Why do we accept this fact of life by living in an antiquated commonwealth? At our neighborhood liquor store at 41st and Market the credit card machine has been down so the store is currently a cash only institution. I've never seen so many angry people in my life until as I saw waiting in line watching people be told that they can only use the dough in their wallet to pay. Also, the liquor store was closed on Valentine's Day due to the snow. I doubt the privately run businesses in New Jersey and Delaware closed shop on a huge holiday because of some unfavorable weather. We've got a lot of work to do PA and it should start with privatizing the state's liquor industry.

Professor Steve Phipps pours champagne at the wine tasting preceptorial in 2004. (Geoff Robinson/DP)

Each semester since I arrived at Penn, I have tried to take a preceptorial. But I've still never been to a preceptorial.

I've come to learn that the preceptorial system is ludicrous. Here's why:

This semester, my final semester at Penn, I am particularly irate. Many of my close friends and I signed up for the wine tasting preceptorial. And boy was I excited when I registered on Penn in Touch and the course appeared on my schedule.

But yesterday, I received and email from the preceptorial committee informing that I was on the waitlist for the course.

Yup, I was PO'd when I got this. My housemates were also waitlisted.

College senior Mandeep Kalra, head of the preceptorial committee told me in an email interview that that there were 20 spots available in this preceptorial for the 900 people who signed up. This means that there are 880 people on the waitlist. That translates into 880 pissed off seniors, about 1/3 of the class!

But budget constraints don't necessarily limit the number of students able to enroll in preceptorials. According to Mandeep, the budget for this year was $20,000 and will hopefully increase in the future.

What irritates me even more than the fact that I didn't get into the class is that Penn In Touch didn't tell me that the class was full. All semester I planned to spend my Wednesdays in March sipping wine (during spring break for starters, and continuing upon return to Penn. Registration for preceptorials should operate like regular registration — you should find out immediately whether the class is full or not.

Maybe we shouldn't all be bitter- there's still room in the knitting preceptorial for any interested parties.

A small memorial to Anna Nicole Smith sits against a tree Sunday, Feb. 11, 2007 in Dania Beach, Fla. in front of the Broward County Medical Examiner's office where her body is kept as lawsuits continue. (AP Photo/J. Pat Carter)

Anna Nicole Smith is dead. OK-- I said it. And now, I've moved on. Yes, she was wealthy. But other wealthy people died yesterday too -- people who have contributed much more to society (particularly our local one). One person whom I've come to respect and admire after reading his obituary is John R.H. Thouron. He created a scholarship that has allowed more than 700 Penn students and British students to study in each others' country for free. And, yes, I applied for (and was subsequently rejected from) receiving the scholarship that bears his name. Thouron's contributions to the University of Pennsylvania community are amazing -- and though Sir John Thouron outlived his son by a year, their legacy will surely live on through the discourses created between American and British students for years and years down the road.

Vintage corduroy Penn hat that arrived via the Salvation Army: Priceless.

Once a kid offered me $100 for it. And I said, "No way, Jose!" My prized possession was perchased for $0.75 at the Salvation Army many moons ago -- many moons before I even thought about applying to colleges -- many moons before I knew what the P even stood for.

Penn kind of sells one "vintage" sweatshirt at the bookstore -- I think they should sell more. My parents didn't go to Penn, and the only other (few) people I know with vintage Penn gear are alumni kids. The rest of us need some apparel loving too! Come on Bookstore, do it for all of us and make some money too! Some friends tell me the "vintage" era is coming to an end but why not have Penn Basketball whip out some throwback jerseys from the glory years. Maybe the retro jerseys will inspire some magic this March.

Barbaro, jockey Edgar Prado up, wins the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky., in this May 6, 2006 file photo. Kentucky Derby winner Barbaro was euthanized Monday, Jan. 29, 2007, after complications from his breakdown at the Preakness last May. (AP Photo/Al Behrman)

The Associated Press reported this morning that Kentucky Derby winner Barbaro was euthanized according to one of the horse's co-owners.

So you mean the 6957838739409505 news alerts I received every time this horse coughed or had a doctor's appointment weren't necessary? Jeeeeeeeez!

As of one hour ago, USA Today reported on the horse's condition. I think it's inappropriate that America cares so much about the fate of a horse when people (humans), a much higher form of life (in my opinion) are dying of AIDS, cancer, and at war. Not to mention how many people die in car accidents every day. Yet, the mainstream media has decided it is BREAKING NEWS every time this little horse gets his hoof dressed or needs another pin in his leg. I can only hope that if I ever get sick I'd get 1/1000000th of the coverage.

Priorities people, we must have priorities. And you know what, the health of a single horse shouldn't be one of them -- especially when as ESPN reports -- a massive virus is destroying the fishing industry in the Great Lakes, certainly a bigger tragedy for the animal world, not to mention to humanity.

They brought us the Toyota Prius and the Nintendo Wii. But, their progressive stance on tutoring is really making me want to take a vacation to Asia this summer.

Many of us have had tutors at some point in our lives. I admittedly had them for the SATs and for math class in 8th grade. However, they were all middle-aged men. In the day and age where people will pay anything -- anything -- to get their kids into a good school, you'd think the trend of hiring physically attractive (and smart) teachers of both genders would have caught on by now to give kids some incentive to get reach for the stars.

But, only days after I was the store's biggest fan, I began to question their agenda. Yesterday, I learned that the chain store was selling keffiehs as anti-war symbols.

But I, don't see these Arab scarves as anti-war symbols. What possessed Urban Outfitters to use the keffieh as an anti-war symbol is beyond me.

So today, I went into Urban Outfitters to find out what patrons and store management at our local 36th and Sansom branch felt about the issue. And quite quickly, I learned from the managers (who would not speak with me officially) that the offensive scarves have been removed from the store.

My calls to Urban�s corporate PR department were not returned.

And this isn�t Urban�s first social faux-pas . Last Christmas, Urban Outfitters sold gun shaped Christmas ornament.

Do I think a boycott of the store is an answer? Not really, based on the success of the ice luge this weekend. But do I think Urban Outfitters needs to think a little more about the impact of their design, marketing, and sales decisions.

As I was about to cross the HUP Driveway at 36th and Spruce, I noticed something funky - and by funky I mean morbid. A van blocked my path. But this was no food delivery van, nor a 1-800-Flowers van, nor was it Scooby Doo's "Mystery Machine." This vehicle was a hearse disguised as a loading van. And when I walked by, I saw the driver loading a dead body into the vehicle.

While the body was covered in a red tarp, this loading location was completely inappropriate. Dozens of other students and hospital workers could clearly see the outline of the stiffened, lifeless body. While nobody threw up on the spot, I wouldn’t be surprised if many did shortly after.

HUP should only allow hearse drivers to load bodies immediately next to the building so the whole world isn’t exposed to such nastiness while simply going about our daily lives.