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Today it was announced that a potentially habitable planet has been found.

First, a disclaimer: I am a space/science geek, and this news was great for me. I read a lot of books, mainly Science Fiction, and my favorites are always the ones regarding space travel and finding intelligent life on other planets. (For instance, right now I'm reading The Sunborn by Gregory Benford. I've had a difficult time putting this one down.

So, the article details that an earth-like world has been found 20 light years away. My initial thought was - let's send some type of probe there immediately! Of course, with the politics involved with NASA, I doubt this will happen. Even more reason to start pushing the privatization of space flight. I'd like to see that happen during my lifetime, though I'm not holding my breath.

So, I'll keep abreast of that story. I think it is pretty interesting, and hopefully it will prod one of the various world space agencies to take some steps to develop a way to get there.

Posted by Jeremy Sarnovsky at 10:34 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Well, the first round of the NHL playoffs has been completed, so it is time for a look back on my picks, as well as second round predictions. For everyone's information, I was 7-1 with my opening round predicions, the only one I missed was the Pittsburgh-Ottawa series. That's good stuff.

Eastern Conference #1 Buffalo over #8 New York Islanders in Six - The Sabres offense will be just too much for the Isles #2 New Jersey over #7 Tampa Bay in Five - I like the Lightning's scoring, but the Devils suffocate you with defense #6 NY Rangers over #3 Atlanta in Seven - Jagr will explode in this series, and i think the Rangers' experience helps #5 Pittsburgh over #4 Ottawa in Five - I just feel like the Pens have things going right

Western Conference
#1 Detroit over #8 Flames in Six - I'm going to regret this pick. The Wings aren't good with the Flames...
#2 Anaheim over #7 Minnesota in Four - this is probably the only sweep I'll predict. I just don't feel it from the Wild.
#3 Vancouver over #6 Dallas in Seven - Dallas will make this close, despite bad goaltending from Turco
#5 San Jose over #4 Nashville - the beginning of the end for the team in Nashville.

So, the second round has the following matchups (followed by my predictions):

Western Conference
#1 Detroit vs. #5 San Jose - This is a tough one. San Jose is a better team than Calgary, and the Wings are going to have trouble stopping them. I think this one will go seven, with the Wings coming out on top. Wings in seven.
#2 Anaheim vs. #3 Vancouver - One of two Canadian teams left, the Canucks have no scoring. Matching up against one of the best defenses in the NHL in Anaheim (and the 'big three'), will not be kind. Anaheim in five.

Eastern Conference
#1 Buffalo vs. #6 New York Rangers - The Rangers destroyed Atlanta in four, and they've got some mojo. The Sabres looked less than stellar against the Islanders (probably because they are overrated). However, I have to go with Buffalo's depth here. Sabres in six.
#2 New Jersey vs. #4 Ottawa - This is a tough one for me. As much as I want to see the Canadian teams eliminated, I think Ottawa has a good chance here. I'll take Ottawa in seven.

Posted by Jeremy Sarnovsky at 07:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Today we were evacuated from work at our off-campus location of Georgetown University. About 11:15am or so we were told that a bus hit the building, and we had to evacuate. While I didn't feel it - I'm on the opposite side of the building, several others said they felt the building move. The rumor right now is that the driver left the bus unattended, forgot to set the parking brake, and it rolled down the hill, plowing through a van and then into the building.

Now, all of the news stations are reporting on the accident. I'm sitting at the helpdesk on main campus now, waiting for a 1pm meeting on main campus. Apparently, the building is closed until they can determine it is structurally sound. This is a problem, seeing as how my car is parked in the parking structure under the building, and I can't get it out until the building is deemed safe.

Mickey, co-worker of mine, took some photos of the accident right after it happened, before most of the emergency response and TV cameras got rolling.

Nice. Hope I can get my car in time to make it to my softball game at 6:30pm...

Posted by Jeremy Sarnovsky at 12:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

It's unfortunate, but this seems to be the truth the farther I travel in life. It becomes even clearer to me while I've been thinking about the wedding, buying a house, having kids, etc. One of the main goals in leaving DC was so that we could have more money. I'm back in DC, and once again the money woes are evident.

In fact, I'm going to need to take a second, part-time job as I was doing before. I can no longer work at the bookstore, because they don't allow married couples to work at the same store, so I'm looking into other options. I may end up going to the mall this weekend to see who has job openings for part-time work. I know I won't make much, and it's going to suck working two jobs again, but I'm going to need to get those post-wedding bills paid off.

