou/17512/5-foods-that-boost-your-mood/

5 Foods that Boost Your Mood

SELF.com

By Lucy Danziger, SELF Editor-in-Chief

As anyone who has sought solace in a pint of Häagen-Dazs knows, food can be a source of comfort and pleasure as well as nutrients. While overdoing it on ice cream and candy is likely to cause more stress when you regret all those empty calories, consistently munching the right bites can actually help change your outlook from bummed to bright! Even better news: Since what’s good for your brain is also a boon for your body, incorporating these five mood boosters into your diet may improve not only your outlook, but also your energy and your figure. Eat up and lighten up!

COLD CEREAL
Eat it for your brain: A handful of MultiGrain Cheerios or Kashi Heart to Heart offers folic acid, which can help fend off the blues. Those with low levels of the nutrient experience more symptoms of depression, a study in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health suggests, and a folic acid deficiency may prevent your antidepressants from working.

Eat it for your body: A quick bowl of whole-grain cereal brims with iron and vitamins, and gets your metabolism humming—and it sure beats skipping breakfast altogether, since that can lead to all sorts of problems later in the day. People who skipped breakfast only once every three months were 34 percent more likely to be obese than those who didn’t, according to a study from the University of Massachusetts Medical School in Worcester. So even if your body doesn’t want it when you first wake up, find a breakfast you can live with, and eat up.

Darth Vader’s Diagnosis

Of course someone had to do a psychological analysis of Darth Vader. Someone is always 1) that bored 2) that obsessed. But the the analysis is interesting (at least to me). I mean, you have to have some problems if your idea of punishment for your daughter not telling you a secret is to blow up her home planet or for your son not following your same path is to cut off his hand. I wouldn’t want to be Cader’s therapist.

I hope that we all realize that because he’s a science fiction character, he’s supposed to be fucked in the head. Darth Vader’s characteristics is more to drive story and interest, instead of following some sort of psychological profile built as a reaction to real human interaction.

I hope we all know that. Right?!

http://movies.yahoo.com/feature/buzz-log-darth-vaders-diagnosis.html

His enemies and underlings are painfully aware that Darth Vader is highly irritable and prone to bursts of anger. But until now, we don’t think anybody knew that the Dark Lord of the Sith may have suffered from borderline personality disorder.

According to a popular blog over at CNN, French researchers have concluded that Mr. Vader (aka Anakin Skywalker) has, at various times, exhibited six of the nine criteria for borderline personality disorder. To be diagnosed with BPD, you need only showcase five of the behaviors.

Just what are these traits? Well, there are the unstable moods that Vader suffers. One minute he’s happy because he sliced Obi-Wan Kenobi in half. The next, he’s all huffy that his subordinates let the Millennium Falcon escape. And when Vader ain’t happy, ain’t nobody happy.