wow, this is like gold...

it's like dave chappelle's "when keeping it real goes wrong" all over again...

clicky

i am impressed...

maybe i'm not giving rip enough credit for being a good 1-on-1 defensive player...

it's true that i consider him to be the worst 1-on-1 defender out of all the pistons' starting 5... my order would be something like ben, tayshaun, rasheed, billups, rip... granted, they're still a great defensive team, so rip has to be good in some manner, but i just really don't see it that way, after watching repeatedly superstar x blow by rip or shoot right over him, whereas get hampered by the long wings of prince, unable to drive or get a clear shot.

but to be able to contain wade and not give him any great looks, while still being flat out brilliant on offense(remember; lb doesn't care how many pts rip scores; he wants to see his assists, and rip handed out about 7), that's awesome...

let's not forget he's doing all this on a hurting leg(with tiger balm!). miller would be proud.

but maybe that's cause wade's not used to rip; i love tayshaun(actually i love all of detroit's starting 5, but definitely tay and ben are up there), but you never want to give good offensive players the same looks all the time; i guess after a while wade can figure out how to take apart billups, prince and lindsey.

if rip does this again in game 5 and detroit comes away w/the double-u, i will seriously be impressed.

and maybe pistons will enter the finals again, leaving the conf finals with the same words that al michaels said last year, "who was that masked man"

bh can do multiple HOD in mvc2(ie combo qcf+2k into itself) if he is the only one still alive and you use A1+A2 to activate the super instead of qcf+2k; doing it this way doesn't activate flying screen. good luck landing it though.

the infinite's also a waste bc you give more meter to the opponent than yourself, and it doesn't do more than 40% life. 1 loop ain't bad for hit confirm to inferno xx hod though.

my thoughts exactly(sort of)

i'm hoping these are just rumors...

can you be considered not to be a hypocrite if you preach "play the right way" over and over, and then decide to accept a job somewhere else in the midst of the eastern conference finals? so we know your health isn't exactly up to par. that doesn't mean you should send a message basically saying "i quit" now.

and one of the things i've admired about brown is that he's almost always exclusively worked with the underdog all his life on the court, never with THE superstar.

i'm hoping if brown goes, that flip DOES become the new coach of the pistons. and that the cavs do horribly.

btw, it never really hit me til now, just how much ppl believe lbj to be the next mj. at least marketably, i've never seen it this high; only in the days of jordan: check this, what i've found associated w/lebron:

bubblicious
nike
sprite
nerf(yes, that's right)
spalding

and i'm sure there's gonna be a lot more.

verses of note for today: 1st John 4:2-3, 2nd John 7

these are important, because you have to realize, in the context of these verses, why the roman catholic church is simply wrong(at least on this issue; i have sources which state they're flat out wrong on a lot of other things, but that's for another time, another day)

the catholic church preaches to us that the virgin mary is not only someone whom we can pray to, but whom was born WITHOUT sin.(read luke 11:27-28)

i'm tempted to ramble on and on, but i'll try to get my point across as quickly as possible.

the above 2 verses state that anyone who states that "jesus christ has come in the flesh" is a follower of God; anyone who does not is of the antichrist.

note that because of this, you can say that jesus is a real person, came to the earth 2005 years ago, lived a perfect life, died on the cross for our sins, and can still be a deceiver and antichrist! who gives!

what does it mean for jesus to have come in the flesh?

read hebrews 2:14

"Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same"

jesus took on the flesh of the children; of fallen humanity! note that he did not take on the flesh of adam and eve before they sinned!

hebrews 4:14-16 states that because jesus was able to take on our flesh, yet never sinned, it meant that he was able to overcome the flesh on our behalf. after he died, he then ascended into the heavens to become our high priest. because of this, jesus is able to relate to us; we can come to his throne. we need no other mediators.

under the catholic ideals though, because mary was without sin, that meant that when jesus was borne, that he took on the flesh of his mother, not of us! do you see what this does? this states that jesus did not carry the same flesh as us, that he could not relate to us, and that he was never tempted by sin.

under the catholic rules, it therefore makes more sense to come to mary for intercession and forgiveness.

