Aimless Wandering

We are experiencing some seriously heavy weather here…  Conditions are actually rivaling a long grade hurricane at times.  Even more dramatic - this is only the second storm of a string of 3 serious storms that are sweeping through the area.  So far we’ve had close to 3 and a half inches of rain in the last 24 hours in parts of the area.

I packed the boy up and took him to school - it was still open.  However out on my campus the power was out.  What’s really sad is that one of my classrooms has been designated a “secondary emergency operations center” and we’ve outfitted it with satellite TV and two large LCD TVs - but nobody thought to connect the room to any emergency power sources ….

I’ve since come back home, this time in daylight and could really see what havoc is being wrought in our area.  There’s lots of debris on the roads.  Our town rebuilt some curbs and driveways on a main road - and effectively managed to make drainage worse, the road is starting to flood when it never had before.

The storm drains on one of the streets are starting to overflow now - it’s actually kind of cool to see the water bubbling up from around the manhole covers.  Our street is slowly turning into a river itself.

I’ve setup our inhome storm center.  The computer’s up and running and I’ve got the local TV station on.  I’ve got to say I kinda like this, it’s amusing to me to watch the reporters standing in outside breathlessly “reporting” to the studio that “it’s really windy out here…  and raining very hard.” because we can’t look out the window and figure that out ourselves.

So we’re sitting in the restaurant at lunch and the group behind us is having a conversation. Overheard before we tune them out –

“They come up here, drink the water, take showers and flush, and then we’re told we have to conserve water!”

So I had to wonder – which of these three should the people in question not do? Drink water, shower, or flush?

I just got back from an unscheduled trip down to Florida. I’ve said it before here, and I still firmly believe that the greatest people watching experience you can have is in an airport, and this trip didn’t disappoint.

Take this question I heard asked of an airline baggage agent in Fort Lauderdale by not one but two people:

“I didn’t catch my bag when it went around the carousel the first time… Will it come back out again?”

Then there was the couple who tried to bring what appeared to be a jug of skin cream in their carry on. I didn’t stick around to watch the situation unfold at the security checkpoint – although I saw them wandering around about 20 minutes later.

Finally, after flying to or through at least 2 dozen airports and never having a problem getting around… On this trip, this was the first time I have EVER gotten lost in an airport! I have always avoided Houston Intercontinental like the plague because I had heard so many bad things about it. This was the first time I have ever actually flown to the airport, and I’ve got to say while the terminals are nice, their signage sucks! It’s a sprawling monstrosity that is extremely difficult to navigate.

It’s been a heck of a weekend, that’s for sure. We just got back from A MINI Vacation in Vegas, and while we had a good time… I’m glad to be home.

The Wife posted on her blog about our adventure getting to Las Vegas. I truly loath the drive down there… Interstate 5 through California’s Central Valley is about as dull as it gets – that is until you get to Route 58 and I-15 through the Mojave Desert!

Things slowly started looking up on Thursday though – albeit slowly. We headed over to the event hotel to meet check out the goings on – and were surprised to discover that the friend we called on the road the day before had called ahead and told the folks in Vegas that we had difficulty getting in. Even more surprising was that recounting the story was surprisingly therapeutic. What was also neat was the swarm of activity around the MINI after our arrival, while we had planned everything that was being done, it was nice to see everyone working to get it all done. First was a visit to Waylon and the folks at Way Motor Works who installed new brakes and a strut tower brace – then Todd who started replacing the stripes that were on the car with some new ones AND installing a very cool roof graphic too.

Friday was a VERY good day. Db, Todd, and I headed over to the Spring Mountain Motorsports Ranch for the first race of this year’s North American MINI Cooper Challenge. From what we could see the race was pretty good, the downside of this type of track is that unfortunately it’s not easy to see much of the track. Even better though was that I got to take a few laps on the track myself. This was the first time I have ever driven on a race track, and while we weren’t going very fast especially compared to the guys who were actually racing, it was a very cool ride. I’m not sure just who set it up, but one of the guys from Way Motor Works also took me for a ride in a well modified MINI for a few very fast laps around the track… Those were very cool, yet as fast as we went that time – I was told that we would have gone even faster if the car we were in had race tires installed… Oh, and there were the skanky “bikini models” who were down at the track for the taping of some show on MavTV – No I’ve never seen MavTV either…

That night was one of the highlights of the entire weekend – The Strip Cruise. No, not that kind of Strip Cruise, a few hundred MINIs swarmed out on to the Las Vegas strip honking, waving, blasting music and just overall attracting attention. I know it doesn’t sound like much when you read about it here, but trust me it’s a LOT of fun.

