Ever wanted to be a trucker?
Sunday, January 15, 2006
Thursday, January 12, 2006
random thoughts
A rambling of some of the thoughts that have been running through my mind:
- "I'm getting nothing done"
Clearly... you're writing in your blog. You haven't done this in an entire week. Clearly procrastinating... - "Maybe I should buy a Mac. For some reason they actually seem somewhat affordable now."
Um... you may have no choice what computer you'll end up getting. Either way, it probably won't be a Mac, unless you go photo crazy. Get some L glass first, then worry about the computer. - "I should go buy software"
- "Should I get a new battery for my iPod mini?"
No. It technically still works. It's just a little tempermental. How often do you use the battery anyway? Suck it up and deal with it.
Thursday, January 05, 2006
jump starting the 2006 travel season
OK... that's a complete misnomer... especially since this is a one day trip and I have no firm travel plans for the rest of the year. But just you wait... there might be some extensive excursions!
Right?
Oh right. I'm flying to Boston in the morning, and coming back Saturday. If weather permits, I may be at the Progressive Direct Year-End Event (yes... Year-End Event Jan 7th!).
Right?
Oh right. I'm flying to Boston in the morning, and coming back Saturday. If weather permits, I may be at the Progressive Direct Year-End Event (yes... Year-End Event Jan 7th!).
Wednesday, January 04, 2006
compare and contrast
Not to be totally insensitive... but...
Coal mining deaths in the US
Coal mining deaths in China
Nation mourns 12 deaths from a single event, vs. no one really talks about the average 16 deaths/day in China. Same compare and contrast for US military fatalities vs. Chinese mining fatalities. Then again, there are a lot of Chinese people, right?
Coal mining deaths in the US
Coal mining deaths in China
Nation mourns 12 deaths from a single event, vs. no one really talks about the average 16 deaths/day in China. Same compare and contrast for US military fatalities vs. Chinese mining fatalities. Then again, there are a lot of Chinese people, right?
Friday, December 30, 2005
i'm super cool
Yes, it's been a while. I've been busy distracting myself playing Realmz. Old school game for the Mac that I used to play when I was in middle school. Sadly, one of the few games that allows you to create your own party of characters. All I have to say is that TC Chau is a badass.
On a lighter note, I stayed up late last night for a stupid (or brilliant) reason. I was in the bathroom drawing on the mirrow. What was I drawing?.... facial hair. Not just one rendition, but several versions -- including one with a old school Chinese hero beard... complete with a section erased so that I could put my hand there as if I were stroking it. It's fantastic... trust me. ;-)
On a lighter note, I stayed up late last night for a stupid (or brilliant) reason. I was in the bathroom drawing on the mirrow. What was I drawing?.... facial hair. Not just one rendition, but several versions -- including one with a old school Chinese hero beard... complete with a section erased so that I could put my hand there as if I were stroking it. It's fantastic... trust me. ;-)
Sunday, December 25, 2005
merry xmas!
Question: Since "Xmas" is an acceptable abbreviation for "Christmas," does that mean that "Jesus X" is an acceptable abbreviation for "Jesus Christ?"
Slogan:
Jesus X - bringing Xianity into the 21st century.
(read: "Jesus Ex, bringing Christianity into the 21st century")
Slogan:
Jesus X - bringing Xianity into the 21st century.
(read: "Jesus Ex, bringing Christianity into the 21st century")
Friday, December 23, 2005
more weirdness
Dream #1: Stolen presents
I was in someone else's apartment in a big city (like New York or something) and I had my Xmas presents for my family on a table by the door. Randomly two kids appeared who tried to steal the present that I got for my mom. I pursued the kid into the kitchen. I wasn't too close behind, but as he turned around the kitchen table I jumped across it and landed a kick to his face. At that point I could have left him alone, but I was pretty agitated at him doing what he did, so I slapped him a few times on the face. I usually don't do that, so I explained to the guy how I've never done that to anyone before, but that he deserved it. After that, I let him go.