Any one have any ideas for part-time employment? I suppose I could go back to being a waiter, though I'm not sure any of the restaurants in Shirlington are hiring. I have to hope that someday money will stop being a problem... I've already decided that once the credit cards are paid off post-wedding, I'm destroying them. It's just not worth the headache. I'd rather be able to have (and afford to have) kids, than have stuff.

Posted by Jeremy Sarnovsky at 09:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

...my friend Cynthia has inspired me to do so...

Leave a reply and...
1: I'll respond with something random about you.
2: I'll challenge you to try something.
3: I'll pick a color that I associate with you.
4: I'll tell you something I like about you.
5: I'll tell you my first/clearest memory of you.
6: I'll tell you what animal you remind me of.
7: I'll ask you something I've always wanted to ask you.

The caveat: you also have to do one for me...

Posted by Jeremy Sarnovsky at 01:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I mentioned in a previous post that we took Martha's dog Glory to the vet because we had found several lumps on her body. There seemed to be no logic to where the lumps were - she had one on the front left leg, one on her left side, one on her butt, one on her back right leg, and the biggest one was on her stomach.

We scheduled another appointment for her on Thursday to have the lumps removed (and to get her teeth cleaning done). So, I took her in Thursday morning, because Martha had a meeting that she had to be at work early for. While I know putting a dog through surgery sucks, it seemed better to get these taken care of now. The stomach one really bothere me...

In any case, we picked her up last night at about 6:30pm. They had removed all five of the lumps, and now Glory has five very large shaven spots with stitches. The spots were large enough that they had to use the non-disolving stitches, and they had to put a tube drain in for the one on her stomach. I can't tell you how gross they look - the stomach drain in particular. I took a picture of one of the stitched spots, but decided to refrain from posting it.

So Glory now has to wear her "head cone" until she gets the stitches out. She doesn't like it at all - in fact, last night Martha and I had almost no sleep because she cried the whole night. We're hoping that she'll do better tonight.

We're hoping that the lumps are nothing too serious, and keeping our fingers crossed. Glory is a loveable little fungus, and I'd hate to see anything seriously wrong with her.

Posted by Jeremy Sarnovsky at 08:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Now that I'm back at Georgetown, I had a long weekend for Easter, as the University gives employees Easter Friday off of work. I was able to accomplish quite a bit with my three day weekend, although I wish I would have had more time.

First, I spent Friday first moving some stuff from the apartment in Richmond back up to DC. This was not a whole lot of fun, seeing as how I had to battle the traffic for Easter weekend in both directions. I did manage to get a substantial portion of the stuff moved, though. Really all that is left is the furniture, which I'll need a bigger vehicle to move. Unfortunately, I had to rush back to DC because Martha and I were scheduled to meet with a mortgage banker with BB&T. I made it in time, and we were able to talk to the mortgage guy about what we can expect if we decide to pursue buying a condo. I think Martha and I both left with a better feeling than when we arrived, if that says anything.

Saturday was a little bit of a bummer. We had to take the cat and dog to the vet at 8:30am. Getting up that early wasn't pleasant, but the vet trip wasn't the greatest either. Saber (the cat) always freaks out at the vet, and he was shaking up a storm and trying his best to hide. Luckily, he got his shots and was healthy - still a little overweight, but he had lost some since last year. The dog, on the other hand, did not get such good news. We had discovered several lumps in varying places on her skin, including a rather large one on her stomach. This is actually what lead to the vet appointment in the first place. So, in the process of the vet appointment, the vet identified several more lumps - five in all - that they want to remove from Glory. They shaved her spots, took blood and a sample of the lump on her stomach, and I'm taking her back in on Thursday to have them all biopsied. I hope they are just fatty cysts or something benign...

Sunday was pretty cool, although I was skeptical at first. I had purchased a gift certificate to Natural Body Spa for Martha as a Christmas gift. She called and found out that they were open on Easter Sunday, so she decided we should both go for one of their "Sinus Relief Massages." Having never gone to a spa for a massage, I didn't really know what to expect. However, it turned out to be pretty awesome. The massage was pretty good, but the thing I particularily liked was the aromatherapy oils they used. My sinuses were clear by the end because of those things. So yeah, I'd definitely go back and do that again.

