Do We Really Care?

Note: This posting was published Wednesday, December 7th, 2005 in the Daily Iowan

I can’t say I was completely shocked when I saw that the Daily Iowan chose to publish an article on the possible legalization for active military members over 18. (I was glad it got second page, rather than taking the front page away from a much-deserved Scott Beck). Yet in still concerns me how consumed this campus is over the issue of lowering the legal drinking age. I laugh when student make false claims of “Well I can vote, so I should be able to drink.” HA! I would guess less than 25% of the student body between 18 and 21 votes, and second the only reason ANYONE on this campus wants the legal drinking age lowered is to ease their stress on a weekend and not have to worry about getting into bars or receiving a fat ticket. I myself am not opposed to lowering the drinking age, but most people don’t realize that all that does is shift the problem to a younger age group. After adjusting the drinking age high school juniors and seniors will experience even more binge drinking and there will be a nationwide problem (even more so than now) at high-school parties, exposing that many more teenagers to alcohol. I wish students on campus would take a look at problems in the community with a little more focus and attention rather than just trying to dump their problems off onto others.

ISU Ain't That Grand

Note: This posting was published in the Des Moines Register Opinion Section Thursday, December 8th, 2005.

I'm really getting tired of the bias the Des Moines Register shows towards ISU. Hawkeye sports only make the front page if there were now Cyclones events the night before, and if each school had a big event the odds are that the 'Clones got the headline and the Hawks got pushed to the bottom half. This bias reared its true face when Sean Keeler published his article on Monday (Street cred paves way for Iowa's better bowl). I started reading the article with the expectation that it would be about how Iowa vaulted itself to a better bowl after earning incredible respect from the country and football fans over the past 5 seasons. I was disappointed to hear how Keeler went on to rant and conclude with the third grade justification that "Well, we beat you so we should go to a better bowl". They call games upsets for a reason. True, ISU beat Iowa, but if the teams played today, no one could argue that it would be a much different game. Iowa has earned the right to play in Florida after its fans have showed the willingness to travel and support their teams, unlike Cyclone teams in recent history who have come well short of showing their support. A lot of Cyclone fans also like to point out how Iowa got a miracle invite to the NCAA tournament in basketball last year as well, saying that the only reason Iowa got there is because Iowa Athletics Director Bob Bowlsby is Chairman of the selection committee. Bowlsby had nothing to do with Iowa getting in, the reason Iowa got in then, and the reason Iowa is going to Florida now is because the nation has realized that no matter how bad or good a Hawkeye team may be, when it comes down to it, Hawkeye fans will always be there in full force to support their team. I am beginning to wonder if the same can be said for the Cyclone fans anymore.

What Violation?

In recent news, ("Rules bent by NCAA, critics say" November 29th, 2005), some people are claiming that the NCAA is in violation in its own rules. The criticism is stemmed from the popular Pontiac Game Changing Performance poll website. These critics say that Pontiac is using the names and faces of college football players to promote their new line up of vehicles. As a college student, and avid sports fan, this just seems like another case of lawyers saying that they are trying to help the victims in the world when really they are just trying to put more money in their pockets. There is no violation of rules here. Violations are when a player appears in a commercial for a local car dealership, or a players name is put on the back of a jersey, or anytime a player WILLINGLY endorses a product. You can go to any sports website, be it ESPN.com or SI.com or others, and find a photo and article on a one of a number of collegiate players, and just a few inches in any direction find an advertisement for some product. Does this mean this player is endorsing this product?? Although I agree that the bylaws of the NCAA might need to be adapted to include websites, this does not seem to be a violation. I scoured the website and found no player clearly endorsing any of the Pontiac vehicles. I think these critics need to relax and find other ways to file frivolous suits for big money.

Down with Smoke

Note: This posting was published in the Daily Iowan Opinion Section on Monday November 28th, 2006.


In regards to Thomas Willems outrage over smokers' "rights" (DI Opinion, 11/18/2005), it is his argument that frustrates me the most about the issue of smoking. He wonders what happened to freedom of choice and being happy with the live you live. The answer is that nothing has happened to those rights, however your right to choose to smoke is overrided by my right to a healthy enviroment. It is the same concept of yelling fire in a public place, you don't have that right of speech because it impedes upon others right to safety. No one wants to control what you are doing with your life, Mr Willems; we want to control what you're doing to our lives.

I'm Everywhere!

Bored, and with nothing better to do, I google myself. Here are some of the interesting results:

I have my own show (eerie how he used the same template)
The Ryan Wallace Show

I play for the Army basketball team (but not that much it looks like)
Ryan Wallace Player Page

I got a masters degree from Missouri
Belmont Alumni

I am a Brooklyn artist
Fecal News

In charge of the KRQE website
KRQE News 13

And I was in a Couple of Movies
IMDb (1)
IMDb (2)

Baseball Finally Gets It Right

After far too long baseball has finally gotten is steroid policy to where it should have been all along. 50 games for first offese, 100 games for second offense and lifetime ban for third offense. The policy also allows for more stingent testing, including testing for amphetamines and more random testing. Other sports have been laughing at baseball and their steroid problem for a while now (tennis has a two year ban for first time offense), I would think this policy would end the mockery. I feel absolutly no remorse for those getting caught using steroids, even those like Rapheal Palmero who claims that he was unaware that the B-12 shot he took was considered a steroid. If you are dumb engouh to put something like in your body that you are going to have to pay the price. My only regret is that Barry Bonds has yet to test positive, lets just hope he doesn't come back this year.

