RiceOwl

Honestly kind of hate all the teams in this CWS besides UT and UW... Good thing they’re on opposite sides of the bracket.

The whole town is very quaint and cool but given that I was there to ski, I don’t remember that much about the actual town except that Brown Dog Pizza is really good.

I'm rooting for the other Tech. Tennessee Tech. Tied 5-5 w/ Ole Piss heading to 7th.

Rice is 2-0 right now in C-USA tourney. Hope we keep winning and get to come to Austin for a regional. Either that or get sent as a 4 to Stetson. But maybe we should just win the tourney first before I speculate.

Dad’s Side: Grammy, Grandpete (even though his name is Tom... I was the first grandkid on that side so it stuck) Mom’s Side: Nana, Popsie (RIP to both) From MA, but mom’s from Waco area.

My aunt is a high school special ed teacher in a middle-class district outside of Boston. She pulled 114k last year. However, she did end up in the hospital twice after getting beat up. However, there are a few major differences in Mass vs. Texas. In public (and by default private, because they need to compete), you have to have a master’s degree within 5 years of the beginning of your teaching career. Also, COL is generally higher. In good districts, you’re making 95k mid-career, and in bad ones, 75k. That said, the teachers still bitch about their pay in Mass so I think it’s just an inherent part of the profession.

Vue is a real bitch during big sporting events. Terrible speed and constant stopping/starting.

I went to Hutchins this past Tuesday... The meat was great, sides decent, but the free dessert awesome! I'll definitely return as I'm moving to Frisco in July.

Rice used to be very, very STEM heavy to the point where social sciences and humanities were neglected. Over the last 20 years, with the rise of the Baker Institute, that has changed to an extent.

Hey we’re the only school to have played Alabama >2 times and still be undefeated.. People have covered the highlights but a few other things of note: -Re: Beer Bike... You’re a nerd (or grad student or alum) if you make it to the bike track for the race. You gotta pass out after the water balloon fight (world’s largest annual one) since you’ve been binge drinking since 4 A.M. -Consistently rated as one of the most economically diverse elite private schools. Look at the difference between us and SMU, for example. -Willy’s Pub has had a rough run of it lately. It was one of the few places on campus damaged by Harvey and then was shut down in early April for liquor license violations. The hope is it will reopen by Fall, but honestly I don’t care since I just graduated... It was really easy to drink underage there though, so here’s to hoping that continues for generations of students to come. If you’re visiting campus, definitely checkout Valhalla though.

Almost to my average cost of 3.78 on CHK!! MTDR had been on a good run up but it’s shares have taken a dip the last few days after they announced they issuing additional equity.

Haha, I’m only 9% underwater on CHK and I’m excited that I’m that close.

Ugliest girls I’ve ever seen from a state school with pretty low academic standards and a 40k student body.

I agree that'd be BS if that's what I'd done. But nah, saw AR and MO through the window of a car on long road trips.

To count a state, I have a personal policy of having to have gone outside the airport and eating a meal there. That said, with exception of Arkansas and Missouri, I have both eaten a meal and stayed a night. States I haven’t been to: Alaska, Oregon, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Michigan. I’ll definitely go to OK when I move to Dallas in July to check it off the list, and I’m going to a wedding in Michigan in August. So all in all, 41/50 now, 43/50 soon.

I saw Helsinki mention. It’s one of the most boring places in the world IMO... If you want to do a Scandanavian city, I’d go to Stockholm or Copenhagen. That said, I wouldn’t combine Scandanavia with BUD... Have you considered Athens? Lots of bucket list type attractions to check off there. If you want to do hardcore sightseeing, it’s really the only city in Eastern Europe that can compete in terms of quantity with London, Paris, Rome, etc.

Yeah, the Holocaust part was good too. Agreed on Churchill War Rooms... Really feels like you’re “in” history. The British Museum certainly has world-class artifacts, but I’d recommend to go in with a plan. I only had about 3 hours there, and I felt like I spent too much time wandering aimlessly.

One thing about the Imperial War Museum: I actually thought the WW1 exhibits were better than the WW2.

We went to Hoi An for two nights... Got there in the afternoon day one.. Went right to get our clothing measurements. Walked around old town, enjoyed the scene by the river... Day two: Went to My Son ruins in the AM (kind of a poor man's Angkor Wat), was back by 2 PM. Went and tried on our new clothes and got adjustments made.. Went and rode bikes around the rice paddies. Back at 7 to pickup our clothes. We then stayed over night and took an early morning flight up to Hanoi from DAD. Only about a 30 minute drive in the AM with no traffic. Pro tip on Hoi An: There's a North Face factory nearby with that either has tons of leakage or employees ripping the stuff off and creating fakes. Either way, I bought a backpack and huge duffle there and they've now survived multiple trips... All for a total of about 30 USD.

I liked Da Nang the best in Vietnam. Easy side trips to Hoi An and Hue for a couple days each. There are cheap local hotels, slightly more expensive hotels that mostly cater to Chinese and Korean tourists, and then nice hotels right on the beach (we stayed at the Hyatt Regency). That said, Ha Noi is a cool city... Lots of good government propaganda to observe and some cool lakes right in the middle of things. Good side trips to Ha Long Bay and/or Tam Coc. Saigon is cool too. Probably the most prosperous area of Vietnam. That said, summertime is supposedly brutal there. I was there in January and it was upper 80’s then..

Haha, funny you say that... It's the one place on that list that I haven't actually been. Had just heard good things... But serves me right for suggesting a place I haven't been.

I know you said west coast but that’s going to be a ton of travel with an infant. Some ideas closer to NYC/East Coast that you may not have done. -Bar Harbor/Acadia National Park -Quebec City -Mount Washington Valley, NH -Mackinac Island, MI

It’s fun during the two weeks around Halloween but otherwise I agree. For three days, my recommendations on things to see besides Fenway and Freedom Trail would be: JFK Library, Harvard/Harvard Sq, MFA Boston or Elizabeth Stewart Gardner Museum depending on what kind of art you like, and a day trip to Concord (See Walden Pond, Old North Bridge, Alcott House, Battle Road, etc).

He’s officially gone. Time to rejuvenate the program... Not sure if Berkman is the right guy or not but a change was needed. Thanks for many great years, Coach Graham!

Not sure if you're still looking but I had quality work done at Uzi's Autohaus on Bellaire Blvd last year.