Raising the Bar

I just watched TNT's newest original series Raising the Bar. Here's my review:

Hated it!


There wasn't one character in that series I gave a crap about. The lawyers in that show were unprofessional hacks and should have been tossed off the bar years ago. They weren't even real characters, just caricatures of characters from other, more popular crime and court room drama TV shows.

I don't get angry at shows very often but this show made me very mad. Grrrr.

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I’m easily amused

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Randomosity

Conversation overheard at Target as I was walking quickly down the aisle:

First guy (talking REALLY LOUDLY): "...I got fired at Walmart...I work at Home Depot now..."
Second guy (normal voice volume): "...mumble...mumble...mumble?"
First Guy: "[some guys name] told management that I threatened him..."

I was (thankfully) out of earshot after that.

Did I mention that the first guy was six foot seven and sporting tats?

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Good Deed Doer

Last week I did a good deed. I was leaving work with John, a coworker, and, while we were leaving the building we spotted a woman walking back toward the building. "Aren't you going the wrong way?" John asked. The woman (Kaitlyn) answered that she was walking back to find someone with jumper cables. "I have jumper cables", I said. So she pointed out where her car was and, while she walked to it, John and I went to fetch my car.

Kaitlyn's car was a Toyota hybrid and it had a teeny tiny battery. It was used to start the small gas engine in the car (the fuel cell or batteries for the electric motor were in the back somewhere under the seats). The car was a 2003 model so it's not surprising that the battery was no-good: it's a 5-year battery and it reached the end of it's normal life.

John and I hooked up the cables and Kaitlyn started up the car easily. I told here to drive around for at least twenty minutes or to give the battery a chance to fully charge. We also discussed that it was time to replace the battery. She had over 80,000 miles on the car. Wow! After only five years. I was impressed (my car has 180,000 miles on it but it took 16 years to reach that). She said she lived in California for three years. That makes sense.

We unhooked the cables and closed the hood of Kaitlyn's car. John went to his car and I drove off in mine leaving Kaitlyn while she was talking on her cell phone (probably to tell her sweetie that she was going to be late). Altogether it took ten minutes of my time. That felt good.

I bought those cables for purely selfish reasons: they replaced an older set I used several times on my first car, which had problems starting. That first car was a Mazda Mizer and it wasn't doing all that great as it got older. I probably only needed the old jumper cables two or three times but the lessons were burned into my brain. When I bought my first new car (a Plymouth Sundance) I transferred the cables to the new car. After a couple years, the old cables broke and I replaced them with a new set. Last week was the very first time I ever used the new cables. I don't regret that investment one bit. :)

I felt particularly good about this good deed because I was finally able to pay back a good deed a stranger gave me four years ago. In 2004 I bought 13 yards of landscaping in order to Xeriscape my back yard. Company policy dictated that they dump the rocks in the street in front of my house. They can't put the rocks in my driveway because it might crack the concrete driveway (13 yards of rock weighs a LOT). After they dumped the rocks I started hauling them back, one wheelbarrow at a time. I figured it would take about 90 loads to finish the job and, at the rate I was going, it would take 8 or 9 hours to do the job: 4 hours that evening and the rest the next morning (they delivered the rocks late in the afternoon).

After about two hours, this guy shows up in a van with his preteen son and takes a wheelbarrow and a couple shovels out of his van. He told me that he just wanted to help out. I offered him something to drink but he wasn't interested. His son grabbed a shovel and helped load the wheelbarrows. Together we worked for about 90 minutes until it started raining. I thanked the man and his son and they took off. This guy was much more physically fit than me and was able to fill and push his loads at a much quicker rate. I figured he completed 20-25 loads in that time compared to my paltry 10-12. Although his help was brief, he saved me at least two or three hours work. Due to the rain, I was only able to work 2 and a half hours that night. If it wasn't for that man's help, I would have spent all the next morning and some of the afternoon completing the job. Instead I spent slightly less than 4 hours on it the next morning.

