Three Tires and Good Intentions
Haven't seen a sight quite like I did on the way home tonight. There, cruising down the freeway at the speed limit, was an older Dodge Omni type of vehicle. Nothing terribly strange in that. But what was strange was this object sticking out of the back side of the vehicle: the rear driver's-side tire! It was broken off the axle and protruding at a 45-degree angle from the wheel-well. My jaw was hanging with incredulation. How was this little rust-bucket able to zip down the freeway on only three wheels and remain balanced?! The driver seemed unaware of the fact that he was missing one of his tires, or he was doing a damn good job of pretending. Can't be safe, that's for sure. Of course, that old three-legged dog still manages pretty well.
On the way to work today I inadvertantly coated some fellow in slush from last night's "ice invasion" (according to the weather warnings). Luckily for all of us, the ice didn't much materialize and we just got really wet and sloppy. Anyway, I was driving through the neighborhood and noticed a guy walking around a big van, heading towards the street. Being the polite citizen I am, I thought "hey, I should steer clear so I don't spray this guy with muck." So I moved further right on the street - just as he stepped (not very smartly) into the road - and right into the residual slush left in the middle of the street. Doh! I gave the guy a pretty good bath of soupy snow and ice and water. I didn't mean to - I moved over. But that just made it worse. So, Mister Guy, I apologize for slushing you today. It was an accident.
You know that new advert that appeared during the Stupid Bowl? The "Running With The Squirrels" ad from EDS? I thought it was particularly funny and well-done, but it seems the print version of the ad was too much for the ultra-conservative Wall Street Journal. Supposedly they thought it "too violent" with the imagery of a man fallen down on the street and a squirrel on his back, surrounded by running rodents wreaking ruin. They ran a modified version from the original. Wimps.
posted by jeremy at 10:59 AMHoliday Party
Last night was our company holiday party and I almost didn't attend as my GF couldn't make it as my date, but I thought "Hey, it's a free meal... I should at least go and eat." So I got all decked out and made my appearance. Plus I was nominated for two "Employee Choice Award" categories (Most Likely To Draw A Crowd - and - Person Who Spends Most Time On The Computer) so it would have been bad form to win and not be present to make an acceptance speech. Alas, I was shut out in both categories (can you believe it?!). I have suspicions that one of the categories was fixed.
It was a good time by all. Our company founders both retired permanently and this was their big blowout party. The digs were posh, the food was scrumptious and the beverages were flowing. Everybody had a good time (some more than others if you judge by speech ability). Most everyone dressed up, too, and that was fun to see.
The DJ could have been better (they shoulda hired my pal Eric) but people still boogied on down with their bad selves. Interesting entertainment, to be sure.
When You Get Messed With
Why do people insist on messing with other people for no apparent reason? Not the good kind of "just joking around" type of messing, but the really messing up things type?! Dang, I really dislike that. Ok, the thing is work-related... out of the clear blue they throw a monkey-wrench into things. And I'm supposed to just roll over and act like nothing happened and it is a minor thing. You watch: they'll try to make this into some big blown-out deal for no apparent reason and try to strong-arm me into doing something I don't want to do. But I'm standing my ground. Hmph.
posted by jeremy at 11:12 PMBedtime Stories
Reading a technical manual as enjoyment before bed maybe isn't a widely-treasured practice by the majority of people in this world, but then I'm not quite like the majority. Settling in with a nicely written and illustrated manual can be just as satisfying as... well... a good sci-fi novel or general fiction work. Yes, it can. Really.
What am I reading? The Final Cut Pro user's manual. I figure reading the whole thing (in easily digestible chunks) before sleep will allow my mind to process the info during dreamtime and incorporate it into the proper nooks and crannies of my brain. Ri-i-i-igght. Hey, it might work. Besides, that is one of the best times for me to read and relax.
My GF called me today and filled me in with rumor that her company might lay-off a big chunk of people in the morning. Yikes. Not good, as she may well be one of those people since she's only been there little over a year. Hmmm... could this be indicative of that "R" word (hint: recession)? Hopefully not. And hopefully she'll come out of the situation just fine (she is prepared).
[NEXT DAY UPDATE: She was let go on Thursday morning with about 40 other people. Dang.]
Been working on some other perl script installs lately, exploring and researching options... some very nice solutions exist if you search hard enough.
posted by jeremy at 10:53 PMNever Trust A Prostitute...
...Even if she is a super-cute Asian girl that seems to be really interested in you.
