No, I'm not freaking out. At least not yet. But what's up with this?
My schedule for Tuesday:
Before class / Read a chapter of accounting
10:00 - 11:20 / Data class
12:00 / Lunch with Nick to talk about working at Tech companies
1:00 - 2:20 / Accounting class
2:40 - 4:00 / Problem Framing class
4:15 - 5:00 / Club meeting
5:30 - 6:50 / Student Government meeting with the Dean (yes, I'm an elected rep!)
7:00 - 9:00 / Dinner with my mentor group at our faculty mentor's house
9:00-ish / Write the remaining 4 pages of my final paper for my Careers course
And to top it all off, I think I melted the rear brakes on my bike. Good work, Paul.
Time to get my 7 hours of sleep.
Monday, October 16, 2006
Saturday, October 14, 2006
new ipod battery
New iPod mini battery installed in less than time than it takes to play the song "Freebird" or fill a bathtub with water.
At around $12, cheap!
At around $12, cheap!
Sunday, October 08, 2006
go blue!
We all know that the Blue Cohort is the best. Yep. Apparently there's photos of us on the internet. I'll tell you where:
http://www.mba.yale.edu/news_events/CMS/Articles/5758.shtml
http://www.mba.yale.edu/news_events/CMS/Articles/5758.shtml
Wednesday, October 04, 2006
stuff
I write from my "secret lair" up here where I have a view of virtually the entire School of Management from above. Would be great if I were a sniper.
So a few things have gone on since last time... Let's see...
First, Marcia and I had "the talk." We're still talking, and we're getting together sometime this weekend, but I think we've found that this whole situation sucks from a relationship standpoint. I've got a ton of stuff going on here, and she's only here on weekends. There's a ton more to do, but I'm not going to go into it here. If you want to know, ask. This means in person or on the phone.
School is still going fine. I'm managing to keep up with my work despite being involved. I've been selected as a first-year leader of the Marketing Club here, which is great. I also applied for a post on the Honor Committee and I'll also be running for a seat in the Student Government here. What else... I'm also participating in a case competition this week and I'll be helping with the Innovation in Marketing Conference that will be held here later this month. There are some good speakers so if you're interested in marketing, or innovation, you should sign up! Cheap too!
My leg is still recovering. It feels OK. Doesn't hurt. However, it still definitely feels "funny" but I'm not laughing. I think I'll try jogging in a week or two to see how it feels. At least it's showing continued improvement and I can walk. Definitely a plus.
Oh. Almost forgot. Another thing that I may do is write in another blog for the Admissions Office here. Yes, I already have this one, and sometimes I don't write in it. BUT, I sure beat Greg in this. He gave up after about a year. I'm still going strong! If I do end up doing that, I'll still write here, although I may do some cross-posting. Probably depends on the topic.
I'm also taking part in a Club that Amitabh set up for community service. I have to admit I haven't been able to do as much as I would have liked. I did look into a few things, and (thankfully) came to the conclusion that these things weren't needed or were impractical. The first was to have a Web site created to share random acts of kindness. Such a site already exists, so there is no point. I also thought of using post-it notes to replace the cards for passing along random acts of kindness, but came to the conclusion that although Post-its would be better for the initial act (better portability, can stick to stuff), they are not durable enought to encourage the recipients to pass it on.
Anyway, that's all for now. Time to head down to the basement, hang out with my study group, do some accounting, and then over to Admissions to talk to some prospective students (and bring them to class). Fun. Follow that up with case competition stuff, and a night out at Richter's having half-yards (of beer) with my learning team. Mmm.... learning....
So a few things have gone on since last time... Let's see...
First, Marcia and I had "the talk." We're still talking, and we're getting together sometime this weekend, but I think we've found that this whole situation sucks from a relationship standpoint. I've got a ton of stuff going on here, and she's only here on weekends. There's a ton more to do, but I'm not going to go into it here. If you want to know, ask. This means in person or on the phone.
School is still going fine. I'm managing to keep up with my work despite being involved. I've been selected as a first-year leader of the Marketing Club here, which is great. I also applied for a post on the Honor Committee and I'll also be running for a seat in the Student Government here. What else... I'm also participating in a case competition this week and I'll be helping with the Innovation in Marketing Conference that will be held here later this month. There are some good speakers so if you're interested in marketing, or innovation, you should sign up! Cheap too!
My leg is still recovering. It feels OK. Doesn't hurt. However, it still definitely feels "funny" but I'm not laughing. I think I'll try jogging in a week or two to see how it feels. At least it's showing continued improvement and I can walk. Definitely a plus.
Oh. Almost forgot. Another thing that I may do is write in another blog for the Admissions Office here. Yes, I already have this one, and sometimes I don't write in it. BUT, I sure beat Greg in this. He gave up after about a year. I'm still going strong! If I do end up doing that, I'll still write here, although I may do some cross-posting. Probably depends on the topic.
I'm also taking part in a Club that Amitabh set up for community service. I have to admit I haven't been able to do as much as I would have liked. I did look into a few things, and (thankfully) came to the conclusion that these things weren't needed or were impractical. The first was to have a Web site created to share random acts of kindness. Such a site already exists, so there is no point. I also thought of using post-it notes to replace the cards for passing along random acts of kindness, but came to the conclusion that although Post-its would be better for the initial act (better portability, can stick to stuff), they are not durable enought to encourage the recipients to pass it on.
Anyway, that's all for now. Time to head down to the basement, hang out with my study group, do some accounting, and then over to Admissions to talk to some prospective students (and bring them to class). Fun. Follow that up with case competition stuff, and a night out at Richter's having half-yards (of beer) with my learning team. Mmm.... learning....
Tuesday, September 26, 2006
Monday, September 25, 2006
my leg is still dead
For those who have been wondering, I did go to health services to get my leg looked at. It was a disappointing experience. I went expected to have a clear diagnosis and prognosis.
I expected to hear something that I didn't know. Instead, I found myself trying to convince the doctor that I didn't get kicked on the back of my leg. He termed my injury "unusual" because there usually isn't any bruising by the skin if it is a hamstring pull/strain. OK. Great. (He actually tried to talk me into thinking that someone hit me "in the heat of the moment." Then I recalled that I wasn't running, I was jumping... more on that later)
So what does all this mean for me? Nothing. All I was told is that it's a bruise, it should go away in a bit, and don't do anything with the leg for a couple of weeks. Um... great. I asked him whether I should be concerned that I can't really walk right... whether I should be concerned with the pain that I get when I stand up after sitting or lying down for a while. For each inquiry I got the evasive "it's a bruise... it will go away" response. Eventually I got him to dish out the "if it's still bothering you in two weeks, come back." I am awed by their wisdom. Thanks. At least it was free.
I'm still at a loss to explain how this all happenned. I don't really need something to pin this on, but it would be nice. Here's my latest theory: I recall this happened when I jumped, and the doc mentioned that another possible cause why hyperextension. Sure, he also said that I would have destroyed my knee in that situation, but I was jumping. Jumping! Those medium-height ultimate frisbee players who have been unlucky enough to jump against me for a disc know that I have hops. (Tall people are just tall... they can push me aside while I'm in mid-air... or I might collide with their elbows) I'm 5'6" and I can touch the rim of a 10' basketball hoop. My goal was to dunk, but I guess if my jumps are too powerful for my hamstring, I should give it a rest.
And apartment F3 is working out just fine. How's the project going?
I expected to hear something that I didn't know. Instead, I found myself trying to convince the doctor that I didn't get kicked on the back of my leg. He termed my injury "unusual" because there usually isn't any bruising by the skin if it is a hamstring pull/strain. OK. Great. (He actually tried to talk me into thinking that someone hit me "in the heat of the moment." Then I recalled that I wasn't running, I was jumping... more on that later)
So what does all this mean for me? Nothing. All I was told is that it's a bruise, it should go away in a bit, and don't do anything with the leg for a couple of weeks. Um... great. I asked him whether I should be concerned that I can't really walk right... whether I should be concerned with the pain that I get when I stand up after sitting or lying down for a while. For each inquiry I got the evasive "it's a bruise... it will go away" response. Eventually I got him to dish out the "if it's still bothering you in two weeks, come back." I am awed by their wisdom. Thanks. At least it was free.
I'm still at a loss to explain how this all happenned. I don't really need something to pin this on, but it would be nice. Here's my latest theory: I recall this happened when I jumped, and the doc mentioned that another possible cause why hyperextension. Sure, he also said that I would have destroyed my knee in that situation, but I was jumping. Jumping! Those medium-height ultimate frisbee players who have been unlucky enough to jump against me for a disc know that I have hops. (Tall people are just tall... they can push me aside while I'm in mid-air... or I might collide with their elbows) I'm 5'6" and I can touch the rim of a 10' basketball hoop. My goal was to dunk, but I guess if my jumps are too powerful for my hamstring, I should give it a rest.
And apartment F3 is working out just fine. How's the project going?
Friday, September 22, 2006
update
A few updates... so last night I was over at the Yale farm just down the street from where I live picking tomatoes for some freshly made pizza.
What else? I'm going to Costa Rica in January. Yes, it's part of school. Paid for by student loans!
What else? I'm going to Costa Rica in January. Yes, it's part of school. Paid for by student loans!
Friday, September 15, 2006
Wednesday, September 13, 2006
hammy, half.com hijinx
I've been busy. I've been trying to balance school, social, athletics, etc. Tough? It just got easier. On Sunday I pulled up lame while playing ultimate frisbee.
Hopes and fears? Hey, as long as I'm healthy enough to ski this winter, I'm happy. I missed out last year due to the whole hernia fiasco and I wouldn't want to waste what could be a perfectly good winter because of some freak injury. (Yes, freak injury. I've been doing conditioning and strength training... it's supposed to shield me from this kind of stuff, right? If it could only be that perfect). In the meantime, it means that I'll have another few hours a week to do other stuff since I won't be playing ultimate on Sunday and I also won't be going to the gym. No, I'm not going ot the gym. There's no point in going unless it's to do a leg workout to save my knees. But since my leg is screwed up, I can't do that. I'm not going.
OK... so half.com hijinx. I like half.com. I've saved a ton of money getting books there, and I wanted to do the same thing this year. However, this time around I ended up dealing with this jackass who advertised a book as "Like New." Here's the quote: "Like New
great book." I ordered the book On August 15th, plenty of time for it to get here by the end of August when classes start.
Long story shorter, I finally got the book today. I e-mailed the guy on the 8th and he said that he'd send it later that week or early this week. I guess I was happy he even responded because in the listed he said "FAST SHIP SAME DAY." He mentioned that he was out of the country for a week and a half. Fine. I finally received the book today, almost a full month after I initially ordered it and paid for it. Now for the next part of the saga....
The book is in shitty condition. That's my opinion though. Let me me know what you think. The cover looks worn. It has had several stickers placed on the cover that have been fully or partially removed. There is writing on the inside of the cover. There is highlighting (pink and yellow) in chapters 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7. The corners of the cover are worn to the point where you can see the cardboard. Is this "Like New?"
One of the concepts we've talked about in the Economics course that I bought the book for was the concept of a substitutable good. I was looking for a New or Like New book. This book was being sold as a substitute for a book of that condition and it wasn't. Not a substitutable good. I want me $8.70 back. I'll even send the book back, but I want them to pay for the shipping. Jerk.
In the meantime, I've decided to buy a 6th edition book (in full color). Should be here in a few days.
Hopes and fears? Hey, as long as I'm healthy enough to ski this winter, I'm happy. I missed out last year due to the whole hernia fiasco and I wouldn't want to waste what could be a perfectly good winter because of some freak injury. (Yes, freak injury. I've been doing conditioning and strength training... it's supposed to shield me from this kind of stuff, right? If it could only be that perfect). In the meantime, it means that I'll have another few hours a week to do other stuff since I won't be playing ultimate on Sunday and I also won't be going to the gym. No, I'm not going ot the gym. There's no point in going unless it's to do a leg workout to save my knees. But since my leg is screwed up, I can't do that. I'm not going.
OK... so half.com hijinx. I like half.com. I've saved a ton of money getting books there, and I wanted to do the same thing this year. However, this time around I ended up dealing with this jackass who advertised a book as "Like New." Here's the quote: "Like New
great book." I ordered the book On August 15th, plenty of time for it to get here by the end of August when classes start.Long story shorter, I finally got the book today. I e-mailed the guy on the 8th and he said that he'd send it later that week or early this week. I guess I was happy he even responded because in the listed he said "FAST SHIP SAME DAY." He mentioned that he was out of the country for a week and a half. Fine. I finally received the book today, almost a full month after I initially ordered it and paid for it. Now for the next part of the saga....
The book is in shitty condition. That's my opinion though. Let me me know what you think. The cover looks worn. It has had several stickers placed on the cover that have been fully or partially removed. There is writing on the inside of the cover. There is highlighting (pink and yellow) in chapters 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7. The corners of the cover are worn to the point where you can see the cardboard. Is this "Like New?"
One of the concepts we've talked about in the Economics course that I bought the book for was the concept of a substitutable good. I was looking for a New or Like New book. This book was being sold as a substitute for a book of that condition and it wasn't. Not a substitutable good. I want me $8.70 back. I'll even send the book back, but I want them to pay for the shipping. Jerk.
