Gas Mileage

I'm trying not to complain too much about these gas prices, but of course I'm concerned and angry (I guess that's the right word?) that I have to pay more at the pump every time I fill up. But I try to also say that this is a good thing, because without these high prices to motivate others to come up with alternatives to old dead dinosaurs, we'll never move on.
But I found this article today that was interesting about how the car companies come up with their MPG. I was amazed at the amount of differences! I can see how they could never get it perfect, but 46-50% error?! Wow.
I'll have to keep this in mind when it comes time to buy my hybrid :)

http://news.yahoo.com/s/kcra/20060508/lo_kcra/3452610

Sticking it to the man...

Maybe because it's late and I need to seriously get some sleep (1:30 am), or maybe it's because I love to see someone go up against "the man", but this struck me as too funny. I will warn you, that there is a lot of information to go through to "get the joke" in that there are several videos, and some comments, and the lead up to explain what was going on. What I also found amusing was how one gentleman actually stood up to the police and confronted them on their "scare tactics". (I did this once or twice before, and it's not the smartest thing to do - I admit, but I feel good about sticking up for my rights - I'll explain later...)
Anyway, in a nutshell, a group in NYC got together and played a huge prank on the employees of one particular "Best Buy" store. The antics and confusion that followed over a simple "prank" are too funny. It's a bit of a social commentary too about the times we live in, when a simple prank starts to raise fears of "civil rights violations, theft, cults, etc..."
So go to this website and check out the story. Bravo on a well done performance.
(If nothing else go to the video of the Agent Natty - I laughed out loud on this one).
http://www.improveverywhere.com/mission_view.php?mission_id=57

So back to my little brush with "the man"... My buddy and I went on one of those all night fishing trips where you go out on a "party boat" to catch flounder or blues. This was back some years ago when I used to drink more than my occasional beer on new years eve now ;) We attempted to bring a cooler of some beer onto the boat (which is standard on these trips) and were told that due to a recent event that got out of hand, the captian was banning all beer (Except of course the beer THEY sold on the boat). So, only a little upset, my buddy and I went back to the parking lot and downed 2 or 3 beers before we got on board :) This actually turned out to have been a dumb stroke of luck as you'll soon see... So after a night of fishing, we arrived back at the dock around 4 am? (it was late - or early depending on how you look at it). We were quite sober and the only beer we had that night were the 2 or 3 we had about 6 hours ago in the parking lot. We left the dock and started the drive home. There was one bridge off the island, and guess who was there to do a D.U.I. stop on every vehicle leaving the island? Yep... the police. So, I started to get miffed at being detained in long lines to get off the island cause all I wanted to do was go home and go to bed. Finally, it gets to be my turn... I stop at the "check point" where I'm asked for my license, registration, and insurance... I hand it to the officer. As he's looking at it, I had to open my big mouth! I politely ask a simple question... "Is this legal?" Well... my buddy nearly got out of the truck and walked home without me, and was a bit surprised I would ask such a thing. Needless to say the officer was not thrilled with my line of question, so what did he do? He flagged me as one of the possible "drunks". I was not in the least worried about passing the sobriety test, but I was a bit scared now, as I was pulled out the main line, and asked to pull over to the side where another officer proceeded to ask me the usual "have you been drinking" questions. I decided at this point, I better "play the game" and not ask anymore stupid questions. So after being truthful about telling him I had 2-3 beers about 6 hours ago, he still pulled me out (well, asked me to get out) of the truck, and proceed to give me the field sobriety test... Walk a straight line, say the alphabet, the whole nine yards. Well, after it was clear I was not drunk, the officer gave me my ID back and said I was free to go. So, off I went. The next day, I scoured the internet to find out if what in fact happened did violate my rights. Short answer - YES I was detained unlawfully. Long Answer - No, I was given a random DUI check point test which the Supreme Court has ruled as being a "legal" violation of the IV amendment against "unreasonable searches and seizures" in that the "inconveience" of being stopped outways the benefit if they catch someone who in fact is driving under the influence. (look it up if you don't believe me ;)
Anyway, this post turned out to be WAY longer than I intended, but I hope you enjoy the prank, and my little brush with "the man" story :)

Maker Faire Photos

I've FINALLY gotten around to posting some of the photos I took while at the maker faire. Since I was on a roll, I also added a flickr "badge" to my sidebar on the right (you may have to scroll down to see it). These are some of my photos I've taken and uploaded so it's not just the makerfaire.
Since I have a free account on flickr, I'm limited to about 24 photos per month, so next month I'll post some more.
AND I may soon be purchasing a new digital camera! So I hope to add to this flickr account more often. (hmm, might just have to upgrade to a paid account?).
Anyway, enjoy some of the cool gadgets.