Ok, it isn't what it seems. This was a dream I had last night:
One of my friends knew this super-cute Asian girl somehow and she was really into me so after this show we went to this place which I assumed was an apartment (more like a very subtle brothel in retrospect) and my friend disappeared (as people tend to do in my dreams) and left us alone. Things were getting hot and she offered me a glass of water, which I graciously accepted and drank. Mistake number two (number one being the inability to recognize a brothel). The last thing I remembered was feeling very tired and it being about 11:00pm by the clock.
Next thing I know this girl (name? I dunno) jumps up from supposed sleep, waking me as well, and blurts out "Ohmigod! Look at the time!" which is now 1:00pm the next day. I never sleep this much! I am shocked and disoriented. I get my stuff and hastily leave.
Upon arriving at home, I start to question events... how did I sleep that much? Why was I so tired? Am I a complete idiot? Then I, for some reason, check my personal affects. I take out my wallet and look inside. HELLO! All the money I did have is now different money. And less. And fake. Damn!
She had the decency to leave me what appeared to be a few real bills, but all the rest of what I had was now blue one-sided Monopoly-type money, along with some attempted fake money, which was noticable due to it's one-sided nature as well (but that one side was exquisitely detailed). I was stunned and outraged. They (it had to have been a setup) had drugged me and taken my money while feigning interest in me. What a sucker. But then I noticed something sticking out of that little wallet compartment that doesn't ever get used.
This is where it gets odd (like the rest was all normal). I carefully pulled out the long, folded cloth thing. It was tightly folded and colorful, about the length of my wallet. I started unfolding the cleverly constructed package and suddenly I had a silk shawl or maybe a meditation mat in my hand. Quite stunning and large enough to wrap around me. Inside were two chopsticks and two small carved stone figures - one a squat crouching dog, the other a squat crouching naked man. It was clear from their posture that they were meant to be placed one in front of the other and contemplated. Ah... But who was sniffing who?
Ha ha ha ha ha ha!
MacWorld SF
Wow. They did it all, and yet more, much more, than I expected. Which is all good 'cuz Apple needs some good PR and some high demand right now. Here's to hoping they have the supply to meet the demand.
Did you see iTunes? Apparently they bought SoundJam and it's lead programmer to create iTunes. And it is completely FREE. Pretty nice, but it still needs a bit of refinement in a few areas.
How about iDVD? Is this thing the coolest ever or what? Now you can easily make your own DVD discs on your Mac - and they'll play in any regular DVD player! Zoinks! It can make movies or even picture slideshows from your digitial images. Wow. Very very cool. (There is also a pro version for the high-end users that looks quite impressive).
The two biggest kickers of the show were 1) the built-in CD/DVD burner that allows you to use the above mentioned iDVD sotware (also available in custom configurations) and...
The Powerbook G4 Titanium! Holy moly. This thing is sleek, beautiful and powerful - and small! It is only 1" thin. Amazing, as this includes a widescreen 15.2" display, a 5 hour battery and a slot-load DVD/CD-ROM! How did they do it? How cares, it rocks! Pure titanium case, fast G4 chip, etc, etc. [drool]
Birthdays And Old Friends
Whew. I'm a bit tired out as I was invited to three birthday get-togethers today (and only made two of them). But we had some fun and some great food!
I went to the grocery store to get some organic juice and flowers for the first birthday brunch/party and as soon as I walk in the place I see somebody I haven't seen for many months - Kevin C from Seattle! My jaw must've hit the floor. I blurted out "What are you doing here?!" and then quickly added, "I mean, It's great to see you!" I was so shocked. He looked good and we chatted for a bit while shopping. Even though I was late to brunch, it was worth it.
Everybody was pretty much already at brunch and chowing down when I arrived and Lena (the birthday girl) even went to extra pains to cook me something special since everything else seemed to have cheese in it (I have no tolerance for that darn lactose!) Lena got a bunch of presents from friends and after she opened them up we got ready to go snow tubing.
We went out to the east side of the Cities and tubed for a while this afternoon and had quite a lot of fun. Most people in our group had never tubed before. In case you aren't familiar with this activity, we here in Minnesota like to take over-inflated truck or tractor tire inner tubes and ride them down snowy hills at great velocity. We get quite a kick out of it.
Once we got back we had cake and ice cream and talked for a while. Then it was off to my sister's birthday gathering!
We met my family over at my sister's house and once my little niece woke up we went off to dinner - at Buca's! Yum yum garlic yum. We ordered 3 or 4 entrees (huge family-style portions) and we actually ate all the food. This has never happened in all the times I've eaten at Buca's. Usually there is enough left-overs for everybody to take some home! It was fun and super delicious, as always.