When I went back to the living room, I noticed that the kid snatched one of the other gifts on his way out the door. That really pissed me off. Not only did he steal again, but he stole the present that I got for the dog, which is a dog toy worth $2.99. What a pain in the ass. I ran downstairs to the street and saw the kids in a Hummer parked across the street. I ran across the street and in a moment of brilliance jumped onto the hood of the car. They must have been expecting that (for reasons unknown) because the car was covered in grease. It was like holding on to an exhaust hood at a restaurant. I slipped off as he accellerated away from the curb and I found myself flying through the air.
Once I was on the hood I realized I was in trouble. There was no reason why the kid wouldn't start the car just because I was there. My worries were confirmed as I flew through the air in what seemed like slow motion. As I flew, I glanced around to see if I would get hit by any oncoming traffic. I saw a few cars, but I could tell from the looks of the drivers' faces that they saw me as I flew. I soon noticed that it didn't just *seem* like slow motion, it really *was* slow motion. The cars were still going normal speed, though they slowed down to see the random guy floating in the air.
Fin.
Dream #2: Flickr taken over!
In this dream Flickr, the awesome photo site, became part of Rob Galbraith's site, an awesome photography site. I was pretty pissed off since I like flickr and Rob Galbraith has no business taking it over. Not only that, but they completely changed the name. All instances of the flickr logo were replaced by a robgalbraithsets.com banner with the same logo as robgalbraith.com. At this point, I realized this was too crazy to be true and that I must be dreaming.
I was in someone else's apartment in a big city (like New York or something) and I had my Xmas presents for my family on a table by the door. Randomly two kids appeared who tried to steal the present that I got for my mom. I pursued the kid into the kitchen. I wasn't too close behind, but as he turned around the kitchen table I jumped across it and landed a kick to his face. At that point I could have left him alone, but I was pretty agitated at him doing what he did, so I slapped him a few times on the face. I usually don't do that, so I explained to the guy how I've never done that to anyone before, but that he deserved it. After that, I let him go.
When I went back to the living room, I noticed that the kid snatched one of the other gifts on his way out the door. That really pissed me off. Not only did he steal again, but he stole the present that I got for the dog, which is a dog toy worth $2.99. What a pain in the ass. I ran downstairs to the street and saw the kids in a Hummer parked across the street. I ran across the street and in a moment of brilliance jumped onto the hood of the car. They must have been expecting that (for reasons unknown) because the car was covered in grease. It was like holding on to an exhaust hood at a restaurant. I slipped off as he accellerated away from the curb and I found myself flying through the air.
Once I was on the hood I realized I was in trouble. There was no reason why the kid wouldn't start the car just because I was there. My worries were confirmed as I flew through the air in what seemed like slow motion. As I flew, I glanced around to see if I would get hit by any oncoming traffic. I saw a few cars, but I could tell from the looks of the drivers' faces that they saw me as I flew. I soon noticed that it didn't just *seem* like slow motion, it really *was* slow motion. The cars were still going normal speed, though they slowed down to see the random guy floating in the air.
Fin.
Dream #2: Flickr taken over!
In this dream Flickr, the awesome photo site, became part of Rob Galbraith's site, an awesome photography site. I was pretty pissed off since I like flickr and Rob Galbraith has no business taking it over. Not only that, but they completely changed the name. All instances of the flickr logo were replaced by a robgalbraithsets.com banner with the same logo as robgalbraith.com. At this point, I realized this was too crazy to be true and that I must be dreaming.
Tuesday, December 20, 2005
do i really live here?
I looked back at 2005 today and counted up the number of days I was out of Cleveland. Guess how many days...
Not totally sure, but it's somewhere around 62 days, give or take a few. Yikes! (happy "Yikes!")
Not totally sure, but it's somewhere around 62 days, give or take a few. Yikes! (happy "Yikes!")
Monday, December 19, 2005
good news!
Looks like there is a 100% chance I'll be moving out of Cleveland next year. Where to? Don't know yet. But I know that I'll be at least going *somewhere*!
Thursday, December 15, 2005
beautiful greymouth...
Day 3 - Greymouth
The wonderful Top 10 Holiday Park at Greymouth. Note that there are 50 such parks that are in the Top 10. Yeah... We count good.
