Breaking the Habit - Part Deux

So basically, I was misinformed - apparently this whole habit breaking thing is two weeks long, not one. That leads to the second week chronicle below.. with my ongoing effort to keep my room cleaner than it's ever been.

Day 8 - Cleaning The Room
After I found out this was actually a two-week adventure and not a one-week adventure, I realize this will actually take some effort to keep this room in tip top shape. After leaving school for the day I go to my room and study while sipping on a juice box (some parts of our childhood never die). After 8 days though, the room is steady and relatively dust free. It's kind of nice. I think even my own dog is a little thrown off by it, she doesn't want any part of the room - quite amusing.

Day 9 - Cleaning The Room
Really, this is becoming way too easy. It's becoming habitual right now to tell the truth. I don't know whether to be excited or panicked. I went from a passive typical guy to a clean freak in a span of nine days? What the heck? I'm a bit skeptical that I'll slip eventually but for now, it's not happening.

Day 10 - Cleaning The Room
Thursday comes and goes, the room still looks divine. I find it ironic that when my entire place looks amazing, I can't get anyone in the free world to come over and look at it. But when it looks like a tornado went zipping across and back my living arrangements a good 53 times, that's when I can't be left alone. Go figure.

Day 11 - Cleaning The Room
Mr. Bachelor hits me again. I get off work and realize I have no food in the house. What's a guy to do? Order a pizza that's what! Yeah needless to say, the room/living room .. it's slipping past divine and has now officially hit dirty status. Well at least I'm reassured of being normal, I gotta say I was feeling a bit nervous I was turning into Martha Stewart sans cooking skills and felony charges.

Day 12- Cleaning The Room
Nothing to study today, got off work at 3:30.. immediately came home and napped. Yeah the room/living area is still pretty much a mess. I'm slipping into old habits, and now as I write this I feel the urge to get off my butt and clean up in here. Nice!

Day 13 - Cleaning The Room
Well.. last night before bed, I got up and cleaned up the living room, and today seeing as how it's a Monday that means I am doing nothing remotely interesting. The place is still clean though and I think I'm going to make it through these two weeks!

Day 14 - Cleaning The Room
Two weeks! My place has been clean for two weeks! What I learned about this is the power of keeping a running diary for any motivation is pretty good stuff. When you open the diary/blog you can't help but look at past entries, forcing you to keep up the pace.

Correcting Bad Habits - Week Review

I have been jotting this down throughout the week.. and here is what I came up with.

Day 1 - Correcting My Bad Habit
Something I have been wanting to correct for quite some time is how clean I can keep my room. For most, this probably seems like an easy task - for me.. not so much. I start day 1 of this process by doing about 3 loads of laundry (to empty my hamper and subsequently rid my floor of countless articles of dirty clothing). After this is done, I vacuum the floor and make the bed. I look around and notice a lot of papers and junk on my headboard and quickly organize/throw away the papers I don't need. Now it seems as though my room is clean, but for how long? That's the tricky part..

Day 2 - Correcting My Bad Habit
I come home and quickly hurl my backpack across the floor as though I am trying out for discus throwing in the summer Olympics. (And I always wonder why my papers get crumbled up).. I crack open a bottle of water and sprawl across my bed to listen to how much of a racist Don Imus really is.. but quickly as I check my email I notice this document on my laptop. Expletives enter my head and I quickly pick up my backpack and make sure my water bottle finds its home in the fridge (hey recycling is a good habit to pick up too!).. after one day, my room is still clean. Score one for the home team.

Day 3 - Correcting My Bad Habit
Well today, after sleeping in.. I begin to get lax about the whole room thing again. My bed is now a total disaster (I swear I don't remember moving at all when I'm asleep but apparently I somehow am able to do an entire 360 on my sheets, lifting them every which way possible..) - reluctantly I make it, because it's my goal to actually maintain a clean bedroom for the week.

The evening comes and goes.. and the room is still semi-clean, but my hamper is beginning to fill up with dirty clothes. And my gym bag is residing in front of the entertainment center. Am I losing it? I can't allow it... oooooh hockey is on! Until tomorrow..