THAT is why those that believe jesus is the messiah will always believe that jesus came in OUR flesh.

random capcom's marvel's vs series tip of the day:

timing of a pushblock determines how far you will end up when doing it; if you pushblock very late after blocking an attack, you will fly pretty far.

time it almost simultaneous with when you block an attack, and you will go almost nowhere.

it accounts for why sometimes you can pushblock an opponent and not go anywhere, but rather get sucked in more as they chain more hits together.

that's how you can punish a blocked gambit royal flush even if you have no beam super; pushblock right when it starts, then pushblock 2x more. then just walk up and ream.

"take the red pill, and i will show you how deep the rabbit hole goes..."

...god help us all; looks like my "conspiracy research" definitely won't stop even after i resolve the bible issue.

i must be daydreaming or something...

does gum even DISSOLVE?

i was chewing newly bought altoids sour cherry gum(it's better at the beginning, but when the sweetness fades away, it seems to suck; best gum i think is cinnamon gum cause of the spiciness), and it felt like after i was chewing for a long time, that it simply started to come apart in my mouth...

spit it out, and i see my tongue's coated w/white miniscule shreds.

and i saw a kid which clearly overdid the whole rubber bracelets thing... had like 4 on each arm... hey, i like those things too, but i clearly think you shouldn't have more than 1 on each arm.

and don't blink, but i think the spurs have finally shown the world how defensively lax the suns are...

i've never mentioned this really before, but one of the reasons why i like billups so much is because of the way he plays in-close on the offensive end. of course, i also admire his 3-pt abilities, and his good defense. but billups is probably the only point guard in the league, who, when he wants to take the ball in close and score that way, instead of using his quickness, BACKS THE OPPOSING POINT GUARD IN. it is seriously the coolest thing ever to watch. it dawned on me quite a while back after i suddenly realized why every in-game commentator was saying "billups is so strong" after he scores an in-close shot. the pistons, i think, are sorta that type of a starting five; all of them play their respective roles well; point guard-> sets people up and starts the play, shooting guard-> finishes the play, etc. but yet, the way each player is, creates a mismatch. besides listing billups, rip plays like reggie; he creates w/o the ball, unlike the other 99% sg's. tayshaun's so skinny, and so long, that's already a mismatch. rasheed can hit 3's. ben wallace is a lot smaller than the average center; small enough, that he has this speed element: he can pick up ai on the defensive end right at the inbound and draw a charge. pistons have got this awesome speed and power element going for them that a lotta teams simply lack. and did i mention; billups and prince post up more than rasheed and ben.

but like how i mentioned; i think if the nba continues next season, that a lotta teams will be very competitive; very few teams will suck; i predict maybe 2 or 3 which completely suck. of course, there's only 16 slots for the playoffs, but i hope you get what i'm saying. they're be about 5-6 GREAT teams, about 22 back-and-forth teams, and then 1-2 flat-out we-suck teams. and don't blink, b/c the warriors for once, look like the best bay area team.

we just gotta cross our fingers and hope the lockout does NOT happen...

why's my saturn require so much maintenance...

i'm probably gonna be in some deep depressed funk until spring quarter ends...

5 science classes is not fun, esp when two of them involve intense complex chemistry equations... and when you should've been studying hard w/no laziness right from day 1. catching up's a bitch when you've got that many classes. i'm just hoping i don't repeat the same mistake next quarter, when i should literally have no excuse(i'll be starting w/a tape recorder from the get go).

the sad part is, i can't shake my laziness... it's still an improvement over last year, when i literally sat at the apt and just watched the pistons run all the way into the finals and then destroy the lakers, but considering the extra class, "just enough" isn't enough.

maybe i'll be able to put some space between what i have to catch up and what i've done during memorial day weekend, but until then, i've got a midterm to cram for; ugh.

see you guys around in about 3 days. who knows, i might even be able to play some ball on sunday.

that uc davis-exclusive light blue rubber bracelet i got contrasts w/my dark red christian rubber bracelet on my left... makes one of my hands look slightly darker, the other slightly lighter... like good and evil. left and right.