In the meantime, I've decided to buy a 6th edition book (in full color). Should be here in a few days.
Wednesday, September 06, 2006
gas
I haven't bought any gas since August 13th, 2006. And that was in Pennsylvania when I was moving to New Haven.
What would really be crazy is if I didn't get any gas until Thanksgiving. We all know that isn't happening. I'll find some excuse to go to Montreal or something...
What would really be crazy is if I didn't get any gas until Thanksgiving. We all know that isn't happening. I'll find some excuse to go to Montreal or something...
Monday, September 04, 2006
titan magazines
Wow... Check them out:
http://www.titanmagazines.com
Not only do they have a magazine for the show "24", but they also have a magazine for Bratz. Why doesn't anyone tell me about these things? If I had only known sooner...
http://www.titanmagazines.com
Not only do they have a magazine for the show "24", but they also have a magazine for Bratz. Why doesn't anyone tell me about these things? If I had only known sooner...
Sunday, September 03, 2006
price rite
So after moving to New Haven, I've been on a quest to find the best place to shop. I go to Trader Joe's, but that's a bit far away and they don't carry everything that I need. But, I think I've found a solution...
The first place I went to was Shaw's. Big bright store, complete with obscenely high prices. Not for me. Then I went to Super Stop N Shop. Big bright store, complete with crappy prices. Then yesterday, I went to Price Rite, which is on Dixwell Ave by the Wilbur Cross Highway. Crowded, no shelving, pay for your own bags. BUT, they're dirt cheap, and they also a pretty good selection of foods for people with a more ethnic palate. (Let's just say that a third of their products are from Goya, and they sell at least four types of bananas) I love it.
And for those who are in Cleveland, yes, it's even cheaper than Marc's. A quick rundown....
The first place I went to was Shaw's. Big bright store, complete with obscenely high prices. Not for me. Then I went to Super Stop N Shop. Big bright store, complete with crappy prices. Then yesterday, I went to Price Rite, which is on Dixwell Ave by the Wilbur Cross Highway. Crowded, no shelving, pay for your own bags. BUT, they're dirt cheap, and they also a pretty good selection of foods for people with a more ethnic palate. (Let's just say that a third of their products are from Goya, and they sell at least four types of bananas) I love it.
And for those who are in Cleveland, yes, it's even cheaper than Marc's. A quick rundown....
- 1 gallon of skim milk - $1.99
- 96 oz of orange juice (Florida Natural or Tropicana) - $3.49
- Ramen - $0.13
- Pita - $.0.50
- Twin pack of Country Crock margarine - $1.19
- 2 liter of Coke - $0.69
Sunday, August 27, 2006
update
Wow. A number of things have happened since the last time I posted. I'll try to cover most of it, but I'll probably leave out half too... (for the sake of brevity)
So last Thursday we went on an excursion to NYC where we visited the Yale Club as well as the New York Stock Exchange. The Yale Club was very nice, and I'm considering becoming a member at least for this year just in case I'm ever in NYC. This goes with my current strategy of outdoing everything for now, just to see what it's like. I did a similar thing with the gym with the platinum locker and the towel service. We'll see how that works out.
But back to the NYSE. We rented out the trading floor for drinks that evening. It was a bit unreal being on the floor of the NYSE drinking Coors Light of all things. Yes, I could have gotten a glass of wine, or at least a Heineken, but I wanted to keep it real so I had a Coors Light. Rocky Mountain cold!
So last Thursday we went on an excursion to NYC where we visited the Yale Club as well as the New York Stock Exchange. The Yale Club was very nice, and I'm considering becoming a member at least for this year just in case I'm ever in NYC. This goes with my current strategy of outdoing everything for now, just to see what it's like. I did a similar thing with the gym with the platinum locker and the towel service. We'll see how that works out.
But back to the NYSE. We rented out the trading floor for drinks that evening. It was a bit unreal being on the floor of the NYSE drinking Coors Light of all things. Yes, I could have gotten a glass of wine, or at least a Heineken, but I wanted to keep it real so I had a Coors Light. Rocky Mountain cold!
Wednesday, August 23, 2006
weird dreams
Two actually... the first was that I came back to my blog and there were two comments for one of my posts. One was a scathing comment from a new classmate of mine over my incredibly stupid post. I don't remember what it was that I wrote in the dream, but I do recall that it dealt with repeating some nonsense over and over and over again (occassionally in ALL CAPS). I guess it was supposed to be funny? And the other comment was a quick post that said that I rock.
Second weird dream - I was in a study group with Kate. Why weird? I'm dreaming about styudy groups and class hasn't even started yet!
By the way, great party last night!
Second weird dream - I was in a study group with Kate. Why weird? I'm dreaming about styudy groups and class hasn't even started yet!
By the way, great party last night!
Tuesday, August 22, 2006
day one
So today was my first day back as a student. Got my student ID, yada yada yada.
Some of the more unique highlights of the day:
Some of the more unique highlights of the day:
- The entire class singing Happy Birthday to the youngest member of our class (who was celebrating her 22nd birthday)
- Riding a school bus to Lighthouse Point Park, and riding in the seat all the way in the back (best seat on the bus!)
- Playing a random pickup game of ultimate on the beach (although briefly)
Monday, August 21, 2006
Apt F3
For those of you who are wondering (especially all y'all over in Cleveland), I'm happy to say that I've been able to make it over here to New Haven in one piece. Granted, it's not as easy as it sounds. I had a nice potential near-death experience on the way here. I'll get to that later. Orientation starts tomorrow, so I'm about to head over to the "last night of freedom" party a few streets over. And thanks, Sumana, for the text message. (-; (Sadly, I wasn't able to locate any eggplant chutney at Trader Joe's)
More importantantly, the general update. I've moved in, and I'm settling in quite nicely. Busy though, so I haven't been able to upload any pictures. Hey, I haven't even had a chance to upload my Memorial Day weekend pics, much less my Canadian Rockies pics, or even my er... really really old pics from random trips years ago. I'll get around to it... eventually...
Oh... and Marcia wanted me to let you all know how many times I've been to Target in the last week. I think it's been five. Awesome. Sam's Club thrice. Trader Joe's twice. Wal-Mart once (and I still really hate the place.... the one here is just as chaotic... and I didn't notice it being any cheaper than Target either). So yes, lots of shopping. But at least I'm learning my way around.
And I still have half a tank of gas from when I was in PA. (-:
More importantantly, the general update. I've moved in, and I'm settling in quite nicely. Busy though, so I haven't been able to upload any pictures. Hey, I haven't even had a chance to upload my Memorial Day weekend pics, much less my Canadian Rockies pics, or even my er... really really old pics from random trips years ago. I'll get around to it... eventually...
Oh... and Marcia wanted me to let you all know how many times I've been to Target in the last week. I think it's been five. Awesome. Sam's Club thrice. Trader Joe's twice. Wal-Mart once (and I still really hate the place.... the one here is just as chaotic... and I didn't notice it being any cheaper than Target either). So yes, lots of shopping. But at least I'm learning my way around.
And I still have half a tank of gas from when I was in PA. (-:
Sunday, August 06, 2006
yet another car payment
So I was about to change my oil today when I decided that I should probably check my brakes. Next thing I know, I need new brake pads, new calipers, and a new caliper bracket. Then again, I suppose I should be happy that I discover this now instead of while I'm in New Haven. Now I can continue to exploit the free ethnic labour that I've been taking advantage of the past few years. Sweet!
Oh wait... I'm the free ethnic labour. Damn.. I'll report the total cost later. My guess is that it'll be about $250 or so when all is said and done. Hopefully less. I wasn't really paying too much attention to the price when I ordered the parts over the phone today. Either way it's cheaper than taking it someplace to get fixed, and it's probably no less convenient either. I get to work around my schedule, not theirs.
Oh wait... I'm the free ethnic labour. Damn.. I'll report the total cost later. My guess is that it'll be about $250 or so when all is said and done. Hopefully less. I wasn't really paying too much attention to the price when I ordered the parts over the phone today. Either way it's cheaper than taking it someplace to get fixed, and it's probably no less convenient either. I get to work around my schedule, not theirs.
Saturday, August 05, 2006
Friday, August 04, 2006
weird dream
So last night was my going away bash for Progressive. End result? I got a cool hat, some Superman ballons, and some weird dreams. Thanks to everyone who came out. I had a great time. It's been a great experience working with all of you, and my only regret is that I haven't had a chance to work with some of you more.
So... weird dream?
Basically it managed to combine fruit snacks, Sprite, toilets, and contests. I was totally confused in the dream, so there's no way it'll make sense in reality, but here goes. It was some contest sponsored by the fruit snack people and the Sprite people. To submit your entry you needed to get a can of Sprite (not a bottle), drink it till there's about 1cm of Sprite left on the bottom, chuck three fruit snacks in (I think they were Shark Bites), and then submit them by flushing the can down a toilet.
So how on earth can a can be flushed down a toilet? I gave it several attempts. In one of my earlier, more memorable attempts, I flushed first, then tried to chuck in the can as the water was exiting. Somehow, the can got rejected and got ejected several feet up in the air. Luckily, I was able to catch it. I also tried filling the entire can up with Sprite, which didn't work. Neither did substituting ginger ale for the Sprite... or using a Sunkist can. Obviously some fantastic reasoning skills at work here. Apparently the "real" way of submitting was to push the can down the hole as far as it can easily go, then flush. I never tried this because I didn't think it would work. Yes, fantastic reasoning skills at work. (-:
So... weird dream?
Basically it managed to combine fruit snacks, Sprite, toilets, and contests. I was totally confused in the dream, so there's no way it'll make sense in reality, but here goes. It was some contest sponsored by the fruit snack people and the Sprite people. To submit your entry you needed to get a can of Sprite (not a bottle), drink it till there's about 1cm of Sprite left on the bottom, chuck three fruit snacks in (I think they were Shark Bites), and then submit them by flushing the can down a toilet.
So how on earth can a can be flushed down a toilet? I gave it several attempts. In one of my earlier, more memorable attempts, I flushed first, then tried to chuck in the can as the water was exiting. Somehow, the can got rejected and got ejected several feet up in the air. Luckily, I was able to catch it. I also tried filling the entire can up with Sprite, which didn't work. Neither did substituting ginger ale for the Sprite... or using a Sunkist can. Obviously some fantastic reasoning skills at work here. Apparently the "real" way of submitting was to push the can down the hole as far as it can easily go, then flush. I never tried this because I didn't think it would work. Yes, fantastic reasoning skills at work. (-:
Wednesday, August 02, 2006
citibank dividend's card
So Citibank sent me a letter telling me that since I've been such a great customer they'd like to offer me some extra incentives. Great! So what do they offer? A lower APR on purchases, having my cash back automatically credited to my statement, or earning points towards more rewards.
After some thought, I decided to take the additional rewards since the other two options don't give me any additional money in return. I pay my balance in full, and I think I'd rather take a few dollars back and deal with the small inconvenience of having to cash a $50 check every once in a while.
So I call them up. When I talked to the rep, she told me that instead of those options I could get a full 5% back on ALL purchases for 3 months. Hrm... sounds like a good deal to me. So I signed up. I have a feeling this would come in handy when I pay rent... and when I buy stuff for my new apartment. (-:
After some thought, I decided to take the additional rewards since the other two options don't give me any additional money in return. I pay my balance in full, and I think I'd rather take a few dollars back and deal with the small inconvenience of having to cash a $50 check every once in a while.
So I call them up. When I talked to the rep, she told me that instead of those options I could get a full 5% back on ALL purchases for 3 months. Hrm... sounds like a good deal to me. So I signed up. I have a feeling this would come in handy when I pay rent... and when I buy stuff for my new apartment. (-:
Sunday, July 30, 2006
roi
1 foot of emissions hose replaced: $2
2-3 gallons of gas saved: $6 - $9
Somehow I managed to drive from Cleveland to DC on just 12 gallons of gas, an impressive 32.35 mpg. What's up with that?
2-3 gallons of gas saved: $6 - $9
Somehow I managed to drive from Cleveland to DC on just 12 gallons of gas, an impressive 32.35 mpg. What's up with that?
ooh... how safe
To Graduate and Professional Students:
I am writing to let you know of an attempted robbery and shooting last night involving four graduate and professional students in the yard of a house located at Mansfield and Tilton Streets. The students were approached by a man wearing a mask with a handgun who demanded money. In the ensuing struggle, the gun was fired and one of the students was injured. He is recuperating in the hospital. Yale and New Haven police have arrested the man, and he is now in the custody of the New Haven police.While this incident is not part of a pattern of crime, it is most serious, and I urge those of you in New Haven this summer to exercise caution. Call us immediately if you feel unsafe or see anything or anyone that is suspicious, by dialing 911 or 203-432-4400. You may wish to program these numbers in your cell phones.
Sincerely,
Chief James Perrotti
Wednesday, July 19, 2006
burn cream, part deux
So, days after I managed to burn myself while cooking some pierogies, my finger seems fine. There's a slight mark, but other than that the burn cream worked like a charm.