Day 4 - Correcting My Bad Habit
It has now been 4 days of clean and happy bedroom living. I'm not sure where this ranks on the all-time length I have maintained such a clean state (and for the record I'm not a slob, but I'm not a clean freak either.. and while I cannot really accurately depict the state of my room in words.. just imagine what a clean freak goes through for every day of their life.. and that is the mind set I have so desperately tried to hammer into my head for this week.)

I worked all day today and tonight I am going out to dinner and drinks to celebrate last weeks birthday (woo!) .. my room will not be touched tonight, and the clean streak lives on!

Day 5 - Correcting My Bad Habit
Saturday has approached and I have checked with the Elias Bureau of Statistics to get a read onto what unchartered territory I am entering. As per the site (known for statistics on everything that can be tracked) I have broken a record for having my room smell being lemony fresh (actually it's more of a vanilla scent.. I am a sucker for those scented candles). I am skimming through the previous 4 days and picturing my two readers thinking my room is typically a disaster. So that alone makes me chuckle. Nonetheless, while some friends and most immediate family would say it rivals the look of a tornado through a trailer park.. this week we're not slipping! Time for laundry since the hamper is getting into the danger zone (I think a couple socks and a shirt went rogue late last night and pounced out of their respected laundry nets).

Day 6 - Correcting My Bad Habit
I almost lost it tonight. But like Michael Jordan in the playoffs, I somehow averted disaster. Tonight was Entourage night at the casa, so I had to celebrate with food and beverage in the room. Usually that means some plate or silverware is going to live in my room for a couple days (in hindsight yes I'm aware that's not the most sanitary thing in the world).. but again the motivating factor of having this word document on my desktop that I see everyday since I'm addicated to the "internets" has me cleaning my room up like a french maid with OCD.

And for the record, Entourage was very good tonight. Thanks for wondering.

Day 7 - Correcting My Bad Habit
And the finale of this grand presentation, I am happy to say.. I did it. I went an entire week without my room becoming one step shy of getting federal aid for being a disaster (Although with the whole poor college kid thing, I could use some Red Cross relief here and there).

So in conclusion, I was able to do it. I think the running diary kind of helped me because in a weird way it was motivation. Motivation is a powerful tool if you can constantly remind yourself about your ultimate goal and the title of my word document "Clean your room slob-o!" seemed to hammer home my weekly goal.

So as celebration, I will probably go back to the messy room thing.. because that's just me.

2007 Stanley Cup Playoffs Preview

NHL Playoffs Preview
As an avid sports fan, I figured I would preview the NHL's playoffs. The playoffs begin this Wednesday and figure to end sometime in June. And while hockey has only about nine fans in the state of New Mexico, the postseason is a very popular event elsewhere in the country. I'll begin by previewing the Eastern Conference playoffs.

For the first time ever hockey dynamo Sidney Crosby will participate in the Stanley Cup playoffs when his Pittsburgh Penguins play the talented Ottawa Senators.

Another new team to join the fray is the Atlanta Thrashers. The Thrashers are making their first playoff appearance in the franchises history, and will match up against the New York Rangers.

Elsewhere in the Eastern Conference, the Buffalo Sabres will meet the New York Islanders in the first round. The Sabres won the Presidents' Cup this season after finishing with the National Hockey League's best overall record. They are led by hockey stars Chris Drury and Daniel Briere.

Wrapping up the Eastern Conference playoff matchups are the New Jersey Devils and the Tampa Bay Lightning. The Lightning won the Stanley Cup in 2004, while the Devils won the cup in 2003. This matchup is one of the more compelling matchups of the Eastern Conference playoffs because it features the league's top goalie, Martin Brodeur, and the league's top scorer in 2007, Vincent LeCavalier.

Out in the Western Conference, the Detroit Red Wings are once again the favorite to make it to the Stanley Cup Finals but that hasn't necessarily been a good thing for the Red Wings. The past several years Detroit has entered the playoffs as the favorites to win it all, but they have been ousted quickly each of those years. The will open up the postseason against the Calgary Flames who are led by hockey star Jarome Iginla.

Elsewhere in the Western Conference, the Anaheim Mighty Ducks will begin the playoffs against the Minnesota Wild. The Ducks have been one of the leagues most consistent teams all year and figure to be one of the heavy favorites to win the Stanley Cup. The Wild, despite being seemingly overwhelmed on paper, are a scrappy team that could give Anaheim a very competitive series.