While the guy and his son were filling his wheelbarrow, the son asked why they were doing this. The father answered "Sometimes you perform a good deed for a stranger and you hope that stranger will pay it forward by helping another stranger with a good deed." Last week I felt like I finally paid it forward.

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My Struggle with Eyeglasses

(Yes, I know this wasn't on my list of topics from my last post. Sue me. :P)

I haven't had much luck with my eyeglasses in the past past year. I've been doing even worse with the clip-on sunglasses that came with them. Since July of last year I've broken one pair of glasses, lost another pair and broke two clip-on sunglasses. As a result I've spent nearly a grand replacing what I lost (to be honest that cost also includes a visit to the eye doctor).

I expect my glasses to last a good long time. Four years, at least. That expectation is the result of my time with my "Harry Potter" glasses I got back in 1995 or 1996:



I got the HP glasses after I lost my previous pair somewhere between Farmington and Cuba, New Mexico during a balloon rally trip. You see I had a pair of regular glasses and a pair of prescription sunglasses that I would switch whenever I went outside (I got sick and tired of photogray lenses). Somehow I lost the regular glasses when I switched on the road back to ABQ. I had to wear the sunglasses until I got home (which was really fun after the sun set).

When I got the HP glasses I eschewed the "regular glasses / sun glasses" idea and got clip-ons. The first clip-ons lasted until 2000 when I lost or broke them during a trip to Minnesota. I got the second pair of clip-ons at a Sunglasses Hut during my trip.

In 2001 I got tired of the HP glasses and got some new glasses made out of plastic lenses. Wow! What a difference! Those new glasses were my first plastic glasses and I couldn't feel them on my face when I wore them. they were that light.

Those glasses lasted a year before they broke. :( In fact they broke during my trip to CGE in Las Vegas in 2002. I had make do with glue and tape throughout the trip until I got home. Fortunately the glasses were covered by my insurance and I got replacements for free.

After a while the clip-ons that came with the glasses broke and I would use the prescription sunglasses whenever I went outside. By the way, here's a picture of those prescription sunglasses:



Those replacement sunglasses lasted until July of 2007 (I accidentally slept on them). They lasted a good five years so I wasn't too disappointed. I had to get an eye examination before I could buy a pair of glasses. No biggy except I was unemployed at the time and the examination plus the glasses were both expenses out of pocket. Ouch.

I hoped to get the new glasses before my trip to CGE2K7 in Las Vegas. They weren't ready until after the show and I had to wear my HP glasses during the trip. No biggie but I discovered that I didn't like wearing my HP glasses. They were HEAVY! I felt weighed down by them. I couldn't believe that glasses made out of glass could be so heavy. They also pinched me and I had a horizontal dent on each side of my head. I even got headaches from them. I was glad to get the new glasses with clip-ons. Everything felt so much better and lighter.

The clip-ons lasted only a few months before they broke. I went back to using the prescription sunglasses whenever I was outside. In the long run that was a mistake because I lost my glasses this past April due to that glasses-swapping thing. It was the end of the day at work. I switched to my sunglasses after I left the building and walked straight to my car. When I got home I noticed that my regular glasses were missing. They weren't in my car. I drove back to work and searched the parking lot and the area around the building entrance. No luck. During the next week I asked around and searched the company's Lost+Found website. No luck. I was back to wearing the HP glasses again.

After I finally admitted to myself that the glasses were gone forever, I went to Costco to order replacements. Fortunately they had my prescription in their records and ordering replacements was a breeze. Unfortunately they no longer sold the frames I bought last year. No biggie. I spent five minutes perusing their display rack and I quickly found the frames I liked. This time I ordered two pairs of glasses. Just in case.

