Nature of Humanity and parking spots

It's now about 6am on a cold snowy morning. The day after a record setting snowfall in the area.
I write this now, because I can't get back to sleep - for fear of worrying about my truck.
Let me explain...
I live in an apartment complex with a parking lot.
When it snows of any reasonable amount, the parking lot becomes a mess.
The reason being, is that the complex sends a plow around to clear the streets - that sounds good right? Well, what it does is - it plows the snow up and blocks in every person parked in the parking lot. Now here's the thing... when you have to dig out your car (or pick-up truck in my case), there's no place to throw the snow. You have to walk the length of your car for every shovelful and dump the snow in front of (or behind) the vehicle. It's a real pain.
In the years that I've lived here, I've seen people, who are either lazy, or inconsiderate, or just plain both do the following... rather than walk that car length, to dump the snow, they simply throw the snow behind (or in front of) the car next to them! I don't see it happen often, but at least once every major snowstorm.
Now, this brings me to why I'm writing this...
I woke up around 4:45am and couldn't get back to sleep, so I happened to get up, and look out my front window. Wait... let me back up here a minute... I dug out my truck early in the morning yesterday. I have a 4x4 truck - aka 4-wheel-drive. So as a benefit of that, I don't have to spend too much time clearing out the snow behind my truck. I'm able to drive over most of it - within reason. So that's what I did. I cleaned off the sides, the snow actually on my truck, and most of the snow behind my truck.
Ok back to this morning...
I glance out the window, and see that someone has dug out the back of my truck, almost clear down to the pavement! Wow! Was someone that nice to me? helping out a fellow neighbor? As I was sitting here, trying to figure out who that neighbor was... it hit me... The SUV/Van next to me, is completely plowed in - and I realized... They didn't dig ME out to be nice and neighborly, they dug ME out for REVENGE!
I remembered as I was digging out, my neighbor came out too and was digging out his car (I think it was a Prius). I put 2+2 together and saw that the vehicle next to me was a blue/black SUV. That's when I realized... the guy who dug his car out this morning, came back to "his" spot, and someone had taken it. I know, I know... it's not HIS parking spot, but it's like an unwritten rule in apartment complexes that if someone digs out their car, it's "their" spot. Some people put up folding chairs, to "mark their territory" as their spot.
As someone who has been in that exact situation, I've been pissed off too! The nerve of someone taking your spot, after you spent hours digging it out, is beyond frustrating.
So that's when I realized what happened. He's a younger guy, I think there might be a couple of roomates there, and while I didn't see this happen, I can garauntee you they probably were angry, and decide to teach the guy a lesson, and RE-shovel him back in.
So now, I put 2+2+2 together and think - wait a minute... IF the guy comes out later today and sees MY spot empty, and his spot full - he's going to think that I was the inconsiderate person who just moved my snow to behind his vehicle! Would he take some sort of revenge now on my vehicle?! Would he "key it" with a nice long scratch?! Would he smack his snow-shovel into the side and possibly dent it?! Ugh. So these are the thoughts now running through my head, and preventing me from getting back to sleep.
Now, I'll have to try and keep a 24 hour watch on my vehicle to see how the guy reacts, and possibly confront him and try and explain, "It wasn't me!"

The joy's of living in an apartment complex.

Update: All was fine. I decided to go back to bed and not worry about what might happen. In the end, nothing happened, and when I checked out my window around noon, there was a different vehicle parked there, and some heavy equipment had been brought in to actually remove the snow via a backhoe.

Blanket Physics?

I woke up this morning scratching my head...
What in the world happened last night?
How was this possible?

So... I currently have a bed.
I have a mattress, with one of those 'fitted sheets' with a tiny bit of extra quilting. Then the usual "fitted sheet" that comes in every sheet set.
I have 2 pillows.
Then on the outer parts of the bed, I have a sheet, an afghan that my mom made for me a long time ago, and then a quilted comforter (not a big poofy one).
This morning I woke up to find...
My 'normal' fitted sheet had come unhooked from the top corner of my bed, and had slipped about a quarter of the distance in.
My top sheet, was completely shifted in the opposite direction, so that the corner of the sheet was approx where my neck was.
My middle layer of the afghan was also shifted to the left, and had also shifted down to about where my waist was.
My upper layer of the comforter was at the right height but shifted to the right so the corner was also about where my neck was.