this is hilarious... I POSTERIZED YOU Q-RICH! 

too bad the mavs couldn't pull out the win though... but yea, even though the mavs have a ton of talent, it sucked to see that they didn't have something that all good teams have; cohesiveness. it sucked to see the contrast between the leadership of nash vs that of dirk... while nash remained calm and encouraged his teammates even when they were down 16-some points, dirk lost it when jason terry, who was arguably their best player that night, made 1 single irrational move. then dirk doesn't back up his words by leading by example and only whines and complains even more during OT as time winds down...

so yeah, what i'm hoping for still stands; a matchup between the former nba champions for the nba finals

i'm tempted so much to go on and on about how the eastern conf finals are looking so good right now, but that's inappropriate to talk about right now.

so instead...

thanks for all the memories, reggie. for showing us the power of the jump shot. for giving your all night after night. for being completely loyal to the team you were drafted to from the get go. for being one of the greatest guys to play at the two spot.

at least he lost his final game at home, in a blaze of glory...

thanks for all the memories, reggie. we'll miss you.

and some ppl wonder why in the hell i like the pistons so much... when they often rely on their defense to win instead of offense, thus making them so "boring"...

This is why

i have never seen such an outright defensive rape like that(i'll admit i've never watched the legendary '96 jazz@bulls game 3 finals)... i've seen detroit really tear it up before last year, but never like this...

a 30-4 run is pretty damn good. hell, it's SICKENINGLY good. and it's even sicker when you realize rick charlisle tried to spend all his timeouts in the 3rd trying to slow the pistons down, and it didn't work. the only shot scored during that run was by a goaltended shot from foster.

you know when the pistons bring out darko, that their opponents just flat-out suck.

we WILL win game 4... yessire... now plz finish up...

what i now have for "baller material," the "little" things:
3 headbands- 1 green, 1 white made w/special cloth from dupont, 1 blue uc davis
2 wristbands- both green(i never use these at all)
2 finger sleeves- 1 black, 1 grey
1 elbowband- nike, white
1 shooting sleeve- official nba licensed, black
if you wanna count it:
1 rubber bracelet, red, "live for him"
1 green wwjd bracelet, the same one justin gave me for senior night

i'm bored; this is from my kitchen to yours(careful; i eat a lot, but hey, leftovers solve your what-to-eat-for-lunch tomorrow dilemmas), if you don't know what new to cook, here's 2 of my fave soup receipes:

water(about 4 cups)
2 large potatoes, peeled and chopped
1 chicken breast, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
5 leaves romaine lettuce, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1/3 tsp salt
dried shallots

combine; from top to bottom in a pot; heating the water on high until boiling; then add each of the ingredients from top to bottom, stiring a bit, then waiting until the soup boils before adding the next ingredient. you can stop @the lettuce when it boils and then add everything else. that's it; one of my faves for "clean(non-really-greasy)" soup.

cooking oil
half onion, chopped
water(about 4 cups, plus more if the noodles suck up the water)
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
1 chicken breast, chopped
a BUNCH(dunno how much; handful maybe?) of chinese-style noodles
1 egg
5 leaves romain lettuce, chopped
1/3 tsp salt
1 clove garlic, minced
1 green onion, minced

heat pot @medium heat, then add about 2 tbsp oil; wait a bit, then add onion in; stir around for a bit until you feel you like the flavor(think of it as a sort of light sautee); add water, then carrots; turn heat to hi. wait til boils, then add chicken; wait til boils again, then add noodles; stir frequently until noodles are "hydrated." add the egg, and stir, but DON'T break the yolk. once it boils again, add lettuce. once done boiling, add the rest, stir and serve. probably my favorite noodle soup receipe, that i cook myself often.

try em, and lemme know how you like em. for me, it takes maybe 1/2 hour to cook, a little over half an hour to eat entirely. you can add more eggs for the noodle soup if you want to serve others. yea, i'm a beast at eating food sometimes. who would've thought the day i'd hear jerm say to other msm ppl "well, at home(davis apt) rich destroys us"

i should exercise more often, or once i pass age 25...