TGIF

It's Friday! This week went fast for me - a good thing I suppose. Last night in my watercolor class it was frustrating as usual. I picked another difficult object (an avacado), and by the end of the class was completely frustrated. I ended up giving it another shot in the remaining 10 minutes of class and it turned out much better. I then realized that alot of my 'end-of-class' attempts usually turn out better than the ones I spend a full two hours on. I don't know if it's because I spend two hours learning how NOT to do it, or if I become faster or looser knowing that I only have 10 minutes left? Regardless I'll have to look into this more. On a sad note, it was the second to last class. I had hoped to have signed up for some summer courses, but they only offer tuition based classes for the 7 weeks of summer. (at $150 a pop - a bit too steep for me!). So, I'll have to use some self discipline to attempt some painting on my own.
I also have a large desire to learn how to weld! I think this was sparked from the maker faire, and from seeing other workshops on the web (usually in the San Francisco area) to learn how to weld. I'm going to do some searching in my area to see if I can't find something close to home.
And, I have Sunday to look forward to... My family and I will be heading to the art museum to look at an Andrew Wyeth exhibit. Really looking forward to this.
Well, I suppose I'll wrap things up for the week.
Have a Great weekend!

immigration problem solved?

I was just sitting here watching the Daily show, when Jon Stewart announced something that I thought was another one of his jokes... That Mexico has just legalized drugs! Well, very small amounts, and for personal use only (where do you buy them from then?). BUT... maybe Jon spoke too soon. I just googled this to try an confirm it with a real news source, and found that the President of Mexico has refused to sign the bill - which apparently has surprised a lot of people. Well, if the bill does pass, this will probably solve the immigration problem... The mexican's will be coming to the USA to do hard work, and the American's will be going to Mexico to be lazy and sit around and get high all day. (This is sarcasm by the way, in case you couldn't tell).
News item from Reuters

In other political news...
The NYT is reporting that the Bush Administration has just released a report that says there actually could be something to all this global warming mumbo jumbo.
Read more here (you may have to register with the NYT)

One more...
You should go to http://www.apple.com to check out the new apple commercials... Staring John Hodgkins (sp?) and they are pretty funny :)

An interesting blog...

I don't think I've talked about this before, but some time ago, I stumbled upon a link to this man's blog. It's an interesting read, and he's a good writer (though he likes to use the word "ire" a lot ;). What makes this blog of interest more than the next blog is that he is homeless. He blog's from a public library that has internet access. Check it out here (great title for a blog too) View From the Sidewalk.

On an unrelated note:
I happenned to catch a new PBS series last night that was pretty good. It's called "Texas Ranch Hands". In a nutshell it's a reality show, but there is a mix of education in there. I have seen other PBS shows like this and they are always pretty good. My favorite was the colonial house and the stone age recreations. They gather a bunch of people, from various walks of life, then put them in this situtation that usually means a BIG change to their lifestyle. It's funny to watch their fun and enthusiasm get sucked out of them when they realize there is hard work to maintain a "comfortable" lifestyle. Check out the website on PBS.org here...
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/ranchhouse/

Steven Colbert

Truthiness is the Word for today.
This past weekend, Steven Colbert of the "Colbert Report" was a guest speaker at the White House Press Corp Dinner. How they picked him I'll never know, I'm actually surprised. Well, I missed the televised event on C-span, but thanks to the internet I can see his speech. If you are a fan of Steven or The Daily Show, you should check this out. My only regret is that they did not show more of the President's reaction - from what little I saw, he didn't even smile.
If you are short on time, you should only watch "part 3" which was Steven's video-tape of his bid for the recently replaced White House Press Secretary (Tony Snow from FOX won the new position - gee, a FOX news reporter telling us what the president meant to say - there's a surprise). Go to You Tube to check out the video(s).
http://youtube.com/watch?v=lcIRXur61II&search=colbert%20roasts

on another note: Today (monday may 1st) is supposed to be a big boycott day where all of the illegal immigrants are supposed to stay home and not go to work today to show how important they are to the workforce. 1) I have not been affected by this. 2) If you are illegal, wouldn't this be a good way to get caught?
More importantly! When do US legal citizens get a day off? I say tomorrow (May 2) become National Legal Citizen Workers Day and we all get the day off to protest (or go to the mall for some good sales!?)