What the heck?! Did I get in a fight last night while sleeping? Did those monsters that live under my bed do this just to confuse me?!
How is the physics of moving a middle afghan layer possible? Shouldn't the coverings all shift in the same way?!

I suspect I'll never know the answers to these questions... until the day I reach those pearly gates... that will probably be in my top ten questions to the Creator of the universe... to explain to me the physics of blankets.

dusty

Just blowing off all the dust that has accumulated on my blog here.
I forget... how does this work again?

Let see... a topic... I'll just start with something small.
Spam in google mail - It always amuses me when I go to clean out the spam in my gmail account, that the small "google ads" that appear above the main window is always recipes that involve spam. Ok, I admit, I'm easily amused.

another small topic...
A few months ago, I rescued an amazing looking Jade plant that someone had put by the dumpster in my apartment complex. Obviously, they wanted someone to rescue the plant because they put it next to the dumpster and not IN the dumpster. So I brought it home, and placed it on my patio where it has done well. I just tonight, decided it was time to bring it inside for the winter. There is talk of Frost now, and I don't think it would survive.
I hesitate though, because I don't get a lot of daylight in my window, so I HOPE it will survive the 6 months (or so) of winter ahead. Fingers crossed. If anyone has tips on raising a Jade plant please leave me a comment. The only thing I know is they like sun, and they don't need much water.

The Mall

Today I took a trip over to the local mall. I have not been there in quite some time so it was interesting to see how things changed. I used to frequent this mall regularly in most cases to eat at the food court. They had a big array of restaurants and I enjoyed "people watching". Well, the first change was that the food court moved. Some of the same names there, but also quite a few were missing from the lineup. It seemed like a more condensed version of how I remembered it. Now, perhaps, it was a HOT Sunday afternoon, but it also seemed very crowded. I have a feeling people were there just sucking up the free air conditioning (and it was nice and cool there, I admit). The main reason I went there is that I thought I might get my new eye-glass prescription fulfilled at the Lenscrafters (which is where I got my glasses about 4 years ago). At the same time, I wanted to see what their selection of Rx Sunglasses were and to check out the prices. Wow. That was a bit of a setback. JUST to get new lenses into my existing frames... $325!!! Suddenly I can see much better today! For a "cheap" pair of sunglasses the prices started at $119 for the frames, and went up from there. Needless to say, I walked out of there to re-think my options. I'm still not sure what I'll do now.
Back to the mall...
One of the things that struck me most about all the shops (some new some old)... MOST of the shops are geared to the younger crowd. Hard to pinpoint an age, but I'll say late teens to mid 20's. I actually started to feel 'old' as I was walking around!
One other observation... I thought while I was there, I might as well check the Apple Store there. It was PACKED with people! But as I looked around, it was packed with kids! I mean like 12-15 year old! At one point, the iphones on display were all being "played" with by little kids!? Other teens were just surfing the web, one kid was watching "ultimate wrestling" online. It was like a day care center in there or something. So throw in all the hustle and bustle, the loud music, and I just couldn't wait to get out of the store!
So maybe it is a sign I'm getting older, but I doubt I'll be headed back to the mall any time soon (unless I do decide to get the sunglasses there - but I won't be "shopping").

edit: This was just a great coincidence, I had to update this post...
As I talk about the younger kids hanging out in the apple store, I have seen this youtube clip (and soon to be internet star (if he isn't already)) popping up all over the place.
I admire this kids creativity and his ability to make a name for himself at his local apple store.
So enjoy a little "Boom Boom Pow" lip sync from Nicholifavs...

not much to say

no really... I've been trying to think about something to blog about for the past couple days and nothing has struck me.
I'm enjoying the time spent now visiting with "west coast" family as they are in town now for their vacation.
I'm still keeping an eye on political stuff, but to be honest I'm also trying to take a brake from all the mud slinging and negativity.
I'm sort of in mid-limbo on my hobbies - mostly frustrated with my whole lack of space in my small apartment to do anything.
I guess the only bit of good news is that I FINALLY got around to shelling out the money to buy two new tires for my truck. I've needed them for a while, yet kept postponing it until I made up my mind about keeping my truck or selling it and gettting a Prius. I still want a prius, but I'm not ready to go into debt again just yet (or deplete my savings to buy a car). So the new tires will buy me some more time to make up my mind.
So that's about it for now.
I hope to have more intersting topics soon.

Karma is calling...

Ring Ring - Karma is calling.