How well did it work? Well enough for me to burn myself again! This time instead of a small burn, I decided to splatter some hot cooking oil on my hand. About 20 times bigger than the last one!
Really, it was accidental. I clearly lack the experience of those who work at Long John Silvers, as I burned myself while frying up some talipia fillets. I'll um... be more careful next time.
How well did it work? Well enough for me to burn myself again! This time instead of a small burn, I decided to splatter some hot cooking oil on my hand. About 20 times bigger than the last one!
Really, it was accidental. I clearly lack the experience of those who work at Long John Silvers, as I burned myself while frying up some talipia fillets. I'll um... be more careful next time.
Sunday, July 16, 2006
driving news
First of all, I made an estimate of the amount of time I drove during my last trip to Canada. Over 8 days, I drove approximately 40 hours. Nice.
Secondly, I got a letter today from the Ohio BMV telling me that I got a ticket from NJ and that it was going onto my record. Too bad I don't have a license in Ohio anymore!
Secondly, I got a letter today from the Ohio BMV telling me that I got a ticket from NJ and that it was going onto my record. Too bad I don't have a license in Ohio anymore!
Saturday, July 15, 2006
airports
Most used airports (by me):
40 - CLE Cleveland Hopkins International Airport (meaning we have seasonal service to London)
14 - HKG - Hong Kong (Lantau Island, awesome airport)
7 - SEA - Seattle/Tacoma
7 - CAK - Akron/Canton (rocks)
6 - ORD - Chicago - O'Hare (kinda sucks)
6 - BOS - Boston
5 - MSP - Minneapolis/St. Paul
4 - NRT - Tokyo, Japan - Narita (sucks)
4 - PIT - Pittsburgh
4 - LAX - Los Angeles
4 - HNL - Honolulu (nice outdoor garden)
4 - LAS - Las Vegas (most expensive food anywhere)
4 - CHC - Christchurch
3 - PHL - Philadelphia
2 - HKG_old - Hong Kong (old airport in Kowloon)
2 - SAN - San Diego
2 - PEK - Beijing, China
2 - LHR - London, UK - Heathrow
2 - KWL - Guilin, China
2 - TXN - Tunxi, China
2 - TPA - Tampa
2 - DTW - Detroit
2 - MCO - Orlanda
2 - KMG - Kunming, China
2 - IAH - Houston - George Bush
2 - EWR - Newark (sucks)
2 - LGW - London, UK - Gatwick
2 - YUL - Montreal, Canada
2 - KIX - Osaka, Japan (nice, but far far away)
2 - ATL - Hotlanta (they have a Popeye's)
2 - RDU - Raleigh/Durham (they have a Popeye's)
2 - AKL - Auckland, New Zealand
2 - SYD - Sydney, Australia
1 - JFK - New York - JFK
1 - ANC - Anchorage
1 - IAD - Washington - Dulles
1 - AMS - Amsterdam, Netherlands (nice)
1 - FCO - Florence, Italy
1 - DLU - Dali, China
1 - LJG - Li Jiang, China
1 - MDW - Chicago - Midway
1 - WLG - Wellington, New Zealand
40 - CLE Cleveland Hopkins International Airport (meaning we have seasonal service to London)
14 - HKG - Hong Kong (Lantau Island, awesome airport)
7 - SEA - Seattle/Tacoma
7 - CAK - Akron/Canton (rocks)
6 - ORD - Chicago - O'Hare (kinda sucks)
6 - BOS - Boston
5 - MSP - Minneapolis/St. Paul
4 - NRT - Tokyo, Japan - Narita (sucks)
4 - PIT - Pittsburgh
4 - LAX - Los Angeles
4 - HNL - Honolulu (nice outdoor garden)
4 - LAS - Las Vegas (most expensive food anywhere)
4 - CHC - Christchurch
3 - PHL - Philadelphia
2 - HKG_old - Hong Kong (old airport in Kowloon)
2 - SAN - San Diego
2 - PEK - Beijing, China
2 - LHR - London, UK - Heathrow
2 - KWL - Guilin, China
2 - TXN - Tunxi, China
2 - TPA - Tampa
2 - DTW - Detroit
2 - MCO - Orlanda
2 - KMG - Kunming, China
2 - IAH - Houston - George Bush
2 - EWR - Newark (sucks)
2 - LGW - London, UK - Gatwick
2 - YUL - Montreal, Canada
2 - KIX - Osaka, Japan (nice, but far far away)
2 - ATL - Hotlanta (they have a Popeye's)
2 - RDU - Raleigh/Durham (they have a Popeye's)
2 - AKL - Auckland, New Zealand
2 - SYD - Sydney, Australia
1 - JFK - New York - JFK
1 - ANC - Anchorage
1 - IAD - Washington - Dulles
1 - AMS - Amsterdam, Netherlands (nice)
1 - FCO - Florence, Italy
1 - DLU - Dali, China
1 - LJG - Li Jiang, China
1 - MDW - Chicago - Midway
1 - WLG - Wellington, New Zealand
Friday, July 14, 2006
burn cream
So I finally got to test out this fancy burn cream that I bought in China. Yes, the one where there was the demonstration with the guy who grabbed a red hot chain and then applied the burn cream to demonstrate the effectiveness.
No, I wasn't playing with red hot chains, but I did decide to fry some stuff in a pan without using the proper utensils. Long story short, my pinkie came in contact with the pan. I applied the burn cream and it's not swelling or anything, although it did leave a small mark. I do understand what the employees said about how it still hurts though.
So I've got gimpy hands for the next few days. Yeah, I also jammed my index finger last night playing ultimate. Those of you I work with probably noticed the nice tape job I had on it. Precautionary. Those of you who I play ultimate with probably know about how I practice throws with my left hand just in case. Well, I hurt my left hand, not my right... and I'm OK with that. (-:
Plus I can still type. (-:
No, I wasn't playing with red hot chains, but I did decide to fry some stuff in a pan without using the proper utensils. Long story short, my pinkie came in contact with the pan. I applied the burn cream and it's not swelling or anything, although it did leave a small mark. I do understand what the employees said about how it still hurts though.
So I've got gimpy hands for the next few days. Yeah, I also jammed my index finger last night playing ultimate. Those of you I work with probably noticed the nice tape job I had on it. Precautionary. Those of you who I play ultimate with probably know about how I practice throws with my left hand just in case. Well, I hurt my left hand, not my right... and I'm OK with that. (-:
Plus I can still type. (-:
Wednesday, July 12, 2006
Tuesday, July 11, 2006
censorship
This is awesome. I'm going to rent some censored DVDs!
And isn't it funny that their most popular rental is "Wedding Crashers"? Especially considering that they take out all nudity, profanity, violence, and sexual content? What's left???
They also have a *great* definition of profanity:
And isn't it funny that their most popular rental is "Wedding Crashers"? Especially considering that they take out all nudity, profanity, violence, and sexual content? What's left???
They also have a *great* definition of profanity:
Profanity
This includes the B-words, H-word when not referring to the place, D-word, S-
word, F-word, etc. It also includes references to deity (G-word and JC-words
etc.), only when these words are used in a non-religious context.
Monday, June 26, 2006
adventures - part 1 (of probably 1)
To set the stage, I'm flying out west tomorrow to go to Vancouver and the Canadian Rockies. The flight is insanely early in the morning (6:45-ish). We want to save as much time as we can, so we're doing the online check-in.
Plus #1: United was kind enough to send me an e-mail to remind me to check-in this morning, so I went to their site to do it.
Issue #1: While the e-mail had a handy link to the check-in pages, the page needed my frequent flyer number, which, like everyone else, I don't have.
Plus #2: Knowing that United does let me log in using my e-mail address from the homepage, I went there to log in. E-mail address, password, done.
Issue #3: After clicking the button to submit my e-mail and password, I noticed a dropdown telling me where I wanted to be dropped off after I log in. I knew I wanted to check in, but I left the dropdown at my summary page. Partially because that's generally where I would like to be taken, and partially because I figured I can get to the check-in page from there. Apparently, I didn't have the patience for it. I checked "My Itineraries" to see if I could check in from there, and I couldn't. I was really hoping for something on my summary screen that would let me check in. Eventually, I ended up returning to the homepage to find the check-in feature since I knew that it was there.
Issue #4: Back on the homepage, the site asked me for my frequent flyer number and password again. Remember, I already logged in. Why should I need to do this again?
Plus #3: Thankfully, since I asked the site to remember me, it already had my frequent flyer number pre-filled. Whew!
Issue #5: When choosing seats, it tried to trick me into upgrading seats. I've seen this before and I know their tricks, but it's still damn annoying.
Plus #4: For the seat selection, it told me where the wing was. I like that... a lot.
Issue #5: Printing glitch #1: Checking in for 2 flights for 4 people means 8 boarding passes. I didn't want the boarding passes to be split across pages, so I tried printing one person at a time. So I selected the boarding passes for the first passenger and asked Firefox 1.5.0.4 to print the selection.
...blank page
...blank page
...blank page
...blank page
...blank page
This clearly wasn't right. I raced over to my printer status to see if it would ever end. When the thing finally opened, I saw that it was trying to print over 5,000 pages... and it kept growing too. I canceled as fast as I could, but not before it killed 25-50 pages.
Issue #6: Printing glitch #2: OK. So printing the selection was no good. Next attempt I just tried to print like a normal person. Print the whole thing and see what happens. Instead of getting my boarding passes, I got a printout with an error message on it. At least it was one page...
Third time's the charm: So I finally decided to click on the United provided print button. After saying I was OK with printing 8 documents, I got my 8 boarding passes. Easy!
Plus #1: United was kind enough to send me an e-mail to remind me to check-in this morning, so I went to their site to do it.
Issue #1: While the e-mail had a handy link to the check-in pages, the page needed my frequent flyer number, which, like everyone else, I don't have.
Plus #2: Knowing that United does let me log in using my e-mail address from the homepage, I went there to log in. E-mail address, password, done.
Issue #3: After clicking the button to submit my e-mail and password, I noticed a dropdown telling me where I wanted to be dropped off after I log in. I knew I wanted to check in, but I left the dropdown at my summary page. Partially because that's generally where I would like to be taken, and partially because I figured I can get to the check-in page from there. Apparently, I didn't have the patience for it. I checked "My Itineraries" to see if I could check in from there, and I couldn't. I was really hoping for something on my summary screen that would let me check in. Eventually, I ended up returning to the homepage to find the check-in feature since I knew that it was there.
Issue #4: Back on the homepage, the site asked me for my frequent flyer number and password again. Remember, I already logged in. Why should I need to do this again?
Plus #3: Thankfully, since I asked the site to remember me, it already had my frequent flyer number pre-filled. Whew!
Issue #5: When choosing seats, it tried to trick me into upgrading seats. I've seen this before and I know their tricks, but it's still damn annoying.
Plus #4: For the seat selection, it told me where the wing was. I like that... a lot.
Issue #5: Printing glitch #1: Checking in for 2 flights for 4 people means 8 boarding passes. I didn't want the boarding passes to be split across pages, so I tried printing one person at a time. So I selected the boarding passes for the first passenger and asked Firefox 1.5.0.4 to print the selection.
...blank page
...blank page
...blank page
...blank page
...blank page
This clearly wasn't right. I raced over to my printer status to see if it would ever end. When the thing finally opened, I saw that it was trying to print over 5,000 pages... and it kept growing too. I canceled as fast as I could, but not before it killed 25-50 pages.
Issue #6: Printing glitch #2: OK. So printing the selection was no good. Next attempt I just tried to print like a normal person. Print the whole thing and see what happens. Instead of getting my boarding passes, I got a printout with an error message on it. At least it was one page...
Third time's the charm: So I finally decided to click on the United provided print button. After saying I was OK with printing 8 documents, I got my 8 boarding passes. Easy!
Monday, June 19, 2006
Wednesday, June 14, 2006
random post of the day
Proof that George W Bush wasn't always a total idiot, plus an explanation of why he is today?
Originally I was going to go into something about the unique problems of really tall people, but I'll save that for a later day.
Originally I was going to go into something about the unique problems of really tall people, but I'll save that for a later day.
Tuesday, June 13, 2006
cents per mile
Looking back over the years (since May of 2001, to be exact), I've spent $18,752.42 on driving. In return, I've got a car worth about $3,000, plus 57167.3 miles on my odometer. What does this mean? It means that my car over time costs 27.6 cents per mile.
I remember the last time I did this calculation I was under 25 cents a mile. Why did it go up? A few reasons:
Now... for all you people who make car payments, here's a rough comparison. Let's get your run of the mill cheap-ass car with a car payment of $199 a month. Assuming that you drive 12,000 miles a year (typical), that would be 1,000 miles per month. Match that with the $199 monthly payment and you already have 20 cents per mile. Working backwards, if you want this car to be as cost efficient as mine, you'd only have 6.7 cents per mile for things like gas, tires, repairs, insurance, and depreciation. Sheesh! Even if it was just gas, good luck on finding a car that costs 6.7 cents per mile for gas. With gas costing $2.87 per gallon as it does today, you'd need a car that gets 43 mpg. Good luck with that one!
Now with the jerk example. Let's say I have a gas guzzling car that gets 15 mpg (think any big truck). With gas at $2.87 a gallon, gasoline alone would cost 19 cents a mile. Sweet!