The Vancouver Canucks enter the playoffs behind the outstanding play from their goalie and MVP Candidate Roberto Luongo. Luongo and the Canucks will take on the Dallas Stars who are led by their future Hall-of-Fame star Mike Modano.

Wrapping up the Western Playoffs is the very compelling matchup between the Nashville Predators and San Jose Sharks. Both teams are considered "dark horses" to win the conference outright and contend for a Stanley Cup Championship. The Predators are led by hockey superstars Paul Kariya and Peter Forsberg, while the Sharks are led by perhaps the leagues best player Joe Thornton. This figures to be the best opening round series in the playoffs.

If I were a betting man (which because of nearly all my money going to UNM, I'm not).. here is how I would project each of the Best-of-7 matchups in the 2007 playoffs.

Eastern Playoffs - Quarterfinals
(1) Buffalo def. (8) NY Islanders ... 4 games to 1
(2) New Jersey def. (7) Tampa Bay ... 4 games to 2
(3) Atlanta def. (6) NY Rangers ... 4 games to 3
(5) Pittsburgh def. (4) Ottawa ... 4 games to 3

Western Playoffs - Quarterfinals
(8) Calgary def. (1) Detroit ... 4 games to 2
(2) Anaheim def. (7) Minnesota ... 4 games to 1
(3) Vancouver def. (6) Dallas ... 4 games to 3
(5) San Jose def. (4) Nashville ... 4 games to 3

Eastern Playoffs - Semifinals
(1) Buffalo def. (5) Pittsburgh ... 4 games to 2
(2) New Jersey def. (3) Atlanta ... 4 games to 2

Western Playoffs - Semifinals
(2) Anaheim def. (8) Calgary ... 4 games to 1
(5) San Jose def. (3) Vancouver ... 4 games to 3

Eastern Playoffs - Finals
(2) New Jersey def. (1) Buffalo ... 4 games to 3

Western Playoffs - Finals
(2) Anaheim def. (5) San Jose ... 4 games to 2

2007 Stanley Cup Finals
(2) Anaheim def. (2) New Jersey .. 4 games to 2

For a more detailed view of the upcoming playoffs.. here are the standings and playoff tree:

Eastern Conference PTS W/L Buffalo Sabres 113 53-29 New Jersey Devils 107 49-33 Atlanta Thrashers 97 43-39 Ottawa Senators 105 48-34 Pittsburgh Penguins 105 47-35 New York Rangers 94 42-40 Tampa Bay Lightning 93 44-38 New York Islanders 92 40-42 Toronto Maple Leafs 91 40-42 Montreal Canadiens 90 42-40 Carolina Hurricanes 88 40-42 Florida Panthers 86 35-47 Boston Bruins 76 35-47 Washington Capitals 70 28-54 Philadelphia Flyers 56 22-60

Western Conference PTS W/L Detroit Red Wings 113 50-32 Anaheim Mighty Ducks 110 48-34 Vancouver Canucks 105 49-33 Nashville Predators 110 51-31 San Jose Sharks 107 51-31 Dallas Stars 107 50-32 Minnesota Wild 104 48-34 Calgary Flames 96 43-39 Colorado Avalanche 95 44-38 St. Louis Blues 81 34-48 Columbus Blue Jackets 73 33-49 Edmonton Oilers 71 32-50 Chicago Blackhawks 71 31-51 Los Angeles Kings 68 27-55 Phoenix Coyotes 67 31-51

The top eight teams in each conference qualify for the NHL playoffs. Division leaders are seeded #1, #2, and #3. The next five best teams were seeded fourth through eighth. Seeding is determined by: point total, wins, points obtained in games against tied teams and goal differential.

Eastern Conference

Western Conference

#1 Buffalo						Detroit #1
#8 NY Islanders						Calgary #8
#5 Pittsburgh						San Jose #5
#4 Ottawa						Nashville #4
#3 Atlanta						Vancouver #3
#6 NY Rangers						Dallas #6
#7 Tampa Bay						Minnesota #7
#2 New Jersey						Anaheim #2

* In the Conference Semifinals and Conference Finals, teams are re-seeded according to the same criteria as the First Rounds, the highest remaining seeds play against the lowest remaining seeds.