This little story is going to haunt me for some time now until I can find a way to rectify it.
This past week I was on vacation. I went to the west coast to visit family and take in the sights and sounds of sunny California. I had an awesome time (as always). (One of the highlights was seeing a press conference with Arnold "The Governator" himself! It was a situation we just sort of lucked into by chance and it was pretty cool. I hope to post photos soon.)
But the story is this...
As I left California I had a connecting flight in Phoenix AZ. I arrived at PHX only to learn my flight had been delayed an hour. I didn't let it bother me at all, and took the time to eat my sandwich (that my sis made for me with some extra surprise goodies) at the little kids table that happened to have some old Popeye cartoons playing. (it was funny actually, here I am sitting on these little stools meant for kids eating my lunch and watching cartoons, and behind me was another TV with a story I was hearing in the background of how a man was recently shot... I conciously made the effort to tune it out, and enjoyed my Popeye.)
After lunch, I wandered over to my gate, and sat down to wait. As I approached my seat, I looked down and saw that someone had dropped a $1. Cool! I asked the guy sitting one chair away, if he lost a $1 - the expresion on his face was priceless. It was as if I wanted to come up with a story about how it was his, but his mind just froze so he said "no". I asked the other guy on the other side of me, if it was his, and he just said no. Woohoo!
But then... As I was sitting there, I noticed a small black object under the chair across from me. It looked like it might be a cell phone but I wasn't entirely sure. I wasn't ready yet to get down on my hands and knees to go reaching for a piece of plastic trash like off of some luggage or something. Just as I was getting up the nerve to crawling for it, this young guy walks in front of me and sits down. Ugh, I really don't want to ask this guy to move now, just so I can crawl under his chair. I sit patiently and wait for him to get up. The more I look at it, the more I'm convinced it's a cell phone. The kid across from me was a strange one. He was dressed in a skull shirt, had a big skull metal belt buckle on (that he was mighty proud of cause he was polishing it and meticulously tucking in his shirt so it was visible.) He had on some Skull "Van" Sneakers and carried around two drumsticks covered in electrical tape. The kid also had a heavy brow which gave him a neanderthal look, with messy blonde hair. He proceeded to start taking stuff out of his small duffle bag. mostly clothes. He seemed oblivious that I was watching him closely, or for that matter, that there were even other people around him (it was very crowded for some reason). This kid fascinated me, and disgusted me at the same time. As he was dumping his clothes on the floor, he picked up a pair of underwear (presumably his!) and smelled them! Who does this? Sure, I might have picked up a shirt that I had laying on my floor when I was a teen to smell the pits to see if it was dirty or clean, but underwear? No way. He repacked his bag, then proceeded to really dig his finger into his nostril like there was no tomorrow. Not just once either. I was thinking to myself, does this kid have any social skills at all?!
He then bends over to pick up more of the clothes when he lets out a 'gasp' and grabs the cell phone! I was like a deer in headlights! What do I do now? Do I confront this mentally unstable guy? I watch him, in the hopes that he'll do the right thing and turn it into the desk for "lost and found". He starts looking all around. Then once he's sure no one is looking he opens the phone and starts pushing buttons (didn't make a call). I still didn't know what to do, and then realized I had let too much time slip by to say anything. I SO wanted to just say to him "I saw that, and hope you'll do the right thing and return the phone." But I didn't.
Shortly later, he picked his stuff up, and walked over to the wall near his gate and sat down and started playing with his drum sticks. I thought maybe he was drumming along to the music playing on his ipod... then I realized, he didn't have any headphones in. He was just "air drumming" like crazy.
Eventually, they announced that the flight he was waiting for was transfered to a different gate and he got up and left.
I so wanted to tell someone, but chickened out for fear of getting involved.
All I could imagine was how some innocent person was going to have all sorts of problems with their lost phone. Possible billing issues if the kid decided to run up the phone bill, or worse yet, get all the contact information out of the phone. I felt really bad for not doing the right thing, and acting faster when I saw it.
I fear now that someday that karma train will come around and get me back for this. As I was sitting in the airport wondering how it would hit me (ie: would I lose my phone now too?!), I thought - wait a second... if I believe in Karma, then that means the person who lost their cell phone must have also done something wrong! So the karma train was gettin back at HIM and not ME! :)
I know I still should have acted sooner or said something, and this will haunt me for a long time now.