I remember the last time I did this calculation I was under 25 cents a mile. Why did it go up? A few reasons:
- I calculated it differently this time
Last time I excluded things like parking, tolls, and traffic tickets. This time I didn't bother with sorting through that. I'm guessing that would add another $500 or 1 cent/mile. Whew! Feel even better now! - Gas costs more
Last time I calculated this, gas was something like $1.20 a gallon. It's over twice that now. You'd think this would make my costs skyrocket. Thankfully there's things like cheaper insurance and more highway miles that offset this. Imagine if gas was still that cheap!
Now... for all you people who make car payments, here's a rough comparison. Let's get your run of the mill cheap-ass car with a car payment of $199 a month. Assuming that you drive 12,000 miles a year (typical), that would be 1,000 miles per month. Match that with the $199 monthly payment and you already have 20 cents per mile. Working backwards, if you want this car to be as cost efficient as mine, you'd only have 6.7 cents per mile for things like gas, tires, repairs, insurance, and depreciation. Sheesh! Even if it was just gas, good luck on finding a car that costs 6.7 cents per mile for gas. With gas costing $2.87 per gallon as it does today, you'd need a car that gets 43 mpg. Good luck with that one!
Now with the jerk example. Let's say I have a gas guzzling car that gets 15 mpg (think any big truck). With gas at $2.87 a gallon, gasoline alone would cost 19 cents a mile. Sweet!
Friday, June 09, 2006
first post in a while
So um.... I've been busy. Since the last time, I've went to a few baseball games, gone to Toronto, gone to Connecticut, gone to Las Vegas, and now I'm going back to CT. Something to do with my scheme of getting a new driver license to avoid having a ticket show up on my record. (-: Might as well give it a shot, right?
Monday, May 22, 2006
Sunday, May 21, 2006
house stuff
Similar to the other list for cars, but this time for house stuff... This is probably not a comprehensive list since I don't keep track of it like I do with stuff I do for my car. Here goes...
- Telephone wiring and jacks
- Replacing outlets, light switches, etc.
- Laying tile (including backer boards)
- Completely tearing apart a kitchen - cabinets, flooring
- Putting in kitchen cabinets
- Snaking drains
- Installing faucets
- Installing a tub/shower
- Removing a cast iron tub
- Adding another bar in a closet to hang clothes
- Constructed frames for putting up paneling
- Putting up drywall
- Changing light bulbs
- Sealing driveways
- Patching holes in driveways
- Changing the wheels on the garage door
- Installing thresholds for exterior doors
- Put up a fence for a compost
- Carpet removal
- Building shelves
- Installing a new sink
- Changing locks
- Removal and installation of interior doors
- Removal and installation of an exterior door
- Installing a gas range
- Installing a dishwasher
- Making a door disappear
- Painting
- Putting in trim
- Planting trees
- Pruning trees
- Cutting down trees
- Running cable
- Change fuses
Sunday, May 14, 2006
car stuff
So what have I done with cars?
Replaced:
Replaced:
- Alternator
- Alternator belt
- Serpentine belt
- Front and rear disc brake pads
- Brake calipers
- Brake caliper braket
- Master cylinder
- McPherson struts
- Rotors
- Sway bar
- Sway bar bushings
- Front and rear upper suspension arms/ball joint
- Anti-lock brake sensors
- Radiator
- Oxygen sensors
- Car batteries
- Assorted lights (headlights, rear lights, turn lights, gear selector light)
- Fuel filter
- Air filter
- Oil and filter
- Radiator coolant
- Radiator cap
- Spark plugs
- Tie rod ends
- Drive shafts
- Wipers
- Side mirror
- PCV valve
- Ignition coil
- Distributor cap
- Distributor rotor
- Ignition module
- Radiator hoses
- Transmission fluid
- Brake fluid
- Gasoline... yes, I pump my own gas (screw NJ!)
- Brake caliper boots and bolts
- Distributor rotor
- Idle speed
- Exhaust
- Electrical connections
- Your mom
- Timing belt (needs an engine hoist!)
- Water pump (needs an engine hoist!)
oil oil oil!
We rock. In case you didn't know, our domestic oil production is only 66% of what it was in the early 1990's. Don't believe me? See for yourself.
Another interesting fact. We're the third biggest oil producer in the world, yet we're still largely dependent on foreign oil. Granted, we have a huge population, and we're definitely not as screwed as China from an energy standpoint. Not troubling, until you consider the scenario of major powers fighting (literally) over energy. Good times. (sarcasm).
So who should we attack next? Probably Brazil or Norway. They seem to be increasing production. Oh... and annex Alberta from Canada since oil sands are now profitable.
Lesson learned (or not learned)? Attacking countries and making them politically unstable doesn't help oil production. Iraq is running at only better than 50% capacity compared to the days of Saddam Hussein. Next time do a coup instead of a frontal assault.
Random related links:
Link 1: Oil output forecasts
Link 2: Report and outlook
Another interesting fact. We're the third biggest oil producer in the world, yet we're still largely dependent on foreign oil. Granted, we have a huge population, and we're definitely not as screwed as China from an energy standpoint. Not troubling, until you consider the scenario of major powers fighting (literally) over energy. Good times. (sarcasm).
So who should we attack next? Probably Brazil or Norway. They seem to be increasing production. Oh... and annex Alberta from Canada since oil sands are now profitable.
Lesson learned (or not learned)? Attacking countries and making them politically unstable doesn't help oil production. Iraq is running at only better than 50% capacity compared to the days of Saddam Hussein. Next time do a coup instead of a frontal assault.
Random related links:
Link 1: Oil output forecasts
Link 2: Report and outlook
realization
So I got 20 free songs on iTunes from getting plane tickets on continental.com. Yay me. So that led to to the iTunes store... to Green Day... to see if I should repurchase Dookie, my third CD ever.
And on the Dookie page, there were the customer reviews. One of which asked Green Day fans if they could name any songs that are not on American Idiot. Good question, eh? I can do it easily (Basketcase, Longview, Minority), but that's because I was in high school when Dookie came out. Am I really that old? (no, because I still hang out with college kids at times)
But this got me thinking back to the Green Day concert that I went to. We were some of the oldest people there. Most of the audience was probably in high school or college (more likely high school). So if they're 16-18 now, that means that they were 5-7 years old when Dookie was released. A good chunk of them probably never heard Dookie. And if they did, they listened to it the same way I would listen to an early Aerosmith album -- a piece of the past. Strange when you think about it that way.
And on the Dookie page, there were the customer reviews. One of which asked Green Day fans if they could name any songs that are not on American Idiot. Good question, eh? I can do it easily (Basketcase, Longview, Minority), but that's because I was in high school when Dookie came out. Am I really that old? (no, because I still hang out with college kids at times)
But this got me thinking back to the Green Day concert that I went to. We were some of the oldest people there. Most of the audience was probably in high school or college (more likely high school). So if they're 16-18 now, that means that they were 5-7 years old when Dookie was released. A good chunk of them probably never heard Dookie. And if they did, they listened to it the same way I would listen to an early Aerosmith album -- a piece of the past. Strange when you think about it that way.
Thursday, May 11, 2006
Wednesday, May 10, 2006
a touch of class
Those of you who know me know that I'm a classy guy. (-; Here's a rundown of places I'll be staying for my next two trips.
- The Comfort Inn in Belleville, Ontario
- The Econo Lodge in Montreal, Quebec
- The Rondo Motel in Golden, British Columbia
Tuesday, May 09, 2006
um....
er... I've been up for 20 hours straight. Maybe I should be feeling more tired. Maybe I'm excited about my upcoming trips!
Yep, I'm doing another Canadian whirlwind tour. Kind of like last year when I hit Montreal, Toronto, and Vancouver, but nothing like it!
For this year:
Toronto, Montreal?, Vancouver, Mt. Revelstoke NP, Glacier NP (the one in Canada, NOT the one in the U.S.), Yoho NP ("Yo, ho!"), Banff NP and Jasper NP? Yeah! Good thing I have plenty of memory cards for my camera!
Yep, I'm doing another Canadian whirlwind tour. Kind of like last year when I hit Montreal, Toronto, and Vancouver, but nothing like it!
For this year:
Toronto, Montreal?, Vancouver, Mt. Revelstoke NP, Glacier NP (the one in Canada, NOT the one in the U.S.), Yoho NP ("Yo, ho!"), Banff NP and Jasper NP? Yeah! Good thing I have plenty of memory cards for my camera!
Tuesday, May 02, 2006
random link of the day
Churchgoers longer, studies say.
http://www.livescience.com/humanbiology/060403_church_good.html
It also says that it's not as cost effective, or as effective overall, as regular exercise. It also makes it pretty clear that this is a correlation and no causality has been established.
This brings me to a more important point. Causality is ignored so often it's amazing. This is a good topic to get me on a rant about work. Not as good as abstraction though. We really need more abstract thinkers who can apply learnings less directly.
http://www.livescience.com/humanbiology/060403_church_good.html
It also says that it's not as cost effective, or as effective overall, as regular exercise. It also makes it pretty clear that this is a correlation and no causality has been established.
This brings me to a more important point. Causality is ignored so often it's amazing. This is a good topic to get me on a rant about work. Not as good as abstraction though. We really need more abstract thinkers who can apply learnings less directly.
Monday, May 01, 2006
Sunday, April 30, 2006
people who drive fast
OK. I drive faster than most other people. However, I've noticed something about people who drive really really fast (the ones that happen to fly by me on the freeway) -- they don't know where they're going.
Two cases (which clearly makes this scientific):
Case 1: The person in the black Nissan Altima driving down I-271
I noticed this car one morning when I was driving over to my parents' place. I was in the local lanes going my typical 70-75mph. I noticed somewhere around the Mayfield exit that the black Nissan Altima in the express lane that was flying down the road. I also noticed the nice dent on the right side of the car - much like the dent I have.
Another 3 or 4 miles down the road I get off at Chagrin Blvd. As I stop at the light at Richmond, I notice a black Nissan Altima with a dent on the passenger side. Exact same car. Apparently the jackass got off at the wrong exit and came back north an exit. Good work, jackass.
Case 2: Annoyed girl in a Honda CR-V in the OH turnpike
This girl clearly was unhappy with my speed on the turnpike as she tailgated me. I think I was going 75mph, and she wasn't really going too much faster than I was, but she was annoyed, impatient, pissed off. Anyway, I was happy when she turned off at the I-680 exit by Youngstown. I thought that was the end of it. Apparently not.
Half an hour later (about 30 miles down the road), I see this girl again. She didn't look any happier. Clearly she was even more pissed off because she really meant to get off at I-480 (Cleveland) instead of I-680 (Youngstown). Brilliant.
Two cases (which clearly makes this scientific):
Case 1: The person in the black Nissan Altima driving down I-271
I noticed this car one morning when I was driving over to my parents' place. I was in the local lanes going my typical 70-75mph. I noticed somewhere around the Mayfield exit that the black Nissan Altima in the express lane that was flying down the road. I also noticed the nice dent on the right side of the car - much like the dent I have.
Another 3 or 4 miles down the road I get off at Chagrin Blvd. As I stop at the light at Richmond, I notice a black Nissan Altima with a dent on the passenger side. Exact same car. Apparently the jackass got off at the wrong exit and came back north an exit. Good work, jackass.
Case 2: Annoyed girl in a Honda CR-V in the OH turnpike
This girl clearly was unhappy with my speed on the turnpike as she tailgated me. I think I was going 75mph, and she wasn't really going too much faster than I was, but she was annoyed, impatient, pissed off. Anyway, I was happy when she turned off at the I-680 exit by Youngstown. I thought that was the end of it. Apparently not.
Half an hour later (about 30 miles down the road), I see this girl again. She didn't look any happier. Clearly she was even more pissed off because she really meant to get off at I-480 (Cleveland) instead of I-680 (Youngstown). Brilliant.
Saturday, April 29, 2006
the imperial palace
This June I'll be going to Las Vegas to join Seth at his bachelor party. However, the one thing that I didn't know when I signed up for the fun was where we'd be staying.
I really didn't give it much thought at first. After all, we're probably not going to be spending much time in our rooms anyway. However, when I was informed that we would be staying at the Imperial Palace, I was left speechless.
Was this a good thing? Was it a bad thing?
Last time I went to Vegas, I had the fine luck of passing through the Imperial Palace. It's tucked neatly away behind another casino, and I remember that I struck my attention because of it's fantastic logo spells out my last name. I also remember from stepping into the casino that it was overwhelmingly Asian. In other words, FOBish.
So you can understand how I was torn about this. Sure, it's funny as hell that I'll be at the Asian FOBish casino that's also known as the IP, but then I realize that I'll actually be staying at the Asian FOBish casino called the IP. We'll see. Worst case is that it results in more humor.
I really didn't give it much thought at first. After all, we're probably not going to be spending much time in our rooms anyway. However, when I was informed that we would be staying at the Imperial Palace, I was left speechless.
Was this a good thing? Was it a bad thing?
Last time I went to Vegas, I had the fine luck of passing through the Imperial Palace. It's tucked neatly away behind another casino, and I remember that I struck my attention because of it's fantastic logo spells out my last name. I also remember from stepping into the casino that it was overwhelmingly Asian. In other words, FOBish.