Originally uploaded by paulip88.
No better way to finish day 3 than gagging over the car parked next to your cabin.
Wednesday, December 14, 2005
cheapest trip ever
Typical trip cost: US$1000 per week
Estimated trip cost: US$3285
Actual trip cost: US$2370
An awesome trip that's 30% under budget? Even more awesome!
Estimated trip cost: US$3285
Actual trip cost: US$2370
An awesome trip that's 30% under budget? Even more awesome!
Saturday, December 10, 2005
i'm alive!
Hey all! For the record, I'm still alive. I haven't had internet much recently, but thanks to Samsung's free internet kiosk here in Sydney I can make my first post in three weeks.
The trips been awesome so far, but all good things come to an end and I'll be back in the States in a few days. Yes, complete with my golden tan from my extra couple weeks on summer this year. :-)
I'll have some more updates and commentary too. Expect to see a few new photos posted as well. You know I took a bunch. Maybe 7GB worth?
Till next time...
The trips been awesome so far, but all good things come to an end and I'll be back in the States in a few days. Yes, complete with my golden tan from my extra couple weeks on summer this year. :-)
I'll have some more updates and commentary too. Expect to see a few new photos posted as well. You know I took a bunch. Maybe 7GB worth?
Till next time...
Sunday, November 20, 2005
and i'm off!
And at 3am in the morning, I start my journey. I'll be there in 36 hours! Yeah... it doesn't really take that long to fly to New Zealand, but I'm spending most of today in Los Angeles. Going to check out the Getty!
You'll probably hear from me again before I return. Check back?
You'll probably hear from me again before I return. Check back?
Thursday, November 17, 2005
erg...
I just checked United's schedule for "entertainment." Allegedly I have to watch a movie about two 11-year-olds who fall in love. Please tell me this is some sort of joke...
Thankfully Qantas will bail me out with a slew of 6 movies on the trans-Pacific flight. I might even get 7 on the way back. That may be a new record for movies. Sure beats the super combo of Like Mike, Juwanna Man, The Tuxedo, Garfield, and (probably some movie with Jennifer Love Hewitt, basketball, kids, or all of the above) that I got to see on the flight from Chicago to Hong Kong.
Thankfully Qantas will bail me out with a slew of 6 movies on the trans-Pacific flight. I might even get 7 on the way back. That may be a new record for movies. Sure beats the super combo of Like Mike, Juwanna Man, The Tuxedo, Garfield, and
2 more days
Friday
Saturday
gone...
Apologies to everyone for being so busy. Grad school applications is incredibly time consuming. I need a vacation. :-)
Plans for when I come back? Aside from working my butt off, there's a NEOUPA/Web Association event the night that I get back. Heh heh... nothing like a night out to cure jet lag?
And I really need an MP3 player that has a 30 hour battery life or something. Not sure if I'll have any chance to charge up between my 7 hour transit to LA, the 3 hours on the bus in LA to the Getty Center, and the flight from LA to New Zealand. I'm really counting heavily on in-flight movies. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory on the way to LA (oh wait... that's not the name of the movie... jerks...)
Saturday
gone...
Apologies to everyone for being so busy. Grad school applications is incredibly time consuming. I need a vacation. :-)
Plans for when I come back? Aside from working my butt off, there's a NEOUPA/Web Association event the night that I get back. Heh heh... nothing like a night out to cure jet lag?
And I really need an MP3 player that has a 30 hour battery life or something. Not sure if I'll have any chance to charge up between my 7 hour transit to LA, the 3 hours on the bus in LA to the Getty Center, and the flight from LA to New Zealand. I'm really counting heavily on in-flight movies. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory on the way to LA (oh wait... that's not the name of the movie... jerks...)
Tuesday, November 15, 2005
i'm back!
I made it back! Nothing like driving 1400 miles in two days.