Swine flu h1n1

Just a small observation I thought of this morning.
I'm still not too worried about this "swine flu" which apparently is now being called the H1N1 virus. At the same time, I am watching this story, and I am "concerned".
I have started to follow @cdcemergency on twitter and occasionally I'll check ouot their official webpage of info here to check on the latest numbers.
But this morning I realized...
Some of those number represent people who have had the virus, and by now are also probably on the mend as they say. It's been about a week and I suspect some of the first patients are now on the road to recovery and doing better now. But to look at the chart of numbers coming out, the numbers will never go down (unless they change the practice), which will make the numbers appear more worrisome than need be.

I replied to the CDC on twitter suggesting they incorporate my idea, but did not recieve a reply. I suppose they know what they are doing better than I. I just think it's a valid point though.

Stay healthy everyone, and take those extra precautions now to avoid getting sick.

Tech Tags: swineflu h1n1 cdc cdcemergency

[edit: 5/4/09 fixed typo in title not swin flue swine flu]

where is everyone?

This is just a random thought I had tonight.
I've had similar thoughts before, so it's not new or anything, but every now and then it strikes me.
So tonight, I was driving home from work. It's a drive I've made almost every week morning and every weeknight through a semi-small town. It has a main street that has maybe 5 businesses on it, the rest is about 8-10 blocks of houses.
Going too work, There is a section of main street that is off the main highway, and the speed limit is 35 mph. I'd say it's about average. It even goes past the local high school (there's a sign that says if kids are around then the speed limit is 25mph.) But 35 is "comfortable. Sure, on few mornings when I'm running late, I might push it up to 40, but I usually try to go the speed limit.
Now almost half way from the highway, to my office there is a creek with a little bridge over it. This (I think?) marks the township line... but more importantly, it marks a 10mph speed drop. It goes from 35 down to 25. It's only about 4-5 blocks, but it's SO tedious to go 25! Especially when I'm running late in the morning.
Tonight, I was driving home, and there's that little sign of relief - thank goodness, I'm outta that 25mph zone and can go back up to 35. I pondered... WHY? is it 25mph for that part of town, and 35mph for this part of town? I thought... usually every township picks 25 in a "residential" area. you know in case there are kids around... and that's when it hit me. I've been driving this same route day after day, and for the most part, I never see ANYONE outside. Sure, there is the occasional jogger, or woman walking her dog, or occasionally some teens, but trust me they are few and far between.
It always amazes me how a "small town" can feel so deserted. We live in our houses (and apartments) and might occasionally go outside when we have to (yard work, take the garbage out, etc,) but for the most part, I have no idea who lives in the neighborhood where I work. It's kinda creepy.
Now... In all fairness, I personally am a stay at home person. So, 'maybe' if I got out more, I'd see more, but I don't think so. People have somehow moved from a social interaction to preferring to stay home.
Related...(or not)... I recently rented a series of documentaries about the Great Depression. Actually, I'm not sure how to describe the dvd. It's called "Our Daily Bread" (imdb here). It was a movie filmed in 1934 and was about a couple who got an opportunity to run a farm. The husband was out of work for a length of time (As were many others since it was the great depression.) so an uncle offered them the farm to live on, and IF they could make a go of it they were welcome to stay there. Without giving away too much of the plot, the farm attracts many others to help out. maybe 50 or more famlies and couples from all walks of life. The movie shows how they build a community. I couldn't help to think... if this were today... there is NO way this idea would have worked. People don't trust one another, they don't want to help one another, the don't want to work for a common goal or common good. It seems to be every person for themselves.

Well, I've wandered down this trail in my story, and now I don't know where it's lead me, nor do I know where to go from here. Sorry to have taken you down this path as well.
I guess what I'm saying is... go outside.

You know you're old when...

Hey kids... here's a tip...
You know you're old when you start to develop feelings for a grocery store.
Yes... I have a strange relationship with my local Wegmans grocery store. I enjoy going food shopping there. I won't bore you with all the details, because unless you are over 40 you prob wouldn't understand :) Lets just say that when I save a lousy ¢20 on a jar of spaghetti sauce (that tastes good too, and is made with semi-healthy ingredients) it's a good feeling.