So you can understand how I was torn about this. Sure, it's funny as hell that I'll be at the Asian FOBish casino that's also known as the IP, but then I realize that I'll actually be staying at the Asian FOBish casino called the IP.
Monday, April 24, 2006
dilemma
If I have lots to write about, I have no time to post. If I have time to post, I don't have much to write. Various topics to harrass me about:
- Yale welcome weekend - awesome
- The drive back - lots of rain, flooding, Hudson River
- People who drive fast - don't know where they're going (I-680, Harvard exit)
- Vegas
- I'm sure I'm missing something. Just ask!
Monday, April 17, 2006
art supplies
Yeah, I just made my first purchase from an art supply store. Why? Because I needed to.
The one thing that did really bother me though was how crappy those web sites are. Poor product descriptions, poor layouts, and a most buggy purchase flow I've seen in years. Really, it got so bad that in Firefox it thought that the continue button was the same as the button that toggled between US address entry and International address entry. For whatever reason I actually switched to IE, redid my shopping cart, and then checked out. Bleh...
And no, I'm not going to art school. Going to business school.
The one thing that did really bother me though was how crappy those web sites are. Poor product descriptions, poor layouts, and a most buggy purchase flow I've seen in years. Really, it got so bad that in Firefox it thought that the continue button was the same as the button that toggled between US address entry and International address entry. For whatever reason I actually switched to IE, redid my shopping cart, and then checked out. Bleh...
And no, I'm not going to art school. Going to business school.
Tuesday, April 11, 2006
which brings me to my next point
If people are so pissed off about the price of oil (which is a commodity that is priced the same regardless of which station you buy from), think about this outrage:
Today, millions of consumers are buying food at artificially high prices. How high? About 70% more than they should be paying. You would think that people would be outraged at this anal rapage of sorts. But no, they're actually wearing broad smiles when they are being ripped a new one. Chances are, you're one of them.
So where's your Bonus Card when your grocery store charges over $3 for a gallon of skim milk when it's sold at Sam's Club every day for $1.75? And what's the advantage of the Giant Eagle Advantage card when you have to buy apples at $1.69 a pound when they're sold at the discount store at the other side of the strip mall for $0.99 a pound? If these stores can "save" you $30 each time you make a grocery run, imagine how much you'd save if you were buying your chicken breast at $2.59 a pound instead of a ridiculous $4.59 a pound?
Yes, you should be outraged. But unlike the stupid gasoline thing, there really is a solution. With the gas thing, you buy gas at some other station for the same price. You save nothing. Here, you can buy your groceries elsewhere and save money each time, while simultaneously pressure grocers into more consumer-friendly pricing schemes. Sure, it may not work, but you can at least know that you're not the one paying the extra 70% for your groceries.
Did I ever mention that I hate Giant Eagle? Yes, I do. But at the same time I'm not exactly impressed with any of the other grocery stores around here either.
Today, millions of consumers are buying food at artificially high prices. How high? About 70% more than they should be paying. You would think that people would be outraged at this anal rapage of sorts. But no, they're actually wearing broad smiles when they are being ripped a new one. Chances are, you're one of them.
So where's your Bonus Card when your grocery store charges over $3 for a gallon of skim milk when it's sold at Sam's Club every day for $1.75? And what's the advantage of the Giant Eagle Advantage card when you have to buy apples at $1.69 a pound when they're sold at the discount store at the other side of the strip mall for $0.99 a pound? If these stores can "save" you $30 each time you make a grocery run, imagine how much you'd save if you were buying your chicken breast at $2.59 a pound instead of a ridiculous $4.59 a pound?
Yes, you should be outraged. But unlike the stupid gasoline thing, there really is a solution. With the gas thing, you buy gas at some other station for the same price. You save nothing. Here, you can buy your groceries elsewhere and save money each time, while simultaneously pressure grocers into more consumer-friendly pricing schemes. Sure, it may not work, but you can at least know that you're not the one paying the extra 70% for your groceries.
Did I ever mention that I hate Giant Eagle? Yes, I do. But at the same time I'm not exactly impressed with any of the other grocery stores around here either.
do you seriously believe this will work
If it wasn't for the last pathetic attempt (not buying gas for a day), this would the dumbest thing I've ever heard of. It is kind of funny to see how desperately creative people can be. Definitely more interesting that the "don't buy gas for a day... that'll show them!" thing that was attempted previously, but flawed nonetheless. It's like saying that we don't like how cars are expensive so we'll stop buying Toyotas because they sell the most vehicles. Toyota may lower prices, but the other companies can artificially inflate prices to take advantage of this new "market force" of blatant retardation.
Ultimately it comes to this. As consumers, if we find it expensive, we'll find ways of using less of it so that we can save money. From a corporate standpoint, why not keep jacking up the price if people are dumb enough to keep buying? Right now, gas is still cheap enough for most people to tolerate, which is why people keep buying fuel inefficient cars and keep buying gas.
Besides, we're not the only consumers of gasoline (trucks, fleets, etc.), and gasoline is not the only product that's dependent on oil.
Ultimately it comes to this. As consumers, if we find it expensive, we'll find ways of using less of it so that we can save money. From a corporate standpoint, why not keep jacking up the price if people are dumb enough to keep buying? Right now, gas is still cheap enough for most people to tolerate, which is why people keep buying fuel inefficient cars and keep buying gas.
Besides, we're not the only consumers of gasoline (trucks, fleets, etc.), and gasoline is not the only product that's dependent on oil.
This might be worth a try and it certainly won't hurt to test out this
theory:
GAS WAR - an idea that WILL work
This was originally sent by a retired Coca Cola
executive It came from one of his engineer buddies
who retired from Halliburton. It's worth your
consideration.
Join the resistance!!!! I hear we are going to hit
close to $ 4.00 a gallon by next summer and it might
go higher!! Want gasoline prices to come down? We
need to take some intelligent, united action.
Phillip Hollsworth offered this good idea. This makes
MUCH MORE SENSE than the "don't buy gas on a certain
day" campaign that was going around last April or May!
The oil companies just laughed at that because they
knew we wouldn't continue to "hurt" ourselves by
refusing to buy gas. It was more of an inconvenience
to us than it was a problem for them. BUT, whoever
thought of this idea, has come up with a plan that can
really work. Please read on and join with us!
By now you're probably thinking gasoline priced at
about $1.50 is super cheap. Me too! It is currently
$2.79 for regular unleaded in my town. Now that the
oil companies and the OPEC nations have conditioned us
to think that the cost of a gallon of gas is CHEAP at
$1.50 - $1.75, we need to take aggressive action to
teach them that BUYERS control the marketplace..not
sellers. With the price of gasoline going up more each
day, we consumers need to take action. The only way we
are going to see the price of gas come down is if we
hit someone in the pocketbook by not purchasing their
gas! And, we can do that WITHOUT hurting ourselves.
How?
Since we all rely on our cars, we can't just stop
buying gas. But we CAN have an impact on gas prices if
we all act together to force a price war.
Here's the idea: For the rest of this year, DON'T
purchase ANY gasoline from the two biggest companies
(which now are one), EXXON and MOBIL. If they are not
selling any gas, they will be inclined to reduce their
prices. If they reduce their prices, the other
companies will have to follow suit. But to have an
impact, we need to reach literally millions of Exxon
and Mobil gas buyers. It's really simple to do! Now,
don't wimp out on me at this point...keep reading and
I'll explain how simple it is to reach millions of
people!!
I am sending this note to 30 people. If each of us
send it to at least ten more (30 x 10 = 300) ... and
those 300 send it to at least ten more (300 x 10 =
3,000)...and so on, by the time the message reaches
the sixth group of people, we will have reached over
THREE MILLION consumers.
If those three million get excited and pass this on to
ten friends each, then 30 million people will have
been contacted! If it goes one level further, you
guessed it..... THREE HUNDRED MILLION PEOPLE!!!
Again, all you have to do is send this to 10 people.
That's all!
(If you don't understand how we can reach 300 million
and all you have to do is send this to 10 people....
Well, let's face it, you just aren't a mathematician.
But I am . so trust me on this one.)
How long would all that take? If each of us sends
this e-mail out to ten more people within one day of
receipt, all 300 MILLION people could conceivably be
contacted within the next 8 days!!! I'll bet you
didn't think you and I had that much potential, did
you! Acting together we can make a difference.
Sunday, April 09, 2006
minoriteam is terrible
Need I explain? Not funny, stupid plots (if I can even call them plots), bad voice acting, and it looks like it's a comic book on TV -- as in hardly any animation outside of panning still frames. Please kill this show.
Samurai Champloo, on the other hand, is awesome. Good story, great animation, and great visuals.
Samurai Champloo, on the other hand, is awesome. Good story, great animation, and great visuals.
Thursday, April 06, 2006
i dreamt i was with someone else
I'm sorry, but I dreamt that I was with someone else... while grocery shopping. Or more precisely, that I was grocery shopping with someone else. It's ok though! I didn't really buy anything! I just got like three things!
Yeah. This is silly, but I guess this is what happens when I go to sleep after grocery shopping and I also talk with certain people about produce and groceries on a surprisingly regular basis.
Anyway, it's not like I made a booty call or something. That's a totally different incident and I politely turned it down.
Unlike this crappy Netgear router, I generally behave myself. Generally...
Yeah. This is silly, but I guess this is what happens when I go to sleep after grocery shopping and I also talk with certain people about produce and groceries on a surprisingly regular basis.
Anyway, it's not like I made a booty call or something. That's a totally different incident and I politely turned it down.
Unlike this crappy Netgear router, I generally behave myself. Generally...
Sunday, April 02, 2006
boo silverstar
You know those Sylvania Silverstar headlight commercials? Yeah, the one where there are two incredibly stupid bicyclists riding in the middle of the road in complete darkness without any of the standard reflectors? Yep. I'm not sure if "regular" people pay attention to such ads, but my dad and I as DIY auto mechanics certainly remember the product. Well, during the past two weeks, both my dad and I needed new headlamps. Here's our story.
My dad needed headlamps first, and I was lucky enough to get them from the store for him. I was actually there to get something for myself (I think?), but before leaving I forgot to ask exactly which ones he wanted. I called him up from the store and asked him which type he wanted. There were basically three choices, the standard halogens, some extra bright halogens, and the Silverstars. Prices were $8 or so for a standard halogen, $11 for a long life halogen, and $24 for the Silverstars. Knowing that he wanted something the provided more light, I told him the Silverstars would be brighter, but would cost more. As I predicted, he went with the Silverstars. We put them in and he's happy with them.
But here's what we didn't know... My headlamp just burned out. And as a guy who hates bright headlights, I wasn't particularly interested in the Silverstars. However, I did come across a great deal on the Cool Blue headlights (also by Sylvania). Instead of being $15 a bulb, they were a ridiculously cheap $5.50 a bulb - even cheaper than a standard halogen. But should I get this bulb? I didn't want one that was insanely bright. So I decided to do some research. I went to Sylvania's site to check out their products. I remembered seeing such a chart at Murray's (our auto parts store), so I expect to find *something* online, and I did.
Looking at the comparison chart, I saw that the life of most of their higher end bulbs were inferior to that of the standard halogens. But by how much? If the Cool Blue's were half the price of a standard halogen, they's still be worth it if they only had half the life. So I dug further.
On the standard halogen lamp's web page, it proudly stated that the bulbs have a durability rating of 1000 to 1500. Cool. However, that piece of information was missing from the pages for all the other lamps. Fine. After a bit more digging, I was able to find what I wanted. And here's what I found:
My dad needed headlamps first, and I was lucky enough to get them from the store for him. I was actually there to get something for myself (I think?), but before leaving I forgot to ask exactly which ones he wanted. I called him up from the store and asked him which type he wanted. There were basically three choices, the standard halogens, some extra bright halogens, and the Silverstars. Prices were $8 or so for a standard halogen, $11 for a long life halogen, and $24 for the Silverstars. Knowing that he wanted something the provided more light, I told him the Silverstars would be brighter, but would cost more. As I predicted, he went with the Silverstars. We put them in and he's happy with them.
But here's what we didn't know... My headlamp just burned out. And as a guy who hates bright headlights, I wasn't particularly interested in the Silverstars. However, I did come across a great deal on the Cool Blue headlights (also by Sylvania). Instead of being $15 a bulb, they were a ridiculously cheap $5.50 a bulb - even cheaper than a standard halogen. But should I get this bulb? I didn't want one that was insanely bright. So I decided to do some research. I went to Sylvania's site to check out their products. I remembered seeing such a chart at Murray's (our auto parts store), so I expect to find *something* online, and I did.
Looking at the comparison chart, I saw that the life of most of their higher end bulbs were inferior to that of the standard halogens. But by how much? If the Cool Blue's were half the price of a standard halogen, they's still be worth it if they only had half the life. So I dug further.