There were a few other events that we participated in as well, and by the end of the weekend we were in much better shape than when we first arrived in Las Vegas. Although, I think what just make the weekend great is that we got to spend some time with some good friends that we just don’t get to see often. The great thing about being involved with the MINI community is that we’ve met some great people that we probably never would have met otherwise. While we now know lots of folks and there were quite a few people there this weekend that we were happy to see. However, we really were just looking forward to seeing just three people. One of the things we’ve learned is that it’s nice to have good friends to hang out with when you travel… This weekend was no exception…

I’ve got a few pictures that I’ll post soon.

Apparently there’s a new trend in dining that’s making it’s way around the world, “blacked out” restaurants. The dining area is pitch black, you literally can’t see what you’re eating and to facilitate the servers delivering your food the wait staff wear night vision goggles. Light producing devices (phones, watches, flashlights etc…) are prohibited in the dining area, however the foyer is well lit and while waiting in the foyer you’ll review the menu and place your order.

The theory behind dining in the dark is that if you can’t see, then your other senses will become a bit more sensitive. This will allow you to not only enjoy the taste and smell of your food , but should also increase your focus on the conversation and your meal.

I have a problem with this concept though, presentation is an important part of the dining experience. This is even more true in finer eating establishments, but this takes away that element. Not only that, but if you can’t see then how do you know where your knife is? Or how much is left on your plate? Better yet, how do you know if you’re keeping your food ON your plate?

Oh, and if for some reason nature calls while in the blacked out dining area…. Raise your hand and somebody will come and lead you to the bathroom, which by the way is lit

So here I am sitting in the “lovely” Oakland International Airport waiting to board my flight.  I’ve done A LOT of traveling in the last 6 years or so, and as a result I kind of consider myself a bit of an airport connoisseur.  With that in mind, I’ve got to say that I’m not the least bit impressed with Oakland…  Actually, I’m thinking that it’s pretty close to a dump…  They tried, it looks like the local airport authority really tried to pretty the place up, but it’s really not that nice an airport at all.

Now, I understand that this is probably one of the busiest days to fly this year considering that this is the last weekday before Christmas, but this place is a mess…  For starters, it took me 20 minutes once I got on to airport property to get to the parking lot, traffic was that bad.  Once I got into the parking lot I realized that a) I didn’t know exactly how to get from the parking lot to the terminal, and b) of the two terminals, I didn’t know what terminal my airline departed from…  Figuring this out would have been much easier if there were signs!  There wasn’t a single sign in the parking lot that indicated how a passenger was supposed to get out of the lot…  lots of walls and barriers, but no signs.

So after a bit of wandering I finally stagger out of the parking lot and over to the terminal, and wouldn’t you know it, there’s no directory either that might be used to direct us poor schlubs coming from the daily lot over to the airline check in we might need…  Luckily I picked the right terminal.

Two things that went very well, check-in with no waiting at all and security which had a HUGE Disneyesque maze to get to security, but no wait at all.

The concourse however is an absolute zoo.  The few beverage locations had long lines and there’s trash everywhere…

I’m a big fan of public WiFi, especially free public WiFi and I salute those airports that offer free WiFi.  However, I can also sympathize with those airports that charge for WiFi access, but it would be nice if they told me what the charge was BEFORE I go through the effort to unpack my laptop maybe scout out a rare power outlet, boot up my computer, connect to the access point, launch my browser and discover that the WiFi provider wants $9.95 for 24 hours of access!  So, I’m writing this offline and it’ll get posted after I arrive at my destination.