But enough about me and my borderline obsession with Wegmans... I really wanted to talk about another reason why I like Wegmans. I feel like they are looking out for the little guy.
Recently, a friend sent me an email that at first glance I thought it was another chain email, or "cute puppy" emails. I didn't put a lot of weight behind it. It said that Wegmans was starting a new plan to GIVE away FREE antibiotics. (yes, you still need a prescription). Wegmans has offered this plan as a way to help those who need it. In the econimic times we live in now, people are struggling financially to make ends meet. It wasn't until I was in the checkout line a few days later when I saw the sign, confirming the FREE antibiotics. Wow.

So, today, I get an email from Wegmans with something that I must admit ran through my mind as well... Doctors are so quick to hand out antibiotics! In fact there are many doctors who warn against this practise and they point to things like these "superbugs" tht have built up resistance to many of the 'standard' antibiotics. So when Wegmans announced their plan to offer free antibiotics, they were met with both praise and thanks to critisim. So what did Wegmans do? The just sent a follow up email, where they published (on their website) a letter from a registered nurse that offered 'common sense' information so as to help people decided when or when not to ask the doctor for an antibiotic.

On a different line of thinking...
I thought it really interesting how the American public can be split over opinions.
Here was a company that was trying to help its customers who may be in hard times financially, and what better way to do it than to help them with medicine - yet, they also recieved criticism for doing the "wrong" thing by those concerned with too much antibiotics. What better example can you offer as to how differently people think about subjects.

I give credit to Wegmans. To GIVE anything FREE to help it's customers deserves a tip of the hat in my book.
I'll try to link to the letter from the registered nurse here: http://bit.ly/g5gj
And here is the general press announcement about this program: http://bit.ly/96V9

2009!

Happy New Year!

Just a short post as I hope to maybe pick up my blog posts a little more.

I hope I will like 2009 - I do so far, if only for the fact that I like the way the numbers look together. (It's a typography thing).

I started out my new years by sleeping late after a fun new years eve party with good friends.
Stayed up late in spite of being VERY tired to play a new computer game (check it out world of Goo). I think I got home around 2:30am then stayed up til around 4am! ugh.
Needless to say, I slept late on 1/1/09.
Relaxed on my day off.
Then around 8pm, I said 'I'm going to a movie!"
So I braved the 23 degree cold, and ventured out to see "The day the Earth Stood still".
I really enjoyed it. Certainly don't look to Keanu for any Oscars (He plays a great robot/cyborg/alien/anything that needs a perpetual look of confusion). So he was good for this role.
I enjoyed the effects (though the touch screen was a little over hyped). And I mostly enjoyed the storyline... all the way up to the last few minutes of the movie. I thought the ending was really weak. But overall I enjoyed it for a sci-fi remake.
I should have prefaced my mini-review here by saying that I had never seen the original movie. (though it's on my netflix queue now).

Then I finished off the day by starting to read some of the "Watchmen" graphic novel (aka: Comic book). I don't know if I like it yet. Jury is still out.

I hope you started your year off well too with things that you enjoy.

Memory flash

This is a strange post - I realize that. I'm gonna post it anyway.

I just finished a nice 4 day holiday weekend. Sunday, I was a total slug... never changed out of sleeping clothes and never took a shower.
This morning, I started my usual routine which involves the shower. While I was just a tad 'ripe' it wasn't like I was that horrible. But for some reason, I was enjoying the clean feeling, and the warmth of the shower water, and my memory flashed back to some 15 or 20 years ago.
I was in a pretty serious moped accident. (long story, lets just say it involved brain surgery, and I was all put back together again). But one of the things about the accident... I was bed ridden for a long time. (I don't recall exactly how long). But one thing that flashed in my memory this morning with an uncanny sense of reality... how GOOD that first shower felt after I had recovered enough to stand, and risk getting my head wet. It was such an incredibly good feeling! It's hard to describe actually. But since it's only a few days after Thanksgiving, I'll just add this: I am thankful for showers.
I was also a bit stunned at how vivid the memory was. Odd.

Morning Groggieness

Here's a question I'm just throwing out into the internet to see if someone (You!) happen to answer...
How long are you groggy or mush-minded after you wake up in the morning?
Are you the kind of person who upon opening your eyes puts his/her feet on the ground, and starts the day off with a bang - or - are you the type of person who has to stay in bed for at least a half hour until you can muster some sort of energy just to open one eyelid halfway.
Then once you are up, are you immediately into morning rituals (ie: shower, breakfast, etc...) or does it take a while to 'spin up' and get moving?

Me? I'm the later. I have such a hard time getting out of bed in the morning. I need usually an hour from the moment I'm "conscious" until the moment my feet hit the floor, then I'm still groggy for about 30 minutes after that.