On the standard halogen lamp's web page, it proudly stated that the bulbs have a durability rating of 1000 to 1500. Cool. However, that piece of information was missing from the pages for all the other lamps. Fine. After a bit more digging, I was able to find what I wanted. And here's what I found:
- Standard Halogen - 1000
- Long Life Halogen - 1500
- Cool Blue - 200
- XtraVision - 850
- Silverstar - 150
- Standard Halogen - $1.97/year
- Long Life Halogen - $1.81/year (8.4% cheaper)
- Cool Blue - $6.76/year (3.4 times as expensive)
- XtraVision - $3.62/year (1.77 times as expensive)
- Silverstar - $39.41 (almost exactly 20x as expensive!)
Thursday, March 30, 2006
alternate identity
I've been hiding it all these years, but I'll now expose my true identity. I am not Paul Ip. I am....
OK. Seriously. I'm not Alan Jones, but apparently that what they *thought* my name was when I ordered this part at Murray's. I love Murray's, and I'll still shop there again, but this just doesn't make any sense.
So here's the story. I called into Murray's on Monday to check the price they had for a part. They had the lowest price by a few dollars, so I ordered the part by giving my credit card number to the guy. The part usually gets in overnight, but I didn't drop by till tonight (Thursday night).
When I got in the store, I went to the bin to see if the part that I ordered was there. It wasn't. It wouldn't have been there anyway, since that isn't where they put those parts (probably a good thing), but either way, I couldn't find what I was looking for. So I ask the guy working there, RJ.
After helping a couple of people that got there before I did, RJ went to the back of the store to look for it. He couldn't find it. It didn't make sense to either of us. He then checked the logs of parts that have been ordered. He couldn't find me. After asking what the part was, he did find the same part ordered for Alan Jones. It wasn't clear if it was for the same car though. Probably just coincedence.
I then mentioned that perhaps I ordered it at another store by mistake, and RJ went to check to see if there were any parts being held for me at all the Murray's stores in Ohio. Again, nothing. Disappointed, I asked him if he could just order me another part. He advised me against that since if I gave my credit card number, chances are it was charged, and I wouldn't want to be charged twice. I left empty handed.
Getting home, I checked my credit card statement. Sure enough, my card was charged for the part. Not only that, but it was charged to the store that I had just visited. Great. What the heck is going on... I call them up.
I talk to another fellow on the phone. I ask him to double check to see if my part is in. I did explain the prior difficulty, so he goes straight to the logs. "Are you Alan Jones?" he asks. Of course not, I reply. The funny thing is, Alan Jones also has a 1993 Honda Accord, just like mine. I volunteer the last 4 digits of my credit card number. Bingo! That bastard used my credit card!
It would have been simple if that was all. But he wanted to see if the other info matched up. Daytime phone number? I forget what he said it was, but it sure wasn't my phone number. I think the credit card, part, order date, and car were enough to convince him though. He told me that he wrote my name on the order so I should be able to come and pick it up the next time I drop in. At this time I ask if the part will be in the bin at the door, or if it would be behind the desk. He replies by telling me that these parts are always held behind the desk so that they are given to the right person. But what if Alan Jones comes in? "There is no Alan Jones," he replies. I'm not totally convinced. But if Alan Jones comes in and takes my rear left brake caliper bracket, I'm going to be a little pissed.
Alan Jones
OK. Seriously. I'm not Alan Jones, but apparently that what they *thought* my name was when I ordered this part at Murray's. I love Murray's, and I'll still shop there again, but this just doesn't make any sense.
So here's the story. I called into Murray's on Monday to check the price they had for a part. They had the lowest price by a few dollars, so I ordered the part by giving my credit card number to the guy. The part usually gets in overnight, but I didn't drop by till tonight (Thursday night).
When I got in the store, I went to the bin to see if the part that I ordered was there. It wasn't. It wouldn't have been there anyway, since that isn't where they put those parts (probably a good thing), but either way, I couldn't find what I was looking for. So I ask the guy working there, RJ.
After helping a couple of people that got there before I did, RJ went to the back of the store to look for it. He couldn't find it. It didn't make sense to either of us. He then checked the logs of parts that have been ordered. He couldn't find me. After asking what the part was, he did find the same part ordered for Alan Jones. It wasn't clear if it was for the same car though. Probably just coincedence.
I then mentioned that perhaps I ordered it at another store by mistake, and RJ went to check to see if there were any parts being held for me at all the Murray's stores in Ohio. Again, nothing. Disappointed, I asked him if he could just order me another part. He advised me against that since if I gave my credit card number, chances are it was charged, and I wouldn't want to be charged twice. I left empty handed.
Getting home, I checked my credit card statement. Sure enough, my card was charged for the part. Not only that, but it was charged to the store that I had just visited. Great. What the heck is going on... I call them up.
I talk to another fellow on the phone. I ask him to double check to see if my part is in. I did explain the prior difficulty, so he goes straight to the logs. "Are you Alan Jones?" he asks. Of course not, I reply. The funny thing is, Alan Jones also has a 1993 Honda Accord, just like mine. I volunteer the last 4 digits of my credit card number. Bingo! That bastard used my credit card!
It would have been simple if that was all. But he wanted to see if the other info matched up. Daytime phone number? I forget what he said it was, but it sure wasn't my phone number. I think the credit card, part, order date, and car were enough to convince him though. He told me that he wrote my name on the order so I should be able to come and pick it up the next time I drop in. At this time I ask if the part will be in the bin at the door, or if it would be behind the desk. He replies by telling me that these parts are always held behind the desk so that they are given to the right person. But what if Alan Jones comes in? "There is no Alan Jones," he replies. I'm not totally convinced. But if Alan Jones comes in and takes my rear left brake caliper bracket, I'm going to be a little pissed.
Wednesday, March 29, 2006
site of the day
Ever wonder how the big water treatment plant at the top of Fairhill (er... Stokes Blvd.) was built?
Answer: With horses and steam shovels. Heck yeah!
Specifications
Answer: With horses and steam shovels. Heck yeah!
Specifications
Tuesday, March 28, 2006
Saturday, March 25, 2006
branding,part deux
Samson brand hair care products. Why? Because what's more important to Samson than his beautiful hair?
Of course, I'm not the first person to think of this.
Of course, I'm not the first person to think of this.
Friday, March 24, 2006
...
I can't take this anymore. This movie with Sandra Bullock and Emilio Estevez is terrible.
Spy Game is crap too. No one would be so foolish to mess with China. Plus it's an "encore," meaning I just saw it once already.
Spy Game is crap too. No one would be so foolish to mess with China. Plus it's an "encore," meaning I just saw it once already.
Monday, March 20, 2006
fun with insurance
To date... still haven't gotten the bill for the followup exam.
Cost after insurance: $436.58
Cost before insurance: $4060.00 ($935 for anesthesia... who needs that?)
Savings to date: $3623.42
Total cost of insurance: $782.34/year before tax... or about $460/year after tax. Deal?
Cost after insurance: $436.58
Cost before insurance: $4060.00 ($935 for anesthesia... who needs that?)
Savings to date: $3623.42
Total cost of insurance: $782.34/year before tax... or about $460/year after tax. Deal?
Saturday, March 18, 2006
news from iraq
At least for me, the most interesting, non-biased source of news from Iraq is from the Digital Journalist.
Example:
http://www.digitaljournalist.org/issue0603/dis_calaf.html
Example:
http://www.digitaljournalist.org/issue0603/dis_calaf.html
Friday, March 17, 2006
car payment
I am saddened to report that I will need to make my first car payment of the year. I have *yet another* bad anti-lock brake sensor, a fouled oxygen sensor, and also a busted exhaust.
ABS Sensor:
It appears that these just die on my car. This is the third one that needs to be replaced. Granted, it's the rear one that is very easy to replace. Total cost of the repair: $111.92. Total savings from doing it myself: ~$200-$300 (extra $45 parts, plus an hour of labor).
Oxygen Sensor:
I replaced this recently, but it died because of a design flaw. Bosch makes the replacement parts come with a wire that's about 3" too long. What happens is that the wire is so long it bends up towards the oil filter. Consequently, some oil got on it the last time I did an oil change, likely damaging the sensor. I considered buying an authentic Honda part this time, but I couldn't bear paying the extra $100 for the part. Total cost of the repair: about $60. Total savings from doing it myself: ~$260-$360 (extra $160 parts, plus an hour of labor).
Exhaust:
This was replaced 2 years ago by the shady folks at Midas by Golden Gate. Not only do they coerce me to do extra work, but then they didn't connect the exhaust right, denied it, then eventually fixed it because they saw that they really did manage to screw it up. Now the pipe towards the rear has completely broken, with a 2" gap between main line and the muffler's pipe. The break is on the muffler side, which makes me wonder if this is covered under warranty...
ABS Sensor:
It appears that these just die on my car. This is the third one that needs to be replaced. Granted, it's the rear one that is very easy to replace. Total cost of the repair: $111.92. Total savings from doing it myself: ~$200-$300 (extra $45 parts, plus an hour of labor).
Oxygen Sensor:
I replaced this recently, but it died because of a design flaw. Bosch makes the replacement parts come with a wire that's about 3" too long. What happens is that the wire is so long it bends up towards the oil filter. Consequently, some oil got on it the last time I did an oil change, likely damaging the sensor. I considered buying an authentic Honda part this time, but I couldn't bear paying the extra $100 for the part. Total cost of the repair: about $60. Total savings from doing it myself: ~$260-$360 (extra $160 parts, plus an hour of labor).
Exhaust:
This was replaced 2 years ago by the shady folks at Midas by Golden Gate. Not only do they coerce me to do extra work, but then they didn't connect the exhaust right, denied it, then eventually fixed it because they saw that they really did manage to screw it up. Now the pipe towards the rear has completely broken, with a 2" gap between main line and the muffler's pipe. The break is on the muffler side, which makes me wonder if this is covered under warranty...
Tuesday, March 14, 2006
yay!
Yay! I have been authorized to borrow up to $40,611 for next year! Oh wait... borrow, not free money. Well, here's to being debt free!
And did I ever mention that I didn't like the recent changes to the federal student aid programs?
And did I ever mention that I didn't like the recent changes to the federal student aid programs?
Sunday, March 12, 2006
interesting conversations
Excerpt from what I heard on the way up the elevator just now... (and when I say excerpt, I mean everything that was said).
Players:
Girl 1 -- Late teens, early twenties female, dyed blonde hair. Presumably the elder sister of girl 2
Girl 2 -- 10 year old gir. Brown hair. Wearing a shirt that read "Blondes have more fun."
Girl 1 leans against the side of the elevator, with hand to her mouth. In her hand is her mobile phone.
Girl 2: Why are you always biting your cell phone?
Girl 1: (Annoyed) I'm not biting it.
Girl 2: Then why do you always have it in your mouth?
(Pause...)
Girl 1: Because I'm in love with it.
Players:
Girl 1 -- Late teens, early twenties female, dyed blonde hair. Presumably the elder sister of girl 2
Girl 2 -- 10 year old gir. Brown hair. Wearing a shirt that read "Blondes have more fun."
Girl 1 leans against the side of the elevator, with hand to her mouth. In her hand is her mobile phone.
Girl 2: Why are you always biting your cell phone?
Girl 1: (Annoyed) I'm not biting it.
Girl 2: Then why do you always have it in your mouth?
(Pause...)
Girl 1: Because I'm in love with it.
Saturday, March 11, 2006
random
You know how in ads they often have beautiful photos of random places? I was dorking around Canon's site and wanted to take a look at a night shot from the camera to see how it compares to the ones I've taken with the same camera. Oh right, the photo.
While look at this photo, my first reaction was that my night photo came out just as well, of not better. With a 30s exposure, I found that the stars move quite a bit (ok... enough to be noticeable on this kick-ass camera). Sure, most of my night shots sucked. But thankfully I was mindful enough to take a number of shots at varying ISO speeds and shutter timings. My best shot was at 30s too, but at 100 ISO so that you can tell what's stars vs. what's graininess in the photo. This shot was taken on Mt. Fuji in the middle of the night. It was incredible how many stars there were (though not as many as in the southern hemisphere).
But back to the point... I was taking a close look at the photo on Canon's site, and I realized that it looked vaguely familiar. No, not because I looked at the photo earlier in the year when I was deciding if I should buy the camera. What caught my attention was the odd windows on the church. I've seen those somewhere before. On The Church of the Good Shepherd at Lake Tekapo in New Zealand to be precise. I looked up the church, and yep, it was the same one in the Canon photo. Heh... and I remember thinking the first time I saw the photo how it must be some random place in Scotland or something. Little did I know...
You may be wondering if I have my own photo of the church. I don't. I *do* have a photo looking towards the lake from the rear of the church. d=
While look at this photo, my first reaction was that my night photo came out just as well, of not better. With a 30s exposure, I found that the stars move quite a bit (ok... enough to be noticeable on this kick-ass camera). Sure, most of my night shots sucked. But thankfully I was mindful enough to take a number of shots at varying ISO speeds and shutter timings. My best shot was at 30s too, but at 100 ISO so that you can tell what's stars vs. what's graininess in the photo. This shot was taken on Mt. Fuji in the middle of the night. It was incredible how many stars there were (though not as many as in the southern hemisphere).
