antonywilliams.com

For those of you who don't know what black Friday is, it's today!
It's the Friday after thanksgiving and it's always the busiest shopping day of the year. Most retailers open very early and provide massive discounts on their products, and offer doorbuster deals to draw people to their stores.
Last year, I'd spent a whole bunch of money on stuff. This year I decided to do the same.
My brother waited outside Circuit City from 5pm Thurs. night, until they opened Fri. at 5AM. (yep, he waited 12 hours). Most of the people there had a tent. My bro. went semi prepared with a sleeping bag. I, however just went in my jeans, a coat and my iAudio MP3 player. (I actually don't even own a coat, as I never wear one, so I had to borrow one ;)
My bro. got a 32" LCD TV for $495, a Compaq laptop for $300 and a Compaq Desktop for $200 (included free were: A router, printer, laptop case and internet security software.)
Why would we buy so much stuff do you ask?
Why to see on eBay, of course!
Meanwhile, I waited outside Staples, and got two 400GB Western Digital external (USB 2.0) Hard-drives for $100, down from $250. (specs: 4000KS, 7200RPM, 16MB cache, SATA 3Gb/s w/ NCQ (native command queuing).

While there, I figured I'd pick up some blank DVD+R's/CD-R's, and a 1GB Flash drive for $7. I finally got out of Staples at 8AM, and went straight to work (which is where I'm posting this from). I figure the money I make from selling all this junk on eBay, I should be able to cover what I've bought for myself.....
I then bought a 2GB Sandisk titanium flash drive at Costco. (because I'm fed up of the cap coming off my current flash drive.)

The other night, while trying to hack into my phone with a data cable and a hex editor, I was able to extract some pictures I'd taken with my phone right after my hand surgery.
They're quite amusing, so I thought I'd post them here for you all to check out.

Being the true Brit that I am, I had to go and watch Bond 21 on its opening night, even though it cost me $8.25. In the last 3 years, I've only been to the expensive cinema one other time (for Superman, and that was a date). Before that, it was Pirates (the first, not the disgraceful sequel).
Before seeing it, I was a little anxious, as not only would there be no Q or gadgets, but no cool car chases. I also wasn't expecting Daniel Craig to be as good as Pierce Brosnan. It's debatable. Even though he seems more capable of beating up 4 guys at once, he can't really pull off being the suave Oxford grad he's supposed to be. This is obvious at the end when he introduces himself as "Bond, James Bond."your thoughts?

I got tickets to the 10:45 showing. It finished at around 1:30, but luckily kept my attention enough to keep me awake the whole time.
With a bit of luck Bond 22 will reintroduce gadgets and cool car chases.

Minor spoiler
The incredible Aston Martin DBS is driven for a total of about 3 seconds. This is unforgivable.

Having used my previous bike (Cannondale F400) on the mission, and all last summer (including one crash!) I stopped trusting it.
It arrived to Ohio already with several huge gashes. I'm not meaning scratches, but deep gashes. The kind that might make you a little cautious when jumping with it.
I continued to ride it in Utah, and it seemed safe enough, although shipping it back and forth can't have been good for it. After riding up the canyons 5 days a week about 30-40 miles a day, it stopped shifting correctly. I took it to Outdoors Unlimited (the bike shop at BYU) and they assured me they'd fixed it. The very next day when doing about 40 miles an hour down the Canyon the gears jammed, and I went flying off. Despite a bent rim, and my front fork no longer providing any travel, it was good enough for me to ride home.
I'd had enough. My parents told me "If you hadn't been riding so recklessly, you'd have been fine." my response of course was "It shouldn't matter how fast I'm going. My bike's gears shouldn't have jammed."
For obvious reasons, I didn't really feel safe riding it at 20 miles an hour, let alone 40.
I sold it on Craig's List, and decided to buy another one.
I wanted to get another Cannondale, and was looking to spend around $800.
September/October is usually a good time to buy a bike, as when the new models are introduced, the old ones (which still haven't been ridden) are discounted.
I looked at an '06 Cannondale F400 which was down to $630 from $780. The newer '07 model was a similar price (but you couldn't get a discount on it), only it had been upgraded with disc brakes. The shop "Timpanogos Cyclery" didn't seem to understand my reasoning. I told them the bike wasn't really discounted, as it was significantly inferior to the '07 model. They said it was reduced almost 20% and was as cheap as they could sell it. I tried to explain that if I were to purchase disc brakes after market, and put them on, it would end up being the same price as the '07 model, so it wasn't really discounted as I'd be paying the same for an '06 model that was similarly equipped as the stock '07 model)
They didn't understand.
I left.
My old roommate, Richard Bennett, told me to check out Bingham Cyclery in Provo.
They mostly only sell Specialized. I went, and they had a full suspension '06 Specialized FSRxc. It was a little more than I was wanting to spend, but after I test rode it, I decided spending a little more to get a full suspension might be worth it. It retails for $1100, but they gave it to me for $950. This might seem like a lot of money, but I can earn it in about a month, and this bike should last me a lot longer than that......hopefully....
Unfortunately, when you're buying last years model, you don't have much choice over colour, as they have limited stock. The only one available in my size was yellow.
Once again I'll be able to race down the canyon recklessly with confidence!


I'll try not to crash this one.

Common inexcusable mistakes I'm fed up of hearing.

1. 'A person was hung'
Pictures are hung, people are hanged. Come on people. I've known this one since I was ten, yet I even hear BYU professors mess it up. So much for the word Doctor coming from the Latin root Doctus meaning having been taught, or learned...

2. 'It happened to John and I' - Why can't people tell the difference between John and me and John and I ? After all, it's so simple. You just have to take out the 'John and' part and see if it still sounds right.
You clearly wouldn't say It happened to I so why say It happened to John and I
Even more annoying is having people correct my accurate usage. I think over 70% of BYU students think you're always supposed to say John and I.

3. Incorrect pronunciation of Irrevocably (from D&C 130:20).
You're supposed to stress the e, not the o.

4. The Mormon usage of the made up verb "to proselyte"
Those of you who've ever paid attention at conference should notice that Pres. Hinckley always says "to proselytize"...... So much for following the Prophet.......

5+.
Using unconscious instead of subconscious.
Using unorganized instead of disorganized.
Confusing principle and principal.
Confusing counsel and council.
Confusing capital and capitol.
Spelling definite with an a [definate].

The most embarrassing word to spell incorrectly would have to be grammar. Yet at BYU, where supposedly the average ACT score is supposed to be > 27, I see it all the time.


Such lack of basic competence in the English language amongst Mormons is proof that most are hicks.
Maybe that's why the church is the strongest in Utah and Idaho.......

For Further proof that most Mormons are hicks, check almost any hymn written by one. You can easily spot them, as they usually have a total of three different chords.