I was told that they would be ready in two and a half weeks. After my trip to OKC. It was like the CGE trip all over again. During my trip - the morning after I arrived, in fact - my clip-ons broke. BTW, here are what my HP clip-ons look like:



Later that day I went to Walgreens to find some replacement clip-ons. They were all too small but I did find a pair of sunglasses that fit over my HP glasses:



Kinda goofy looking. Makes me look like these guys (except mine are darker):



Or maybe this guy:



(No I don't see aliens when I wear the sunglasses. Perhaps I'm one of the aliens. Eh?)

A week after I returned from OKC I still didn't get a phone call from Costco. I went over and the glasses were ready. In fact they were ready one day before I left town for my OKC trip. They told me they called that day and actually talked to someone. I don't think so. My cell phone was turned off and in the glove compartment of my car at the time (unless someone broke into my car and turned on my phone just to answer a call from Costco). They must have dialed a wrong number. That sucks because I really wanted to wear my new glasses during the trip.

Here's what I look like in my new glasses:



Anyway, Costco didn't have any clip-ons that fit my new glasses and I had to go to Walgreens to get some decent clip-ons. I found a set that fit perfectly. I bought two of them, just in case.

Here's what I look like with the clip-ons:



See what I said? Perfect fit! Also, no more dents on the side of my head. Whew!

So, the past 10 months I bought three pairs of glasses, three clip-ons and a pair of (alien-like) sunglasses. I spent between $500-$1000 on those things (I don't know exactly and I'm too lazy to find out). I hope I won't have to spend that much again for my in such a short time (Unless I elect for surgery. Hmmmm.).

About six years ago I was seriously thinking about getting getting RK surgery (or was it Lasic surgery?) so I wouldn't need regular glasses any more. I was planning to open that medical savings account thing the company offered (I forget the exact name) in 2003 and use that to pay for the surgery and save a lot of money. However, they announced the closure of the plant I worked at and I put that plan on hold until I was fully employed again. So the idea is back on the table and I might consider it for next year.

One day you might see me looking like this:



Scarey, huh? :D

EDIT: After re-reading this post, I discovered that I tend to break my glasses while I'm on trips. Maybe I should stop taking trips to save money on glasses.

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Busy. Blog. List

The last two weeks have been pretty busy. I finished the semester at CNM which was a big deal because of the final project in my OpenGL class (3D Rube Goldberg device). I drove to OKC for OEGE and Rob's after party. Work. I went to a Rush concert. I've also been working on digitizing my cassette collection and my albums. And other things. Too busy to blog, that's for sure.

Now I got time to blog but I'm so confused! So many things to blog about. Let's make a list so I can prioritize and pick and choose my topics for the next few weeks.

- Another CNM Semester bites the dust and my big OpenGL project.
- Drive to OKC, OEGE and Rob's after party
- PIAOOM
- Robert Reed (the author, not the actor)
- Digitizing my records and tapes
- Rush concert
- Google Maps street view
- Google maps, Breaking Bad and No Country for Old Men
- A confession
- Mr Flibble's takes a bath
- Which one is the real Mr. Flibble?
- The great break up.

That'll keep me busy for a while. I'll do the OEGE one first but I'll need to process my pictures beforehand (some of them need to be developed first).

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Sugar High

Mental Note to Self: The next time I'm at Costco, make sure to avoid the Rice Krispies bars. Last week I bought a case of them. 48 RK bars. Today, six days later, I just ate the last one.

I can't just eat one! Or seven.

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Falling in Love Again

I know I'm behind the times here but tonight I saw the first episode of "The Sarah Jane Adventures". The show is OK. Kinda meh and cheesy in some parts of the show (Sonic lipstick - give me a break!). What got my attention was Sarah Jane herself (well, actually, the actress who played Sarah Jane: Elisabeth Sladen). Man, she looked hot! I remember when she was on a new Doctor Who episode two years ago and I was not impressed. She looked like a middle aged news anchor. She had the newscaster helmet hair, the newscaster makeup and it looked like she may have had plastic surgery. I was not impressed. I was disappointed, in fact.