I'm trying to understand why after a full nights sleep of about 8 hours, can a person feel tired when they wake? And - is it normal to feel that way?

Comments are welcome.

been a while

Yep. I've been slacking off on this ol' blog. But twitter has been a good outlet for me, to get quick thoughts outta my head and into some other cyber-dimension. If you found this blog, I'd encourage you to follow me on twitter (and unless you're a spammer, I'll follow you back).
So whats new?


Olympics>
Can honestly say I'm not following them at all. With apologies to family who are HUGE sports fans and Olympics fans, It's just not my cup-o-tea. See... right there, I used a tea analogy to describe somthing sport related. People who watch the Olympics wouldn't do that. :)
I did happen to see the opening cermonies (was over at family's house), and I actually did enjoy that. I had a real sense of awe. And the geek in me, loved to see all the uses of the technology.
But the idea of people gathering to "celebrate" in a country known for human rights violation bothers me. And a country who is also known for Human Rights violations (US) trying to critisize another country for their HRV's is the pot calling the kettle black.
Then to see two world leaders shaking hands at the opening cermonies, while the one is preparing an attack on another nation just turned my stomach. Putin is out enjoying himself, while his country members are back home planning on how they can kill people.
My last rant over these olympics - It's all supposed to be about putting politics and our differences aside right? But every news broadcast I see, talks about which country has the most gold medals. It's just bragging rights with a hint of "we're better than they are". Which is not the right mentality to have when putting differences aside.
Ok, I'm done. Sry family.

gps>
I got a new toy! A new Gadget! I like toys and gadgets!
I got one of those road based gps navigation 'systems'.
I've wanted one for a while, just cause they are so cool! But couldn't justify getting one, because I generally don't travel anywhere. Work, home, friends house, family house, movie theatre, that's about it. But at the encouragement of others, I decided to spring for it. I hope to go somewhere now - cause afterall, I know how to get there now!
But all is not "sunshine and pumpkins" in the land of gps.
I've been running the unit through some tests between work and home. I've learned it def has some limitations. The first test, it sent me down a road that you could not make a left on, and told me to make a left. I had borrowed another gps unit and it too told me to do the same thing. So this is a fault of some bad data on their mapping systems, and not the fault of the individual unit. (why are they sharing the same mapping system?)
Then When I made it home, to my apartment complex the verbal directions told me to make a wrong turn, while the graphic map showed the right way. Grr. But, in it's defense, the roads are more of a parking lot, and not really roads. So they are very close together. Still, it bothered me.
After about a week... I've learned two things... the main purpose of this unit, is to get somewhere you don't know how to get to. Chances are, if you know how to get there, you already know the fastest way to get there, and the best roads to take.
All those negatives said - I'm still glad I got my new toy.
I hope to try it out soon on a trip somewhere.
One more "wag of the finger" at Amazon.com, where I purchase it... I learned the day that the unit was supposed to arrive, that it had been discontinued from the manufacturere! Amazon SHOULD have made that clear and posted that information. I did check the Garmin website and they still continue to support the model I got (the nuvi 350). So, I decided not to return it - but still.

Lets see... what else...
I think I'll stop here. This post is rather long now. More later...

Amazon - Xanadu? Really?

You may know this about me (or not), but I really like Amazon.com. I "shop" there a lot for books (and now music since I discovered their cheaper prices on mp3s).
Occasionally, Amazon sends out emails saying "we noticed you bought (this), perhaps you might like (this)". I don't mind these too much. I mean yeah, basically it's spam, and an advertisement, but It's Just infrequent enough for me to not mind hitting the delete button on my email. (I think once or twice they found me something I did like).
Well, the image above just came into my inbox, and I had to laugh.
I don't know if this is a political joke or what.
It says (in case you don't want to click the image to enlarge it)...
We've noticed that customers who have purchased or rated Outfoxed - Rupert Murdoch's War on Journalism... also purchased Xanadu - Magical Musical Edition.
What possible link can there be to a documentary about political journalism have to do with an Olivia Newton-John movie?! The only possible explanation (which I think is a funny one), is that the people who buy "outfoxed" are probably liberals who like to live in a fantasy world of Xanadu.
(For the record - no, I will not be purchasing Xanadu).