*There are three rounds of playoffs in each conference (first round, conference semi finals and conference finals). The winner in these three rounds will be declared the Eastern or Western Conference Champion. In the final round, these two face off against each other for the Stanley Cup.

Research Article: How to do your part in avoiding global warming

Global warming is a hot topic amongst citizens in the United States, and for that matter, the rest of the world. Scientists have already debated back and forth on whether or not global warming is happening and if it is - who is to blame for it. As a 23-year-old, global warming concerns me not just for my future but for my younger siblings future and any children I am to have in the coming years.

So I took it upon myself to research methods of how each of us can pull our own weight in fighting something that could impact the way our world is both short term and long term. The following is a great article I found on CarbonNeutral.com

Human induced climate change – which results from increased ‘greenhouse’ gases (GHGs) in the atmosphere – is the greatest social, economic and environmental threat of this century. It’s a problem mankind has caused mainly through our rapid exploitation of fossil fuels, and it’s a problem we need to solve with our collective intelligence, creativity, and humanity.
“The scientific evidence is now overwhelming: climate change presents very serious global risks, and it demands an urgent global response” Stern Review Report on the economics of climate change, HM Treasury, UK Government 2006

The greenhouse effect - some basics The earth’s atmosphere, like our own bodies, cools or warms until the energy ‘inputs’ (radiation from the sun) are in balance with energy lost through cooling. Certain gases in the atmosphere (called Greenhouse Gases or GHGs) ) act like feathers in a duvet – they trap and hold heat in the atmosphere and influence the temperature at which the global atmosphere is in balance. The more GHGs in the atmosphere, the higher the global temperature (the more feathers in a duvet, the warmer it is). The root cause of climate change? The principle GHG is carbon dioxide (CO2). Over billions of years, organic matter from dead plants and animals transformed into coal, oil, and natural gas in the outer layers of the earth’s crust. Since 1750, mankind has extracted these fossil fuels, and used them to power our rapid industrial development. Carbon dioxide from the combustion of fossil fuels accounts for about two thirds of the human induced warming effect. Methane, nitrous oxide and other gases emitted from industrial and agricultural activities account for the remaining third. CO2 concentrations in the atmosphere have risen one third since the industrial revolution and are set to double in the next 100 years. Temperatures which have varied less than 1 degree Celsius since the dawn of civilisation, are projected to rise between 2 and 4 degrees Celsius over the next century. This is a very rapid transformation in comparison to the longer-term warming and cooling cycles naturally experienced over past millennia. Scientists predict that such rapid changes will cause major and severe harm to the social, economic and environmental systems upon which mankind depends for its sustained survival. “Global atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide have increased markedly as a result of human activities since 1750 and now far exceed pre-industrial values….” Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change; Climate Change 2007: The Physical Science Basis: Summary for Policymakers), February 2007; www.ipcc.ch.

The impact of climate change? SwissRe (www.swissre.com) , the global reinsurance company, provides an economic impact indicator: losses from natural disasters are doubling approximately every 10 years and could reach about $150 billion in 10 years. In a study of the summer of 1995 in England and Wales, which was about 1.5C warmer than average, it was estimated that net economic losses were about £1.5billion. The consensus from the 2005 Conference of Scientific Experts (Exeter, UK; http://www.stabilisation2005.com/) was that a temperature increase of 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels may trigger melting of the Greenland ice cap. To have a high probability of not exceeding this 2 degree Celsius limit, atmospheric CO2 concentrations should stay below 400ppm. This threshold could be breached in 10-15 years at the current rate of increase in global emissions.

Those least able to cope with climate change – developing countries – are likely to be among the most affected. It will further reduce access to drinking water, negatively affect the health of those living in poverty, and will pose a real threat to food security in many countries. If the Greenland ice sheets melts, the sea level rise would be so dramatic that the map of the world would change substantially. “The impacts of climate change are not evenly distributed – the poorest countries and people will suffer earliest and most. And if and when the damages appear it will be too late to reverse the process. Thus we are forced to look a long way ahead.” Stern Review Report on the economics of climate change, HM Treasury, UK Government, 2006, www.hm-treasury.gov.uk

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Browse our site for further inforrmation on CO2 emissions and carbon offsetting

Other Resources Of Information:

• NRDC: The Basics of Global Warming
• Stop Global Warming
• Global Warming Action