But back to the point... I was taking a close look at the photo on Canon's site, and I realized that it looked vaguely familiar. No, not because I looked at the photo earlier in the year when I was deciding if I should buy the camera. What caught my attention was the odd windows on the church. I've seen those somewhere before. On The Church of the Good Shepherd at Lake Tekapo in New Zealand to be precise. I looked up the church, and yep, it was the same one in the Canon photo. Heh... and I remember thinking the first time I saw the photo how it must be some random place in Scotland or something. Little did I know...
You may be wondering if I have my own photo of the church. I don't. I *do* have a photo looking towards the lake from the rear of the church. d=
radioactive fun!
Recently my mom decided to pass on to me some of her photography equipment that she has when she was a student. Included in it was a Staticmaster brush. It came in a oversized clear plastic case, but more importantly, it has a caution label proudly declaring the following:
Nice. Needless to say, I was a bit curious as to how radioactive the thing was. After a quick google search, I found that the element Polonium has a half life of 138 days. Since it's been about 33 years since the manufacture of this brush, that calculates to about 87 half lives.
Remaining Polonium? How about 6.46 x 10^-27 percent of the original amount. For those not familiar with scientific notation, that would be:
0.00000000000000000000000000646%
Does that make the brush worthless? Absolutely not. It's still a nice camel hair brush, useful for cleaning all sorts of stuff (like my fancy screen). Does the radioactivity help? Maybe. But also consider that this product was first created in the glory days of radioactivity... similar to how today is the glory days of trans-fat, carbs, the letter X (Xtreme!!), and the letter i (iPod, iTunes, iRobot???). Want an example? How about some sweet radioactive spark plugs? Sure, deionizing air in the combustion chamber may help a spark travel through the air/fuel mixture, but probably not. And just ignore the fact that the Polonium would be 75% gone in less than a year after production (not installation). Isn't marketing fun?
caution Radiation from polonimum is dangerous if the solid material is ingested or inhaled. Do not touch strip under grid. Keep away from children. See instructions. Guar. until:
SEP 74 B
MODEL NO. 1C 200
NULCEAR PRODUCTS CO
EL MONTE, CALIFORNIA
Nice. Needless to say, I was a bit curious as to how radioactive the thing was. After a quick google search, I found that the element Polonium has a half life of 138 days. Since it's been about 33 years since the manufacture of this brush, that calculates to about 87 half lives.
Remaining Polonium? How about 6.46 x 10^-27 percent of the original amount. For those not familiar with scientific notation, that would be:
0.00000000000000000000000000646%
Does that make the brush worthless? Absolutely not. It's still a nice camel hair brush, useful for cleaning all sorts of stuff (like my fancy screen). Does the radioactivity help? Maybe. But also consider that this product was first created in the glory days of radioactivity... similar to how today is the glory days of trans-fat, carbs, the letter X (Xtreme!!), and the letter i (iPod, iTunes, iRobot???). Want an example? How about some sweet radioactive spark plugs? Sure, deionizing air in the combustion chamber may help a spark travel through the air/fuel mixture, but probably not. And just ignore the fact that the Polonium would be 75% gone in less than a year after production (not installation). Isn't marketing fun?
Friday, March 10, 2006
mmm.... beer....
Came across this randomly. I would totally rent a car from this company (not)...
http://www.flickr.com/photos/90642970@N00/110454074/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/90642970@N00/110454074/
Thursday, March 09, 2006
surprise!
Apparently Yale has some pretty insane athletic facilities. What's up with having a pool on the 3rd floor of a building? Or a totally enormous weight room? Sure, I can continue to question why, but to be honest, I have no issues with it... unlike the major issues I had with CMU's total lack of greenspace.
And thanks for littering the overused intramural fields with rocks. As if the fact that we only has a field the size of a baseball diamond for the entire university wasn't bad enough...
And thanks for littering the overused intramural fields with rocks. As if the fact that we only has a field the size of a baseball diamond for the entire university wasn't bad enough...
Monday, March 06, 2006
CMU
I just filled out a loooong survey for CMU where I got to express some of my discontent with the school. Yes, I know I'm in the minority, but I was also in CS. Isn't that enough of a reason?
I guess to sum it up, my beef is that once you're in CS, it's like a trap. You can't get out. You think you can, and you see ways to do it, but there are surprises at every corner to hold you back and put you in your place.
Yes, I met a ton of cool people at CMU, but you know what? I didn't really get a chance to meet many of you till Junior and Senior year. And yes, I still feel cheated. Cheated that the way the curriculum is structured I got to hang out with the same dull CS crowd 80% of the time. It wasn't till senior year when I was taking almost all HCI classes (as my CS electives), that I actually met some cool people in class (who coincidentally weren't CS major. funny, eh?).
Then there's the fact that even with those HCI classes, it seemed like the school was more interested in cranking out hard core CS students and less interested in crafting the curriculum around the students. Yes, I am a computer science major. Yes, I can program like a star if I wanted to. But guess what? I signed up for HCI so that I could learn more about the design and pyschology aspects of creating computing solutions. I didn't sign up so that I could be thrown into some bullshit class to learn how to make my own Java classes. I learned how to do that in my CS classes. And if I wanted to learn how to program some more, then I guess I would have taken another straight CS class. Let me take the prototyping class if I want to dammit. (they did change this policy, but only after I had to take the class) Oh, and not only was the class "teaching" us to use Java, but it also seemed ridiculous what we were doing. Creating a UI set using an existing UI library. Brilliant!
OK. I'm done. Perhaps when I get my other degree I can stop venting. And I didn't even get into school spirit...
--------
Glossary:
HCI - Human Computer Interaction
CS - Computer Science
CMU - Carnegie Mellon University. No hard feelings, Central Mich
I guess to sum it up, my beef is that once you're in CS, it's like a trap. You can't get out. You think you can, and you see ways to do it, but there are surprises at every corner to hold you back and put you in your place.
Yes, I met a ton of cool people at CMU, but you know what? I didn't really get a chance to meet many of you till Junior and Senior year. And yes, I still feel cheated. Cheated that the way the curriculum is structured I got to hang out with the same dull CS crowd 80% of the time. It wasn't till senior year when I was taking almost all HCI classes (as my CS electives), that I actually met some cool people in class (who coincidentally weren't CS major. funny, eh?).
Then there's the fact that even with those HCI classes, it seemed like the school was more interested in cranking out hard core CS students and less interested in crafting the curriculum around the students. Yes, I am a computer science major. Yes, I can program like a star if I wanted to. But guess what? I signed up for HCI so that I could learn more about the design and pyschology aspects of creating computing solutions. I didn't sign up so that I could be thrown into some bullshit class to learn how to make my own Java classes. I learned how to do that in my CS classes. And if I wanted to learn how to program some more, then I guess I would have taken another straight CS class. Let me take the prototyping class if I want to dammit. (they did change this policy, but only after I had to take the class) Oh, and not only was the class "teaching" us to use Java, but it also seemed ridiculous what we were doing. Creating a UI set using an existing UI library. Brilliant!
OK. I'm done. Perhaps when I get my other degree I can stop venting. And I didn't even get into school spirit...
--------
Glossary:
HCI - Human Computer Interaction
CS - Computer Science
CMU - Carnegie Mellon University. No hard feelings, Central Mich
Saturday, March 04, 2006
Confirmation
Me delivering the news to Laz, the one person from Chicken Bowl I that voted KFC's fried chicken superior to Popeye's.
paulip88: From the New Haven Restaurant Guide on Popeye's
paulip88: "They serve much better chicken than KFC"...
RedhawkLAZ: DAMN IT
RedhawkLAZ: fucking biased whores
paulip88: On KFC:
paulip88: "A standard fast-food place... that loses the fast-food fried-chicken battle to Popeye's"
RedhawkLAZ: you are a bitch
RedhawkLAZ: stop ruining the colonel for me
paulip88: From the New Haven Restaurant Guide on Popeye's
paulip88: "They serve much better chicken than KFC"...
RedhawkLAZ: DAMN IT
RedhawkLAZ: fucking biased whores
paulip88: On KFC:
paulip88: "A standard fast-food place... that loses the fast-food fried-chicken battle to Popeye's"
RedhawkLAZ: you are a bitch
RedhawkLAZ: stop ruining the colonel for me
Monday, February 27, 2006
makes a great gift
I decided to explore craigslist today. As usual, there's always something strange o'er there. This time it was in the garage sale section. Not sure how it made it there...
http://cleveland.craigslist.org/gms/137173036.html
http://cleveland.craigslist.org/gms/137173036.html
Sunday, February 26, 2006
terrible mapping experiences
So I've been trying to locate a few things using online mapping tools tonight. I started by using Google Earth, which is great for visually plotting locations. I then fell into the trap of using its search function. I was initially impressed by its ability to locate the things that I was looking for.
Some background: Someone I know is going to be moving to New Haven, CT this fall, and since they aren't any good at doing anything without my help, I'm looking for stores that we can go to to get stuff. You know, move in stuff. So basically a Target, Sam's Club or Costco, Home Depot or Lowe's... that sort of thing.
So somewhere along the way I decided to see if Google Earth missed any. Basically I was disappointed/surprised to see that the closest Sam's Club was 12 miles from downtown New Haven. So I check out the Sam's Club Web site. I could find the locate store function fairly easily, but it took me about 5 minutes to figure out that it would only work in IE because it uses a strange variant popup (aka "bastard popup").
The first online mapping horror: Sam's Club's map's inability to zoom out
As someone not familiar with New Haven, it would be nice to zoom out to get some orientation of where the place is in relationship to the city. No can do here. And what's up with the black and white Mapquest map? I thought they've always had color maps.
The second online mapping horror: Google Earth sucks
You know how I mentioned that Google Earth told me that the closest Sam's Club was 12 miles away? Apparently the location that Google Earth found and plotted was nowhere close to where the real Sam's Club really was. It was off by about ***8 miles!*** The worst part? I need to recheck everything that I've found so far. And you know what that means... more fun with store sites... ugh....
The third online mapping horror: Home Depot's stores disappear
I was happy with this to start. It was easy to find, and unlike Sam's, it actually worked on my browser. Always a plus when things work. At least I thought it worked. Try zooming in (so you can actually see where the two locations are). Note that the first location is in North Haven and the second is in Orange. Also note where these points are on the map. Click on the North Haven location, then hit the back button. Say you want to re-submit the data. After all, submitting the same ZIP again should yield the same stores, right? Kind of... What's the second store now? Wallingford? What happened to Orange? It's still on the map, but Wallingford is actually about 15 miles to the north of New Haven, not to the southwest as the map indicates.
Fourth online mapping horror: Costco's crap print map, now online
Try finding this location on a real map. Seriously, give it a shot. Here's a map from Google Maps. Note that Costco insists that I-95 runs straight north and south. As far as I can tell, I-95 goes northeast and southwest, with a smidge of northwest southeast. Actually, there is not a single point in the entire state that goes north-south, and definitely not when it intersects with Boston Post Rd. Oh yeah... even better, the map says that Boston Post Road goes northwest/southeast. In reality, the entire road goes perpendicular to what the map says. Very nice... The fact that the map sucks so much makes me not want to shop there. At least Google Earth found this one right.
Some background: Someone I know is going to be moving to New Haven, CT this fall, and since they aren't any good at doing anything without my help, I'm looking for stores that we can go to to get stuff. You know, move in stuff. So basically a Target, Sam's Club or Costco, Home Depot or Lowe's... that sort of thing.
So somewhere along the way I decided to see if Google Earth missed any. Basically I was disappointed/surprised to see that the closest Sam's Club was 12 miles from downtown New Haven. So I check out the Sam's Club Web site. I could find the locate store function fairly easily, but it took me about 5 minutes to figure out that it would only work in IE because it uses a strange variant popup (aka "bastard popup").
The first online mapping horror: Sam's Club's map's inability to zoom out
As someone not familiar with New Haven, it would be nice to zoom out to get some orientation of where the place is in relationship to the city. No can do here. And what's up with the black and white Mapquest map? I thought they've always had color maps.
The second online mapping horror: Google Earth sucks
You know how I mentioned that Google Earth told me that the closest Sam's Club was 12 miles away? Apparently the location that Google Earth found and plotted was nowhere close to where the real Sam's Club really was. It was off by about ***8 miles!*** The worst part? I need to recheck everything that I've found so far. And you know what that means... more fun with store sites... ugh....
The third online mapping horror: Home Depot's stores disappear
I was happy with this to start. It was easy to find, and unlike Sam's, it actually worked on my browser. Always a plus when things work. At least I thought it worked. Try zooming in (so you can actually see where the two locations are). Note that the first location is in North Haven and the second is in Orange. Also note where these points are on the map. Click on the North Haven location, then hit the back button. Say you want to re-submit the data. After all, submitting the same ZIP again should yield the same stores, right? Kind of... What's the second store now? Wallingford? What happened to Orange? It's still on the map, but Wallingford is actually about 15 miles to the north of New Haven, not to the southwest as the map indicates.
Fourth online mapping horror: Costco's crap print map, now online
Try finding this location on a real map. Seriously, give it a shot. Here's a map from Google Maps. Note that Costco insists that I-95 runs straight north and south. As far as I can tell, I-95 goes northeast and southwest, with a smidge of northwest southeast. Actually, there is not a single point in the entire state that goes north-south, and definitely not when it intersects with Boston Post Rd. Oh yeah... even better, the map says that Boston Post Road goes northwest/southeast. In reality, the entire road goes perpendicular to what the map says. Very nice... The fact that the map sucks so much makes me not want to shop there. At least Google Earth found this one right.