i saw for the first time, nature taking away another's life...

a stray duckling(not duck) was waddling along, then suddenly a crow comes down, picks it up by the neck(which i think killed it right there), then proceeded to fly a bit away so it could rip apart its carcass piece by piece... harsh, but such is biology, and life taking away life... oh, you cringe about it, but hey, we're meat eaters too. we just never see chickens and bulls as cuddly 80% of the time when they're on our plates.

and i also saw, what you could consider to be teenage ducks... they were grey all over, and when they tried to "quack," it came out more like "peep." but they were much larger than ducklings, so. figures they gots to be teens.

finally, i also saw baby squirrels, that's right. i think there was a mother watching over 1 in the tree about 6 feet above ground watching her other youngun pick away at a nut on the ground not too far away.

i love nature.

and i don't care that it's been raining a bit lately, even though this should be spring; i love drizzles, and besides, it helps keep my allergies down a bit :D

random tekken 3 tidbit, cause i just feel like posting it:

bryan's 1,2,1,2 combo is all guarenteed on counter-hit; how do some players hunt for it so succesfully?

well, on normal hit, 1,2 normally combos, but the 2nd and 3rd punch does not. the 3rd and 4th punch will naturally combo though. hence, the CH affects the 2nd and 3rd hit obviously.

so, just tap 1,2,1 really quickly and look for the 3rd hit; if it hits, press 2 immediately. (duurrr, wonder why i never though about that)

and 1,2,1 is only -4 on block; even if you finish w/the 2, it's -7; nothing guarenteed; however, the opponent can push for something with that advantage; no wonder i could never punish the opponent who does 1,2,1,2 repeatedly with bryan... i should throw instead.

other things of note:

hmmm... WS+1+2 is 11, but only -3 on block, and hits mid...

1,4,3 is safe on block, but 1,4 is not, and the 3 hits mid.

b+2,1 can be cancelled into sidestep

uf+4 seems safe...

ws+3 is safe, but just barely... fast though, as always.

unless if i read wrong, 3,2 gives +10 on BLOCK, are both mid hits.

woot! tayshaun, chauncy and ben all made the defensive team!

here's a question; should a player still make the defensive team if they're on a sucky or non-defensive team? cause i'm questioning whether kg should've made the 1st defensive team, as well as ak, considering how little ak played, and how the twolves were strictly mid-tier this year. you might question why billups made the defensive team at all, but he was able to give bibby problems when the two teams matched up, so... and at the very least, billups is a better defender than rip.

here's to prince making 1st defensive team next year... and possibly dpoy as well. that guy's just a beast. and so skinny too.

i have a feeling that after the eastern conference semifinals are over, either i'm gonna be HATING jerm, or he's gonna be HATING me... and our respective teams... oh yeah, eugene's also a miller fan... so, depending on what happens, i might be garnering some hate towards him, or vise versa.

such is living with a reggie miller fan(i'm not calling him a pacers fan, as the only reason he likes the pacers is because of miller), i almost inwardly look down upon jerm, because it almost seems like he can't really appreciate why the pacers are so good; i would mind jerm being a pacers fan less if he could really appreciate why the pacers are so good. not that you don't have your favorite players, but c'mon now...

but he doesn't, it's always "oh, reggie miller's so good! blah, blah..." yeah, so? kobe's really good. do you see what's going on in LA? lebron's REALLY good, do you see what's going on in cleveland? kg's so good, do you see what's going on in minnesota? miller has done a great job keeping the pacers afloat, but i don't think he's the sole reason the pacers have surprised so many this year...

but aside from the laudatory attitude towards miller, there's the history of the brawl and last year...

yeah, it's pretty much the kings and lakers of the east... i've always believed that... (they carry all the drama around and against each other... well, the fans do; i know sheed and j'o are very close friends...) the difference is both teams try to play the game the right way...(contrast that to the kings can't play d, and lakers have always leaned too hard upon their shaq and kobe) just the fact that the pacers are in the 2nd round without artest and j'o and stephen for most of the season shows a lot about the depth, the way they play the game on both ends, and how they don't lean too hard on their superstars... and reggie miller and rick charlisle both should be given a lot of credit for that(i'd say the coach more than miller). and the word superstar isn't even in the pistons' vocabulary; who's the pistons' best player? everybody... ben goes out... pistons start losing... rip goes out, pistons start losing... brown goes out, pistons start losing... billups goes out, pistons start losing.