Note to Big Ten Basketball Fans

Ed Hightower is by far one of the best officials in the nation, for god sakes do not yell obscenities at him simply because he is the only official you know the name of.

A City Short on Athletic Intelligence

I have stuggled for a long time to not go out of my mind listening to some of the idiotic fans living in Iowa City. 95% of the campus has attended at least one game during their tenure, yet most of those people don't know that the signal for false start can also mean illegal procedure. I am conviced that this unitelligence leads to a shortage of quality basketball fans for the University. I'm not sure if these people never watched games with their fathers as children to have him explain the subtle nuances of the game, or if they decided to show up one day to the arena and see what was going on, but for the love of god, if you don't know what is going on, shut the hell up. Basketball is FAR more complex than football, which sadly is why there are less fans at the game, some people find it too hard to follow. For all you out there that THINK you know how the game is played, and you find yourself booing at the official simply because the guy next to you is, shut up. All this saddens me, because basketball is a far more exciting and thrilling game to watch and be a part of as a fan, and there is no more electrifying environment than a packed fieldhouse or arena full of screaming fans. All I'm asking is that if you are going to scream, know what your talking about first.

Note to Sporting Fans

If you can not clap with the beat, please do not clap at all!

Easy Money

Hey, I know there are plenty of get-rich-quick bulls**t schemes out there, to my knowledge these are not them. Here are some FREE sites that have been working for me. (Before getting started I recommend setting up a new email address to handle all of the new mail you will be getting)

InboxDollars
This is the easiest way to make the money. I tried playing games for cash, apparently there are some people out there that are really good, so I wouldn't waste your time with that. Do all of the 100% free offers, and if your not an idiot do all of the trial offers. Just remember to keep a record of when you started, when the trial will end, keep any confirmation emails you may receive to ensure that you get paid for what you did.

Free iPod
Contrary to popular belief, this sire actually does work. There have been numerous articles (by real people) written about it. However, it is not easy. You will have to complete at least one "offer" that may require paying a couple of bucks (usually just a shipping cost), or you could try out Netflix (which I have already professed my love for). Getting others to sign up AND complete their offer is the hard part. If you can get five, then your in business.

Survey Offers:

To get even more money from InboxDollars, sign up for as many as these sites as you can through them, or click the link to be my referral.

MySurvey
This site offers surveys that can be complete for points that can be redeemed for cash. Rather straight-forward

Global Test Market
Earn "MarketPoints" for each survey you complete, that can be converted into cash. Once you get started you will get quite a few surveys from this site.

Survey Savvy
This site will make you the most money with its referral system. You get $2 for every survey completed by your referral and $1 for every survey completed by your referral's referral.

Mindfield Online
Surveys complete for cash. I know they all seem the same (more or less they are)

Opinion Outpost
A very well put together site. "Opinion Points" redeemable at the "Bank" for cash.

ClickIQ
Another well put together site, however your points can not be redeemed for cash but rather for products in thier catalog.

About Me

I think it would be easier to tell more about myself here rather than my profile. I am a student at the College of Engineering at the University of Iowa. I live off campus with my girlfriend, Lynzy, and our Jack Russel (Jack). I attended Valley High School in West Des Moines, IA and played every sport at one point, playing four years of basketball. I am an avid sports fan, cheering on my U of I Hawkeyes, Chicago Cubs, and Minnesota Vikings. If you made me pick an NBA team to root for I would say the Pistons but I prefer college ball. Here are a few of my favorite things

Dane Cook
Dane is the man!!! And if you think otherwise I will stab you in the jaw!! No but seriously you need to check out the greatest living comic, best there is, no questions.

Netflix
I am not afraid to admit I'm lazy. This service is great, movies in your mail, keep them as long as you have to, and when you send them back (in prepaid envelopes) they send you the next on your list. It is an especially great way to catch up on or watch TV series. Be sure to check out my other blog, Ryan's Rants on Film for my review of films I have rented through Netfilx (you can also view my queue). I recommend Band of Brothers, From the Earth to the Moon, Sports Night, Lois and Clark, Baseball or you can add me to your friends list.

Whiner's of New Rule

To all those complaining about new Iowa State Board of Education rule:

I feel bad that people think this is unfair to athletes. Some are saying that athletes are held to a higher standard or that they will simply drop out now if they fail a class or that they may even take less challenging classes as to ensure that they don’t fail. With all due respect, as a former 4 year high-school athlete, they should be held to a higher standard. As an athlete you have the PRIVLAGE, not the right to play sports and represent your school, so I think this claim of not being held to a higher standard is laughable. Even more laughable is the heightened concern for student-athletes to fail a class. Again, with all due respect, high-school is not that hard, no matter where you attend it. I graduated from an Iowa school with the highest of standards in education. No matter how hard the class is you have to work hard to fail a class. There is simply no excuse for failing. If you think the class is exceptionally challenging, your choice should not be to drop out of school, it should be to seek help outside of class. I am fully in support of the new eligibility rules set forth by the Iowa State Board of Education. I’m tired of watching “student”-athletes that are not fulfilling the first part, play ahead of less talented student-athletes that work hard on AND off the field. If athletics is an athlete’s only route to college then this new rule should motivate them to work even harder in the classroom to ensure they have that shot at college. Some people need to wake up and realize that failing a class is a big deal and if a student-athlete doesn’t have the motivation to work hard in the classroom, then they have lost their right to work on the field.