Then there’s the tool sitting across from me in the waiting area who’s apparently very proud of the Motorola Razr phone he just got and therefore feels the need to serenade the entire waiting area with the full range of ring tones that came pre-loaded on the phone…  Yes, pal even though I’m staring at the ceiling when I write this, I’m witting about YOU, and I’ve got news for you  Razr’s are so last year, nobody cares about the ringtone on your phone, I’ve got a significantly COOLER phone than you anyway.  BTW, I think your herd went THAT WAY!!!!  Maybe I should whip out my phone and start watching the TV back at the house using the Slingbox.  Then again, I’m not really looking to assert my dominance as an Alpha Geek.

Now I’m going to sit back and watch the lovely crowd headed to Greyhound Airways Southwest.  That’s got to be good for some entertainment…  and heck there goes somebody who they had to have charged for a second seat!

Why yes, I am tired and grumpy, why do you ask?

Just in case you live under a rock or in a cave somewhere and therefore haven’t heard yet, Time Magazine’s Person of The Year is…. You. (I’d link to it but their site is misbehaving)

Well not just you, but everyone who creates content on the web from bloggers, to podcasters, to the drunken fratboys who post youtube videos of their buddies wrapped in bubble plastic drunkenly jumping from the third story window. Internet users who generate content for the internet are Time’s People of The Year.

Now that’s a pretty serious honor, so do you think I can use it on my resume? “2006 Time Magazine Person of The Year.”

So check out this story on The Smoking Gun. A 12 year old from South Carolina was arrested on December 5 for Petty Larceny after his mother called the police because he had unwrapped a Christmas present without her permission.

Ok, now I can understand taking the gift away from the child and returning it. I can understand punishing the child. But calling the cops and getting the kid ARRESTED! Are you kidding me?!?!

The boy’s mother (a 27 year old single parent… ok do the math, she had the kid when she was 15) said her son was disruptive and hoped the arrest would cause the kid to behave better. Now according to the police report, this kid is no angel. It says that the kid has caused trouble at home, was arrested for disorderly conduct for assaulting a Police Officer, and was kicked out of school.

Now with that out of the way, question number 1 is with the child so disruptive (a 12 year old who was arrested for assaulting a Police Officer!) exactly why did this child deserve a Game Boy? Why would you give a child like this an item that allows him to tune you out? Give him a few pairs of socks and maybe a nice outfit to wear to his hearing in court for assualting the Police Officer sure, but he sure as heck doesn’t deserve a Game Boy!

And what about the arresting officer? Odds are this kid is known by the local police department but still, do you really think he walked into the Police Station and was congratulated by his fellow officers for this spectacular arrest?

You know that sounds like a riveting case, maybe Dick Wolf will use it as the basis for one of his “ripped from the headlines!” Law and Order shows. Heck this sounds perfectly suited for the MCS detectives to investigate on Criminal Intent. The questioning for this could be right up Goran’s alley too!

Sheesh!

So I’ve known pretty much since I moved into my fancy new office with it’s awsome view down the hill across the facility and into the valley below that I’d be moving out of my office at some point. Of course I had no idea where or when that move might occur.

So last week when I get back from vacation I find out that in an effort to accomodate a contractor that we thought we were getting, preparations were being made to turn a large storage room into an office. Now even though it’s a storage room, we’ve seen that it can be converted into a pretty decent office. Since we had a few minions working for us that needed something to do, they were set upon to start the work to convert the room from 100% storage to 75% office 25% storage. Around the same time I made the remark that it might not be a bad idea for me to move down there since where I am now puts me completely out of touch with what the staff is up to since it’s only myself and one other person in the fancy office up the hill…
Continue Reading »

So I downloaded the latest beta version of Microsoft Office 2007 yesterday. So far I’ve been very impressed with what I have seen, I haven’t dived too deep into the program just yet but it looks promising.

Except for one issue I’ve encountered in Outlook 2007. For some reason opening an HTML e-mail takes two tries…. On the first try a window opens that says that “Outlook has experienced a serious error and needs to close.” Outlook then closes, the little window pops up that uploads the crash information to Microsoft and then another window opens with a link to click on to see how to prevent this error from occurring in the future. Clicking on the link takes you to a page that says “Your error was caused by Outlook 2007 Beta, click here to download Outlook 2007 Beta.” So my problem was caused by Outlook so I need to get Outlook to fix it? Right…