Awesome wheels

A few days ago, I pulled out of my apartment complex onto the highway, and stopped at the light across the median strip was a really awesome looking vehicle. I'm not sure how to describe it because I've never seen anything like it before. It was basically a motorcycle trike, but in REVERSE. It had two tires in the front, and one in the back and it was a bright yellow color. I just did a quick search on the web, and found the image above (via this post). I don't think it's the same vehicle, as this one looks lower to the ground, and the front wheels are showing a lot of chrome, fat racing wheels. The one I saw looked a little more "BMW-ish". Then again, I only had about a 3 second look as I passed it in traffic.
If anyone knows what I might have seen please post in the comments.
Perhaps someone will find this post in the same way that I was going to search for it: Yellow Reverse Trike.

In other news...
The other day my microwave broke. Well, it still technically works, but the keypad buttons stopped working meaning the "start and stop" buttons.
I made the attempt to contact the manufacturer (Sharp), and after several round abouts on the web, and the automated voice mails, I found a local Sharp repair service. I called, and as I expected, he recommended that I just go out and buy another. (I'll spare the "these are the times we live in - a throw away society). So, based upon that this microwave lasted me almost 12 years, I decided to get another Sharp. For what it's worth, it's a R-308JS, and here's the thing... Amazon.com has this for $103.99 and I bought' mine at a local "club store" called BJ's for $75! Sometimes those club stores pay off. I hope this one lasts another 12 years - knock on wood.
What I want to know... why does it seem like a lot of my stuff keeps breaking lately. No such thing as coincidence?

Steve Jobs' 2005 Stanford Commencement

Steve Jobs' 2005 Stanford Commencement address

What would YOU do?

Just a small story that ended well, but I have to wonder if I did the right thing...
A long time ago, I was driving home with a friend late at night, when the person in front of me was weaving on the road. We both were pretty sure that he was drunk. So I used my cell phone and called the police. It was rather difficult, because by the time I got the story out as to who I was, why I was calling, and trying to describe where we were (while moving) we ended up crossing township lines, so they had to transfer me. Long story short, they eventually caught up to me and pulled the person over.

So, yesterday, I was driving home from work, and the same thing happened. I noticed a car that was weaving into the shoulder. Ok, once, no big deal, maybe he wasn't paying attention, and just drifted. We've all done that. But after the second time, my "spidey senses" kicked in and I thought, this aint right. So first thing I did, was back off the gas and let the guy get in front of me (rather than next to me, where he could have swerved into me!). Sure enough, as a space opened up next to him, he changed lanes and was now directly in front of me (though with extra space), next thing I know, he drifts over and ALMOST smashed into the concrete barrier separating the lanes of traffic! He jerked the car back at the last minute. So, I've got my hand on my cell phone, but now I'm having a hard time keeping up with him to follow, and other cars are now tailgating ME because I had given extra space between us.
So, I decided at the last minute that I would not call the police. I didn't have the number, (I've since added it to my speed dial - a good tip for everyone). He was pretty far ahead of me now so I wouldn't be able to follow safely and provide directions as to where we were. So I felt bad, but hoped that the near miss with the medium strip would be enough to get him to sober up.
Next thing I know, I seem him change lanes up ahead of me, and he gets off at the same exit that I was. him, now's my chance to catch up to him on the side streets. So I finally get behind him at the next light, but it turns out he's headed into MY parking lot of the apartment complex that I live at. So, it doens't make sense to call the police now, because by the time they get there he might be parked and out of his car. So I follow him, to make sure he's parking and not continuing to drive. Finally, he ends up parked and as I drive past, he's getting out of the car.
So here was my dilemma now... Do I say something to this guy? Do I risk a confrontation with a drunk to let him know what he did was wrong and endangered not only his life but others?!
I decided in that split second moment, that if he's drunk, I wouldn't be able to rationalize with him, so I passed him by.
But now it's still nagging at me, as to wether I did the right thing or not. I think I did, but...
So what would you have done? confront? or make sure he was off the road and continue on.

Spending like a drunken Enron exec...