Yesterday I had the fun adventure of driving through Boston. Drove down stretches of the Jamaica Way and the VFW. Fun with rotarys. ;-)
So after about 22 hours on the road in the last two days (wow!), here are some of my observations:
From driving over the Appalachians:
Both types of drivers have a tendency to go slow up hills, and fast down hills. For trucks, I understand because the truck is heavy and full of stuff. Sure, it may be annoying, but they can't help it. Cars on the other hand, there is no excuse. There's nothing more annoying than some jackass who passes me down a hill going 90mph then crawls up the next one at 70mph. Pick a speed and stick with it. You'll get better gas mileage that way.
There is also the variant of people who slow down when passing people. Yes, you heard me right. No, it doesn't make a lot of sense. Usually what ends up happening is the cars just sit side by side for a few miles before some other event breaks up the stalemate (usually other traffic). Note this people, to pass, you must go faster than the other car. If you slow down, that defeats the purpose.
From driving at night:
High beams. Some people just don't understand how to use them. Specifically, some people leave them on ALL THE TIME! Thanks for trying to blind me.
From passing 99% of the cars on the road:
People respond differently to faster traffic. The ones who have good road awareness stick to the right when not passing and move over when they see someone coming up from behind them. I thank these people. They make my life a lot easier. On the other hand, there are those who hang out in the passing lane thinking that they are the speed king. Often, this isn't the case. If they move over, that's still cool. If they don't then I'll have to be a jerk and pass them on the right.
The nastier variant are those who get in a position to pass, but then sit there, leaving about 5 car lengths between them and the car they are in position to pass (note that they aren't passing). Here, I'd typically hold up and start the countdown, waiting for them to see me and move over like a gentleman. If they don't take the noble way out, I'll be forced to pass on the right and slip over in front of their slow self to get in front of their ill-conceived roadblock. Not the nicest thing to do, but I gave them a way out.
Once I did this, complete with a full suite of turn signals (as always... ;-). Apparently the guy had no idea what was going on (missed me sitting behind him, missed me passing him, missed my turn signal), honked at me, and tried chaging me down. Yeah. Thanks. You should have sped up before. Plus you wouldn't have thought I was cutting you off if you were actually paying attention to driving.
From being on a road full of trucks:
Trucks have a certain driving etiquette that makes them generally predictable and courteous. They generally stick to the right (90%+) and they often even wait for cars to pass first, knowing they accellerate slower. Another things that I've noticed is that when a truck has passed another truck, the slower truck signals with their high beams when it's clear to move back to the right lane. The passing truck often responds by flashing the hazard lights briefly or flashing the lights (low beams) to acknowledge. If only regular drivers had such training.
Cops:
Connecticut - decent number of cops. Not sure what they were doing.
New York - One cop in the median with lights out. Not sure if it was really a cop.
Pennsylvania - No cops anywhere to be found.
Ohio - Typical cop hanging out near Lordstown. No cops at the highway patrol ramp or by SR44.
Massachusetts - As far as I could tell, people just went as fast as traffic permitted. No cops.
Random sight of note:
On I-84 in New York I had the pleasure of seeing a Target truck pass a Wal-Mart truck. Yeah. Take that, Wal-Mart!
Yesterday I had the fun adventure of driving through Boston. Drove down stretches of the Jamaica Way and the VFW. Fun with rotarys. ;-)
So after about 22 hours on the road in the last two days (wow!), here are some of my observations:
From driving over the Appalachians:
Both types of drivers have a tendency to go slow up hills, and fast down hills. For trucks, I understand because the truck is heavy and full of stuff. Sure, it may be annoying, but they can't help it. Cars on the other hand, there is no excuse. There's nothing more annoying than some jackass who passes me down a hill going 90mph then crawls up the next one at 70mph. Pick a speed and stick with it. You'll get better gas mileage that way.
There is also the variant of people who slow down when passing people. Yes, you heard me right. No, it doesn't make a lot of sense. Usually what ends up happening is the cars just sit side by side for a few miles before some other event breaks up the stalemate (usually other traffic). Note this people, to pass, you must go faster than the other car. If you slow down, that defeats the purpose.
From driving at night:
High beams. Some people just don't understand how to use them. Specifically, some people leave them on ALL THE TIME! Thanks for trying to blind me.