Heat And Light
The weather cold-spell has apparently broken and temperatures are well above freezing. In fact, last night around 10pm it was about 38F (which means I could finally put my license tabs on my car - two months late). But all the glorious snow is now melting...
This morning I was startled by a thunderous banging on the south side of the house. It sounded as if a section of the wall had fallen off (which wouldn't be a huge stretch of the imagination in that old house) and crashed into several things on the way down. It sounded quite destructive.
Turns out it was merely several tons of ice melting and then letting loose from the roof line and falling onto the roof on the first level. There were several massive chunks lying in the snow and thrown up against the neighbor's house. Good thing nobody was standing underneath.
So what else does Apple have up it's sleeves? The Wall Street Journal today reported on Apple's killer software and featured this little nugget:
In conference calls recently, Mr. Jobs disclosed that Apple plans to roll out several new software apps, hinting that two will be launched in the first half of 01. In private, Mr. Jobs has described one of the applications as being "on a par with iMovie," and the other as "the greatest thing that Apple has ever done," according to people who spoke with him.What about those two DVD-related purchases Apple made last year? We haven't heard a thing about those and with the recent focus on DVD/CD-RW drives, would it be such a surprise if Apple came out with an insanely great application that let you put your iMovie (or other) creations directly onto a DVD? With ease and style and power? posted by jeremy at 03:06 PM
Cussing Old Guy
Is it even worth mentioning? It was rather peculiar so I guess it might. Ok...
I was coming home from a late night at work (seems to be the norm these past few days) and had taken the scenic route and then decided it would be wise to stop at the grocery store and get some bread so I wouldn't have to do it in the morning. No problem.
Lots of traffic around when I attempt to leave the parking lot and some delays in getting on to the street I want but finally I see a clearing and decide to pull into the first of three lanes of traffic.
At that same exact moment a little old scruffy guy, not very reflective, decides to run out into traffic in the middle of the block -- and right in front of my car. I abort my spurt into the street and slam on my brakes. He stops suddenly in front of my bumper, hand extended towards me in a 'stop' motion -- and he proceeds to start cussing up a storm! "Mumbley jumbley fucker gumbo pancake fucking seeing didn't walrus fuck you!" (Well, that's what it sorta sounded like inside my car).
So I opened my window to speak to the foul-mouthed, grungy old fellow and he doesn't stop cussing. Traffic is building up behind me and my mind is racing... what to say? how to respond? Finally I blurt out, "Were you in the cross-walk?!? No!" and drive off.
Duh. Man, I swear, I never come up with the really good stuff until 2 minutes too late. I mean, in this case it probably wasn't necessary anyway as it was nobody's fault and nothing happened except maybe an increase in heart rate. No doubt you could come up with a snappier comeback... but can you do it under pressure?
01/01/01
Doesn't today's date just have something cool about it?
I know it is only a sequence of numbers, but the day 01/01/2001 just seems to be pretty neat for some reason. Like it really truly is the beginning of something new. Something big. Something that means something.
I just don't know what that something definitively is yet. And that is just fine by me.
What did you do last night for New Year's Eve? Same as us? It would appear so from the lines at the grocery store. Seems everybody and their brother decided to stay in last night and cook a gourmet meal. Took over an hour at the store just to get fresh shrimp! Well, I guess it would be worth it. Not that I'm bragging about my cooking, but it was a wonderfully tasty dish. I think I'm calling it "Furious Shrimp Linguine" as the cracked black pepper pasta and the red pepper flakes give it a bit of a bite. Tons o' garlic, too... AND... made from scratch rosemary-garlic focaccia bread. Yum! Yum! and Yum! (Hey, if you don't get excited about your own cooking, why even bother?)
After dinner we watched a few movies and tried to stay awake. The large quantities of food wasn't helping. We saw in the New Year and then pretty promptly dozed off to sleep.
Today was nice and mellow, too. Walked over to the neighborhood joint for breakfast (yum) and then spent a few hours at the bookstore perusing the pages. Didn't spend too much money - just picked up a copy of Giant Robot. 
Decided to get outside in the sunny snow and take a few pictures. Got one of a snowed-in mountain bike and one of mostly buried VW Beetle.
Finally got my brother-in-law's Powerbook upgraded so he can use the software he needs to be using. Also visited with my niece and sister for a bit while Mark was out chopping ice off the roof. And I came home with a 19" TV, too. Cool.