so, all the hate aside, it's supposed to be a good matchup... pistons lost their bench, but pacers lost their artest... it's still an advantage to the pistons, b/c of my main man, tayshaun prince... let's see if pacers figure out a way to stop him. or rip :D

--------------------------

i've come to realize that sacrifice is a test of faith... much like how abraham was tested... the thought came to me during sunday's message... how much you give to the lord your god, this very moment, i think really determines how much you believe in god to fulfill his promise of "give, and ye shall receive." or his commandment that you need to present the best to your god. why's it that every christian always says the same stuff in college; "oh, let me settle down my life, and THEN i'll give everything." pastor danny said that all those friends of his who were pre-med who said that have yet to show it.

and we're not just talking about money... time is an issue too.

and this is difficult to swallow... it is for me... you're asking me to not put the time i spend with god on the backburner this quarter, despite me having to take 5 classes, all of them being science classes. but it tests my faith. it should.

something i learned this saturday at a special worship service on saturday(which was great btw):

main lesson was john 21:15-19

interesting pointer: 1st time jesus asks peter whether he loves him, he uses the term "agape" to ask whether he loves him; peter responds with the love "phileo" an affectionate, but not unconditional love, ditto w/the 2nd time.
3rd time, jesus finally uses the term "phileo" to ask whether peter loved him; THAT'S why peter was hurt; some ppl think it's because he was asked 3 times, which somehow reminded him of his triple denial. that's quite possible, but this is also another meaning. it's as if jesus finally asks, "so this is where you admit you're at?" what's great is that, despite peter responding affirmatively, jesus still bestows the charge he gave peter after the 1st or 2nd time; take care of my sheep.

interesting pointer: sheep were taken care of in the past so that they could be USED; specifically for meat and clothing. that's what we have to become to others; when we take the term of proverbial christian sheep, we choose to sacrifice ourselves in order to serve others.

woodpecker...
female duck with 8 baby ducks waddling behind her...
female peacock...

seen them all on campus this week... they're all beautiful... the male peacock i saw freshman year though is unbeatable... i've never seen shades of blue and green clash and marinate together so well... along some shades of gray... female peacocks are still rare finds though, so you gotta enjoy it while they're in front of you.

so i'm thinking, i saw a billboard for real life and campus crusade for christ, and it's saying "prayer at the flagpole noon, monday, tuesday, wednesday, thursday, and friday, rain or shine." and i'm starting to really think, yeah i'm just involved at msm, but what if we could turn this into a real blessing with all christian organizations at ucdavis gathering together at the flagpole every school day at that time to pray for this nation?(and there are a LOT... go to spac.ucdavis.edu and look up religious organizations, and don't see if what i've said is true) when prayer and unity amongst fellow believers gather together, i really believe, with our sincere hearts, god will make something to happen. what if? i gotta convey this idea to someone else... a revival could be sparked... and then there's howard, at intervarsity... what if i could hook up w/him sometime before the end of spring quarter and convey this to him?

i don't really hate the wizards...

but man, why you gotta break my heart arenas...

though i'm kinda hoping celtics win(against the pacers, dur), you gotta admire the heart that the pacers have been showing this entire season... though i'm a celtic fan and jerm's a pacers fan, i keep telling him that these two teams match up very well against each other... having it go to game seven is just great... the "rivalry" between these two teams has finally reached a point where you can say they're almost each other's equal(compared to the last two years)... of course, with artest, it's a different story, but who knows; maybe celtics will get a good off-season deal as well.

matchups i'm looking forward to:

winner of washington and chicago vs miami
winner of boston and indiana vs detroit
detroit vs miami(hopefully)

sonics and spurs IMO also match up well... both teams give each other problems...