From passing 99% of the cars on the road:
People respond differently to faster traffic. The ones who have good road awareness stick to the right when not passing and move over when they see someone coming up from behind them. I thank these people. They make my life a lot easier. On the other hand, there are those who hang out in the passing lane thinking that they are the speed king. Often, this isn't the case. If they move over, that's still cool. If they don't then I'll have to be a jerk and pass them on the right.
The nastier variant are those who get in a position to pass, but then sit there, leaving about 5 car lengths between them and the car they are in position to pass (note that they aren't passing). Here, I'd typically hold up and start the countdown, waiting for them to see me and move over like a gentleman. If they don't take the noble way out, I'll be forced to pass on the right and slip over in front of their slow self to get in front of their ill-conceived roadblock. Not the nicest thing to do, but I gave them a way out.
Once I did this, complete with a full suite of turn signals (as always... ;-). Apparently the guy had no idea what was going on (missed me sitting behind him, missed me passing him, missed my turn signal), honked at me, and tried chaging me down. Yeah. Thanks. You should have sped up before. Plus you wouldn't have thought I was cutting you off if you were actually paying attention to driving.
From being on a road full of trucks:
Trucks have a certain driving etiquette that makes them generally predictable and courteous. They generally stick to the right (90%+) and they often even wait for cars to pass first, knowing they accellerate slower. Another things that I've noticed is that when a truck has passed another truck, the slower truck signals with their high beams when it's clear to move back to the right lane. The passing truck often responds by flashing the hazard lights briefly or flashing the lights (low beams) to acknowledge. If only regular drivers had such training.
Cops:
Connecticut - decent number of cops. Not sure what they were doing.
New York - One cop in the median with lights out. Not sure if it was really a cop.
Pennsylvania - No cops anywhere to be found.
Ohio - Typical cop hanging out near Lordstown. No cops at the highway patrol ramp or by SR44.
Massachusetts - As far as I could tell, people just went as fast as traffic permitted. No cops.
Random sight of note:
On I-84 in New York I had the pleasure of seeing a Target truck pass a Wal-Mart truck. Yeah. Take that, Wal-Mart!
Sunday, November 13, 2005
branding
Quick post.
Good name: Bar Mitzvah
For a bar in a Jewish neighborhood (like Squirrel Hill, the Heights area in Cleveland). Or for a celebration for someone like Laz passing the Bar exam. Laz, I'm disappointed that we didn't take up this opportunity.
Bad name: Seaman brand Clam Chowder
Just say it a few times. It just sounds wrong.
Good name: Bar Mitzvah
For a bar in a Jewish neighborhood (like Squirrel Hill, the Heights area in Cleveland). Or for a celebration for someone like Laz passing the Bar exam. Laz, I'm disappointed that we didn't take up this opportunity.
Bad name: Seaman brand Clam Chowder
Just say it a few times. It just sounds wrong.
Wednesday, November 09, 2005
one more state down?
For those who don't know, I've been working towards the goal of hitting all 50 states. I've made good progress, thanks to a few road trips with my parents, but I'm still short a few.
I just realized that this weekend I'll be checking another state off the list: Rhode Island. No, I'm not stopping, but I'll be driving across the entire state Monday morning. Woo!
Maybe I'll visit Mark in the spring and cross off Delaware too. Those small states are tough to come by! Luckily, I have managed to get some difficult ones out of the way already, such as Alaska and Hawaii. ;-)
States left:
Wisconsin*
Missouri
Arkansas
North Dakota
Kansas
Oklahoma
Montana*
New Mexico*
Idaho*
Oregon
The ones with asterisks I've come within 50 miles of, but still managed to miss.
I just realized that this weekend I'll be checking another state off the list: Rhode Island. No, I'm not stopping, but I'll be driving across the entire state Monday morning. Woo!
Maybe I'll visit Mark in the spring and cross off Delaware too. Those small states are tough to come by! Luckily, I have managed to get some difficult ones out of the way already, such as Alaska and Hawaii. ;-)
States left:
Wisconsin*
Missouri
Arkansas
North Dakota
Kansas
Oklahoma
Montana*
New Mexico*
Idaho*
Oregon
The ones with asterisks I've come within 50 miles of, but still managed to miss.
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