Wow, I gotta get back control of my credit card here.
So, I get back from a week's vacation, to discover my truck won't start. ugh.
It wasn't the battery, and after many attempts it did finally turn over and run.
I drove it up to the Toyota dealership, to have them look at it.
Well, that's a long story too, because the very next day, the dealership was going to be closed because they are going through a buyout by another local dealer. (They'll still be a toyota dealership, just different owners). So the guy told me that he has no idea when they'll re-open.
So, one day to look at my truck and fix whatever they think is wrong with it.
Long story short... $400 to clean things up. New sparkplugs, cleaned fuel injectors, and one other thing I can't recall at the moment. And basically, this may not have fixed the problem at all, since it was starting fine when the mechanic was looking at it. I'm sure it just had some gunk in it that settled, but the $400 was spent on normal maintenance so I'm sure it's not wasted. BUT the downside is that they found an additional two problems that I wasn't prepared for. A leak in my "power steering rack" and a loose and "seized tie rods" - ugh. All I heard was a $1268 estimate on the work. So, I've got that to look forward to.

But onto the FUN things!
While are the Maker Faire, I stopped briefly at a booth run by Scharffenberger Chocolate! I didn't learn much because it was crowded with people, but I saw they had a few bowls out of "cocoa nibs" - basically these are pure chocolate, they are roasted pieces from the cocoa beans (wiki). The beans grow on a Cacao Tree (wiki). So I reached threw the crowd and took a small spoonful of the samples. Wow! I liked it! A little bitter, but they tasted good. These are also MUCH better for you than eating chocolate which has a ton of sugar and fat mixed in. I didn't have time to see how I could possibly order some of these "nibs". Well, Amazon.com to the rescue. I just ordered some last night. 2 1lb bags of them! I've never heard of the brand before (Navitas - amazon order page) but it's all natural and organic so that's good. I look forward to getting these to snack on. Oh, and there is some interesting stuff about the cocoa on the wikipedia page, about how good it is for you. (lowers cholesterol, lowers blood pressure, etc...)
More info here too from Scharffenberger on what nibs are and how to eat and use them.

Finally...
I woke this morning, and got an email update from ThinkGeek!
They have the Kaossilator in stock!! I've been wanting one of these gadgets for a long time now! So I quickly hoped online and placed my order. To refresh your memory of what this machine does... it's a loop/beat creator with a finger trackpad. This mixed with my KP3, and I should be able to create some cool music now. Fingers crossed!
To see what the Kaossilator can do here's a youtube video.

So, enough spending on "fun" things for me for a while. I've gotta start saving for some new tie rods.

Sidenote: I just had a positive experience with my apartment maintenance people. So nice when things go the way they're supposed to! They told me between 9am and 10am that someone would be out here, but I've learned in the past that it's a good thing to call the morning of to confirm that they're still coming. So about 9:20 I called and they said, yes, I'm still scheduled. Well at 9:30 George showed up. Seemed like a nice guy. By 10:15 he was done! Brand new garbage disposal, some new pipes under the sink, and I'm back in business. And it didn't cost me anything! (well if you don't include monthly rent!). So nice to have a positive experience for once with these guys. I think they have made some personnel changes recently, so MAYBE they are running a tighter ship now.
Next to fix...
Refrigerator (makes loud diesel engine noise!)
railing for steps
cracked window
guitar (not apartment related ;)

Sabbatical

Well, just in case tomorrow is hectic, and I don't get around to it...
I won't be posting any new posts here for about a week.
VACATION TIME! WOOHOO!
I'm headed west again to see family and go to the Third "Bay Area" Maker Faire in San Mateo, CA. To see some photos from last year's events, check out my flickr set here.
Looking forward to just chillin and soaking up those California vibes.
There's a small chance I might blog from the road, but I kinda doubt it.
So have a good week, and I'll post when I get home.
Cyen out.

Harry Potter in Court today

This is an interesting story via reuters news.
J.K. Rowling (the author of the Harry Potter books) is suing a "fan" in order to block him from releasing an unofficial Harry Potter encyclopedia.
I put "fan" in quotes to suggest that although he very well can be considered a huge fan, it also occurs to me that he could be abusing that term to make money. I don't believe that is the case based on what I know so far.

It's an interesting debate here, and I'm not sure how I feel about it as I can see merit to both of their arguments. That being said, I think that I'm leaning towards supporting Steve Vander Ark's position. As long as it says "unofficial" on it, I think he's safe, there are many unofficial guides for video games, and I think it's the same thing.
JK, if you think you can write a better encyclopedia (and I think you can) by all means... go ahead and do it.

Another battle over copyright and intellectual property. Let's see which side the courts come down on... Money/Corporate vs Artistic freedom?

PS> Thank goodness for Apple's auto spelling feature. I made so many typo's in this post it's not funny. Some mistakes and some because I can't spell very well. Thanks Apple (and firefox).