All in all, it was a decent weekend. Hopefully nothing is wrong with the dog, and this week will be a decent one too.

Posted by Jeremy Sarnovsky at 01:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Today was the last day of the regular season in the NHL, so that brings the NHL playoffs to the forefront of the american sports scene. Ok, the CANADIEN sports scene, but still... I'm excited to see things get started. Last year I wasn't that excited about the playoffs, this year I'm really pumped for the matchups.

The most noteworthy thing that happened today was that my pre-season suprise playoff pick, the New York Islanders, have made the playoffs. Despite their crazy owner, I thought that their parts would actually make them a decent team. The pickup at the trade deadline of the Oilers' former captain, Ryan Smythe, was a great deal, and I think it will help them in their first-round playoff matchup against the overrated Buffalo Sabres. (Heh, that should get a few good comments).

The best part of the Islanders making the playoffs? That, coupled with Toronto's win over Montreal yesterday, means both Toronto and Montreal are eliminated from the playoffs. Because of the intense media scrutiny, and quite honestly how horribly the media treats both these teams, I'm actually happy to see them miss the playoffs - especially Toronto. Maybe now the Toronto media will start calling for a rebuilding process (which is actually what the Leafs need to do), instead of calling for temporary solutions. I'd like to see a good team wearing the Maple Leaf uniform, but they haven't been decent in a while.

So, yeah, NHL playoffs. I'm just hoping I can watch one or two Red Wings vs. Calgary games - hopefully they will either be on Versus or NBC. They won't be on TV here in Washington, DC, no doubt. Nor will Martha let me watch many of them on our only TV....

So, now that the brackets are set, here are my picks:

Eastern Conference
#1 Buffalo over #8 New York Islanders in Six - The Sabres offense will be just too much for the Isles
#2 New Jersey over #7 Tampa Bay in Five - I like the Lightning's scoring, but the Devils suffocate you with defense
#6 NY Rangers over #3 Atlanta in Seven - Jagr will explode in this series, and i think the Rangers' experience helps
#5 Pittsburgh over #4 Ottawa in Five - I just feel like the Pens have things going right

Western Conference
#1 Detroit over #8 Flames in Six - I'm going to regret this pick. The Wings aren't good with the Flames...
#2 Anaheim over #7 Minnesota in Four - this is probably the only sweep I'll predict. I just don't feel it from the Wild.
#3 Vancouver over #6 Dallas in Seven - Dallas will make this close, despite bad goaltending from Turco
#5 San Jose over #4 Nashville - the beginning of the end for the team in Nashville.

Posted by Jeremy Sarnovsky at 08:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

I was reading a blog post from a blog that a friend passed along today, and I was thinking just how hard it has always been for me to get shutouts when playing goal.

I've been playing goal since I was 11, and honestly was never a shutout goalie. I don't know why that is, but it is an interesting thing... I won several awards both in high school and later in college, but those were never really tied to shutouts. I mean, I played three years as a full-time starter for Lakeland High School's hockey team, and it wasn't until the last two weeks of the season of my senior year that I got my first one. Playing at Oakland University, I don't think I ever had one, though they don't have our results from the first couple of years up on their website, so I can't check. (By the way, I'm still a little disappointed that I'm not mentioned in the history section of the team's website, with all that I did for them. Bad feelings still linger, I guess.) At Richmond, despite a 1.80 goals against average, the BRHC's GAA record and Save Percentage record, I think I had only two shutouts my two years playing for them - both 11-0 wins against Appalachian State.

I don't know what to attribute this to, seeing as how I've always had very low goals against. Maybe there is just a mental hump that I was never able to successfully get over. Shutouts are incredibly hard to get, and invariably some little thing would always happen to ensure I didn't get one. Maybe someone on the bench all these times uttered the dreaded "s" word before the game was actually over... That's a pretty big one - never say shutout before the buzzer sounds, or else you aren't going to get one. Maybe those times that I missed out by a couple of minutes was because I was thinking about getting one too much.

The frustrating thing is that it even carries over to adult hockey. Despite how good I'm playing, or how bad the other team is, I always end up letting one in. So much so that I've started telling teams I'm not a "Shutout Goalie." If you score 2, we'll be fine. But count on them getting one by me. It's sad, but the truth.

Posted by Jeremy Sarnovsky at 05:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)