Not tonight. She looked a lot better. More natural and a lot prettier. I realized then that, two years ago, they did a poor job with her makeup and hairstyle. They've made up for it with this new show.

When I first saw Sarah Jane on Dr. Who some 25 years ago (when they re-ran the show on my local PBS station),  I was enamored. She was and still is my all-time favorite Dr. Who companion. On the nights I watched her on Dr. Who, years ago, I would go to bed and pretend that I was in the TARDIS with her, having all sorts of adventures fighting Daleks and giant robots. That was a long long time ago.

Time for bed! :D

Welcome back Elisabeth (Sarah Jane)!

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Pi Day

Today is March 14th. 3/14. Also known as Pi day.

Pi is one of the most important mathematical constants. So important, in fact, that Larry Shaw - known as the "Prince of Pi" - decided to celebrate the number by starting off the "pi day" celebration at San Francisco’s Exploratorium. On this day you can eat fruit and pizza pie at the Exploratorium.

Pi is an irrational number. That means it is composed of a sequence of numbers that never repeats. Heck, it’s more than that, it’s a transcendental number which means its value cannot be reproduced with a finite sequence of algebraic operations using integers. That puts it in a special class since only a few transcendental numbers are known to exist ("e" is another one).

Pi is an obsession to many mathematicians, who have gone to extraordinary lengths to calculate the next digit of Pi. So far Pi has been calculated to 1.24 trillion digits. In other words, it would take a Terabyte disk drive just to hold that number. This is the kind of thing that makes you wonder why they do it. Are they trying to find the impossible "last" digit of Pi? If we calculate Pi to the 10 gazillionth digit would God show up, thank us for our effort and close up shop (like what happened in the Arthur C. Clarke story The Nine Billion Names of God)? Scientists try to cover themselves by saying that, although this level of accuracy for Pi is of little practical use, it contributes to "improving calculating methods". Ya, right. Whatever. We all know the real reason, you geeks.

I have to admit to my own geekiness on this matter. I know Pi to 14 digits from memory: 3.1415926535897 (I swear I didn’t look it up). That’s nothing compared to a few people I know who’ve memorized it to 20 or 30 digits.

Pi day is also important to remember because it’s the birthday of Albert Einstein, my all-time favorite scientist and personal hero. He was born on this day in 1879 making him 129 years old if he were alive today.

Billy Crystal and Kirby Puckett were born on Pi day. A bunch of other notables were also born on this day too (like the Austrian composer Richard Strauss) but those two stick out in my mind. Mostly because I’m from Minnesota and Kirby played for the Twins (Billy Crystal is notable to me because, well, he’s Billy Crystal).

The most important reason I like Pi day is because...well...it’s my birthday. :D Perhaps I should celebrate by eating some (pizza) pi(e).

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Sothy Before the War

I wrote a little poem about our friend Sothy.* I was inspired by the song "Germany Before the War" a song written by Randy Newman.

Here it is:

Sothy Before the War

In Germany before the war,
There was a dood who owned a gun
In Nineteen Hundred Ninety Four
in UR base

And Every night at five-oh-nine
He'd kill ur doodz to pass the time
and sit by the river of blood

I'm looking at the river
but I'm killin your d00dz
killin ur d00dz
killin ur doodz
I'm looking at the river
but I'm killin your d00dz
killin ur d00dz

A little d00d has lost his way
With hair of gold and eyes of gray
Reflected in Sothy's visor
As he aims his gun
A little d00d has lost his way
With hair of gold and eyes of gray

I'm looking at the river
but I'm killin your d00dz
killin ur d00dz
killin ur doodz
I'm looking at the river
but I'm killin your d00dz
killin ur d00dz

We lie beneath the cloudy sky
My little D00d and I
And he lies very still


*Sothy is a regular on the Digital Press forum. If you don't know what I'm talking about, don't worry about it.

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