Saturday, February 18, 2006
after dark
Reminiscing... I'm about to go across the room to read something, but I'd like to keep track of this upload so I know when to upload the next file... However, I know that before it's done the screensaver will start going. This means that either I'll have to disable the screensaver, or get up every 18 minutes to flip it off.
I remember a time when I had a screensaver that had this feature that would be great for this situation. The screensaver software was After Dark, the ever-popular screensaver for the Mac back in the 1990's. It had this feature where it would do different things if you moved the mouse to a corner of the screen. For example, if I moved the mouse to the top right of the screen, the screensaver would instantly come up. Similarly, if I moved it to the bottom right corner, the screensaver would never come on. Something that I could certainly use right now.
<grumble>
Oh... and for those of you who are wondering about the random scream, it doesn't mean anything. It's just a random scream. Bad habit, I know.
I remember a time when I had a screensaver that had this feature that would be great for this situation. The screensaver software was After Dark, the ever-popular screensaver for the Mac back in the 1990's. It had this feature where it would do different things if you moved the mouse to a corner of the screen. For example, if I moved the mouse to the top right of the screen, the screensaver would instantly come up. Similarly, if I moved it to the bottom right corner, the screensaver would never come on. Something that I could certainly use right now.
<grumble>
Oh... and for those of you who are wondering about the random scream, it doesn't mean anything. It's just a random scream. Bad habit, I know.
Thursday, February 16, 2006
followup
I have my followup appointment with the surgeon today. Hopefully I get the all clear and everything is going well. Wish me luck!
Wednesday, February 08, 2006
stool softeners
Yet another post of poor taste...
But these stool softeners are amazingly consistent in how they operate. If I take them before bed, the results come at 11am the following morning. This is after 3 days of observation.
Definitely more effective than the Percocet. That neither had the painkilling effect, nor the narcotic effect. The generic was probably a placebo (at least that's the story I'm sticking to). Well, it's about that time....
But these stool softeners are amazingly consistent in how they operate. If I take them before bed, the results come at 11am the following morning. This is after 3 days of observation.
Definitely more effective than the Percocet. That neither had the painkilling effect, nor the narcotic effect. The generic was probably a placebo (at least that's the story I'm sticking to). Well, it's about that time....
Saturday, February 04, 2006
wish list?
My dad asked me about getting a "Jump Drive" today. Personally, I'm not a fan of calling those things "Jump Drives" since it's a brand name that is completely dead to me. Does anyone actually own a "Jump Drive" branded USB drive? For those who also have never heard of "Jump Drive," it's neither a drive nor does it jump. It's one of those small USB devices that you can save stuff to. Often accompanied by a lanyard or something.
My dad's request did get me thinking... perhaps I should get one. I'll add it to my list of potential toys to get prior to going to school.
Here's the initial list:
My dad's request did get me thinking... perhaps I should get one. I'll add it to my list of potential toys to get prior to going to school.
Here's the initial list:
- Portable USB drive - as big, cheap, and portable as possible. Current contenders: LaCie Carte Orange (8GB, 6mm thick, size of a credit card, and cheap!), Imation USB wristband (weak at 256MB), anything that can get perpendicular, another iPod?
- Laptop - specs TBD. Something with a big screen. 1400x1050 minimum! No way I'm going back to anything smaller (unless um... money).
- Desktop - maybe.... probably not. Faster CPU is the only thing I might need... to support my crack-like photography habit.
- Clothes - I will need new clothes at some point, right?
- PDA - may not be necessary if I find a small enough laptop that can boot up quickly... combining it with a phone may actually make it practical, but I like my phone. It's small, gets good reception, and the battery remarkably still kinda works. No crackberry though.
Friday, February 03, 2006
update.... plus the stupidest web blunder of the year
I'm alive. I made it through surgery. I can walk around, but my back hurts and it seems like my body doesn't want to stand up straight (yet). I do get to finally take the bandage off this afternoon and take a peek, so maybe that's something to look forward to. And I'm really really really bored.
It's only Friday, so maybe I'll feel good enough to go watch the Super Bowl on Sunday. However, the thing that scares me is Laz. If he tried to tackle me like he did Greg right after his surgery, I will have to kill him. Maybe I should get a restraining order first. It would be *very* unpleasant to re-open a wound that (or any other night).
So... you're wondering what the stupidest web blunder is? Try going to American Express' Web site. Seriously. Try it!
If you're like many people, you probably typed in "www.americanexpress.com." But any luck? Probably not. Let me tell you why... The idiots at American Express decided that they're special and that they're going to use the URL home.americanexpress.com. That's perfectly fine and good, but you should at lease make www.americanexpress.com work too, for all those people who might think that you guys would support the same www. subdomain that everyone else in the world seems to support. I wonder how many people will miss payments because of this...
It's only Friday, so maybe I'll feel good enough to go watch the Super Bowl on Sunday. However, the thing that scares me is Laz. If he tried to tackle me like he did Greg right after his surgery, I will have to kill him. Maybe I should get a restraining order first. It would be *very* unpleasant to re-open a wound that (or any other night).
So... you're wondering what the stupidest web blunder is? Try going to American Express' Web site. Seriously. Try it!
If you're like many people, you probably typed in "www.americanexpress.com." But any luck? Probably not. Let me tell you why... The idiots at American Express decided that they're special and that they're going to use the URL home.americanexpress.com. That's perfectly fine and good, but you should at lease make www.americanexpress.com work too, for all those people who might think that you guys would support the same www. subdomain that everyone else in the world seems to support. I wonder how many people will miss payments because of this...
Thursday, January 26, 2006
i am no fun
**WARNING**
Some of the content of this post is excessively descriptive. Really... I'm putting this here for a reason.
***************
So, does anyone want to do anything this weekend? Sorry, I'm busy Friday and Saturday night. Want to do something for Superbowl Sunday? No, I can't make it. When will I be able to hang out? Um... maybe March?
It's not that I don't like you (well... maybe), but I'm going to be busy. Busy doing what? Busy having a nurse shave my balls. (-; Literally.
Yeah, my insides are falling out and the doc needs to patch me up with a plastic mesh to keep my innards *in*. No, I'm not kidding!
I have a hernia and I need to get it fixed. Not familiar with hernias? It's when your intestines find a way out of the abdominal cavity. Mine is an inguinal hernia, meaning that it's protruding out of my crotch. No, that extra mass down there isn't a good thing! No sex for weeks afterwards! (not that that would really matter anyway...)
No, it doesn't really hurt. It definitely feels unusual. Unusual how it occassionally feels like something is putting pressure on a third testicle down there that I don't have. Oh... and when I fart, or have bowel movements, I can feel it move sometimes. (-; Don't you ever wonder how you can have a lot of gas but you don't look visibly bigger? Well, with a hernia, it's almost like a little window. You can't see inside, but you can feel as your lunch (or dinner) moves through while you're sitting on the can. (-; Jealous, huh?
Want one of your very own? I don't really recommend it, but you can try to get one by smoking a lot to develop a good smokers' cough. You can also try to lift really heavy stuff. Uber-constipation also helps. Or, you overachievers out there can try to smoke, cough, and lift heavy objects while trying to force constipated poop out of your rectum. Your body, you do what you want.
As for me? I'm not really sure how I got mine. I'm sure my cough at the beginning of January certainly didn't help. Or maybe it was me propping up my bed to help my cough... or the combination of the two? Either way, I don't smoke and I'm pretty sure it's not constipation.
If you have read this entire post up to this point, give yourself a pat on the back. Was it the morbid curiousity, or do your *really* have nothing better to do?
Some of the content of this post is excessively descriptive. Really... I'm putting this here for a reason.
***************
So, does anyone want to do anything this weekend? Sorry, I'm busy Friday and Saturday night. Want to do something for Superbowl Sunday? No, I can't make it. When will I be able to hang out? Um... maybe March?
It's not that I don't like you (well... maybe), but I'm going to be busy. Busy doing what? Busy having a nurse shave my balls. (-; Literally.
Yeah, my insides are falling out and the doc needs to patch me up with a plastic mesh to keep my innards *in*. No, I'm not kidding!
I have a hernia and I need to get it fixed. Not familiar with hernias? It's when your intestines find a way out of the abdominal cavity. Mine is an inguinal hernia, meaning that it's protruding out of my crotch. No, that extra mass down there isn't a good thing! No sex for weeks afterwards! (not that that would really matter anyway...)
No, it doesn't really hurt. It definitely feels unusual. Unusual how it occassionally feels like something is putting pressure on a third testicle down there that I don't have. Oh... and when I fart, or have bowel movements, I can feel it move sometimes. (-; Don't you ever wonder how you can have a lot of gas but you don't look visibly bigger? Well, with a hernia, it's almost like a little window. You can't see inside, but you can feel as your lunch (or dinner) moves through while you're sitting on the can. (-; Jealous, huh?
Want one of your very own? I don't really recommend it, but you can try to get one by smoking a lot to develop a good smokers' cough. You can also try to lift really heavy stuff. Uber-constipation also helps. Or, you overachievers out there can try to smoke, cough, and lift heavy objects while trying to force constipated poop out of your rectum. Your body, you do what you want.
As for me? I'm not really sure how I got mine. I'm sure my cough at the beginning of January certainly didn't help. Or maybe it was me propping up my bed to help my cough... or the combination of the two? Either way, I don't smoke and I'm pretty sure it's not constipation.
If you have read this entire post up to this point, give yourself a pat on the back. Was it the morbid curiousity, or do your *really* have nothing better to do?
Friday, January 20, 2006
almost queen, part deux
Almost Queen was in town again today, and I was there again to witness it.
Different set, but still an awesome performance. Unlike the last concert, this time it was packed. I even saw a few people from work there. They were impressed as well.
I'm not going to write a ton on it again, because I already did it before. They still rock. Here's my previous post.
Different set, but still an awesome performance. Unlike the last concert, this time it was packed. I even saw a few people from work there. They were impressed as well.
I'm not going to write a ton on it again, because I already did it before. They still rock. Here's my previous post.
Thursday, January 19, 2006
must feed
In theory, cooking your own meals at home is cheaper than going out to eat. I put that to the test today...
$4.60 Strip Steak
$0.55 Onion
$1.99 Mushrooms
$0.72 Tomato
---------------------------
$7.86 Total from Heinen's
Add to that the probably $1.00 worth of lettuce, oil, dressing that I used. About $8.88 or so. Pricey for a home-cooked meal, but still cheaper than eating out and getting something similar. Only problem is that I overcooked the steak. :-(
Next time I'll do better.
$4.60 Strip Steak
$0.55 Onion
$1.99 Mushrooms
$0.72 Tomato
---------------------------
$7.86 Total from Heinen's
Add to that the probably $1.00 worth of lettuce, oil, dressing that I used. About $8.88 or so. Pricey for a home-cooked meal, but still cheaper than eating out and getting something similar. Only problem is that I overcooked the steak. :-(
Next time I'll do better.
Wednesday, January 18, 2006
political commentary of the day
My comments from signing the moveon.org petition to have an independent investigation of domestic wiretapping activities:
I can understand the justification of reduced civil liberties in a time of war. However, what is troubling in this situation is that our fight on terrorism is one that has no clear end.
If we can foresee an attainable definition of victory, then it would be justifiable to reduce civil liberties temporarily for the purpose of preserving our nation and what it represents.
However, in the present situation, it appears that there is no clear end to the war on terrorism. This creates a scenario where our civil liberties can become permanently suspended. If this is the case, then the terrorists would have effectively destroyed what makes our society unique.
While I do not protest the use of executive power on the grounds of being in a state of war, I do have strong objections to using this justification as a means to permanently reduce our civil liberties.
these guys are awesome!
So I was reading my new favorite newspaper, the International Herald Tribune (more on this later), and spotted this article on NFL quarterbacks and their facial hair. Halfway through the article, there was a quote from the captain of Beard Team USA. Needless to say, I had to check it out.
And what did I find? Wonderful, wonderful beards. Not in your wildest dreams would you find such bountifully abundant moustaches and beards. Check the world champs.
So back to the International Herald Tribune... I've been using news.google.com more recently, and I've noticed that iht.com was by far the easiest online news to read. I poked around their site some today and learned that this is the very same newspaper that I like to steal whenever I'm in Chicago's O'Hare airport. Good articles, good broad coverage, and none of the tabloid crap that's so common nowadays. Sorry. I'm not a huge fan of gossip.
And what did I find? Wonderful, wonderful beards. Not in your wildest dreams would you find such bountifully abundant moustaches and beards. Check the world champs.
So back to the International Herald Tribune... I've been using news.google.com more recently, and I've noticed that iht.com was by far the easiest online news to read. I poked around their site some today and learned that this is the very same newspaper that I like to steal whenever I'm in Chicago's O'Hare airport. Good articles, good broad coverage, and none of the tabloid crap that's so common nowadays. Sorry. I'm not a huge fan of gossip.
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