Having gone for a run today at lunch [on a side note, thank you god for the first semi warm lunchtime] After the run I decided that I no longer wanted to put my cell phone through the ups and downs of yogging [because its a soft j]. Having such great luck with my last player, I decided to go with SanDisk Sansa again, this time it is the Clip model. I have thought a 2GB player, which is twice the size of my current player, ought to be big enough for my exercise, yard work and travel needs.
So down to my local Walmart I go to pick one up. When looking through their display the only model they have is a pink 2 GB for $44.88. Pink is not quite my color of choice so I tried to get some help from the two workers at the technology counter but neither of them seemed interested in helping but they both seemed quite interested in sending text messages. Once I did get his attention I asked if they had any other colors than pink and after he searched the locked cases I was informed pink is all that they had but even those were sold out. I guess low cost comes with low levels of service, but that's ok - it is what it is. For some reason I thought I would take a look for myself and what did I find but a black 8GB player - for $49.99! List price of this model is $99.99 and`out on the web, this model lists for $79.99. Interestingly enough, this model is not currently listed on their website so I guess I was lucky to get one while they last.
So with a little effort and persistence, I was able to get a new mp3 player for basically half of the list price and again see that Walmart is by the far the price leader, even if I hate going there and dealing with the people and their stores.
While I was an undergrad student at Northeastern University, I have been known to frequent a pizza place called Little Stevie's located at 1114 Boylston Street. This restaurant opened in 1968 and for a post 21 year old college student it didn't get any better than this place - Open Till 3, Huge Slices of Pizza [think a 1/4 of a typical pie] and it was really cheap at $1.25 per slice. I can't tell you how many late nights I would end up there picking up my post-barfest/pre-bedtime slice. I have only been to Stevie's during the daytime once and I found out on that trip the pizza actually wasn't that good and to this day I haven't been back.
Well don't despair, the neighborhood has another option. Spike's Junkyard Dogs located at 1076 Boylston Street is a newer establishment that looks to take a bite out of Stevie's late night business. I wandered into Spike's Saturday night around 1 am for some food to feed that inner hunger that you know you should ignore but the idea of something fried and salty is just too enticing. Can't tell you how good a chili dog and french fries are at that hour of the morning. The place was packed with co-eds whom all seemed to have recently left a local watering hole which is about what you would expect at the hour of the morning in Boston.
So if your in the city and looking for something quick [and pretty tasty] I say check 'em out. And if you think you can consume 6 or more in one sitting, you can get your face up on the wall of fame. Yum.
The Massachusetts Turnpike Authority has approved a plan to increase tolls from Route 128 into Boston's tunnels. That plan can be dropped if the Legislature approves a transportation reform package that includes a 19-cent increase in the state's gas tax.
Since I do not take the Mass Pike on a regular basis, I would favor a toll hike over a gas tax which effects every driver in the state [and may force border dwellers to go over state lines for yet another product]. I am sure anyone who lives west of Framingham would agree and frankly why should residents of Pittsfield, Holyoke, or Charlton have to pay for Big Dig expenses which they typically would not benefit from? They shouldn't and I hope if these are our only two choices, the state does the right thing as raise the tolls - not that I am in favor of tolls in the first place.
Travis Barker, percussionist for Blink-182, and Dj AM, turnablist for Crazy Town, have worked up a new brand of music mashup featuring the underpinning of AM's dj skills with Barkers over riding drumming. It creates an interesting sound and might be the next wave of musical manipulation. Here is the first track from their album Fix Your Face:
This track samples from Bill Conti, Run DMC, West Street Mob, Johnny Cash and Eve so as you can see, TRV$/DJ-AM work with an eclectic mix of base songs and artists. The mixtape consists of 15 unnamed tracks and can be downloaded here. Off to fix my face on some Fix Your Face.
Here is fun flash presentation created by the wizards at Industrial Light & Magic. "This one was special for us all the way through," says ILM's Bruce Holcomb, the model supervisor on the film. "There's a lot of love for 'Iron Man' and what was accomplished ... and what will be accomplished." "Iron Man 2" is due in theaters in 2010.
In a speech to Justice Department employees yesterday marking Black History Month, Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. - the nation’s first black attorney general - commented that the workplace is largely integrated but Americans still self-segregate on the weekends and in their private lives. He also stated that we are "essentially a nation of cowards” with respect to opening discussing the racial issues of our country.
Let's look at a typical Americana's private - which by the way is private and their own damn business but let's forget that for the moment - and see why we "self-segregate" as our new Attorney General indicates we do. First, during our free time many people spend it with their families - wife, children, brothers, sisters, parents, aunts and uncles. For the vast majority of people here that means spending it with people of your own color, ethnic background and religious beliefs. Next when you consider your extended network of friends, these people are most likely folks you have something in common with - where you grew up, what do you for a living, where you go tot church or maybe where you live. All of these things tend to be something related to your own life and therefore these people are mostly like you in many ways. Lastly, where you choose to live, work and play is also a lot about you and not about others. This means where ever you go - for what ever reasons - probably will draw more people like you.
Based on these reasons, wouldn't it be fairer to say Americana's tend to flock together by nature rather than an underlying need to continue the racial issues of past generations? I don't believe comments like those made by our new Attorney General will break down the invisible walls of nature but rather continue to support the idea that many people here continue to hold racism tight and by holding onto that belief only continues it negative impact on our society.
Lawrence School Superintendent Wilfredo Laboy recommended Good Friday, which falls on April 10, as a date for making up one of five days lost because of bad winter weather this school year. "A lot of students go to school that day," Laboy said. "I hope we don't appear to be sacrilegious in that way, but we don't have a lot of days."
In response, school committee member James Vittorioso said "I may not be the greatest Catholic, but I do go to church. I think it's a disgrace." Mr. Vittorioso continued his crusade last night on WBZ's radio program Nightside with Dan Rea. He argued that they should not open on Good Friday because many parents have already vacation plans so opening on this day would not work. He also said opening on a Saturday or running into July will also lead to low attendance - again because of parents keeping their children home for mostly vacation reasons.
I guess school is all about vacation and no longer about education or the future of the next generation. So much for that. He additionally commented that the founding fathers clearly wanted separation of church and state. Unfortunately for Mr. Vittorioso, separation of church and state would actually mean they should have class on a religious holiday instead having the day off. It may all be a moot point since Teachers' union president Frank McLaughlin called classes on Good Friday a contract violation and pledged to file a grievance if Laboy follows through.
Good luck to the school district and hope the students enjoy classes this July!
C-SPAN's has released it's second Historians Survey of Presidential Leadership. The survey is an index that takes the views of 65 presidential historians and ranks the 42 former presidents according to 10 "attributes of leadership." The public affairs cable news network first produced a Presidents Day ranking of presidents in 2000. So this is its initial look at where former president George W. Bush ranks who comes in at No. 36.
The top 5 are:
1. Abraham Lincoln 2. George Washington 3. Franklin D. Roosevelt 4. Theodore Roosevelt 5. Harry S. Truman
The bottom 5 are:
38. Warren G. Harding 39. William Henry Harrison 40. Franklin D. Pierce 41. Andrew Johnson 42. James Buchanan
There has not been much change from the 2000 rankings with a couple of notable exceptions:
Bill Clinton moved up from 21 to 15 Ulysses S. Grant moved up from 33 to 23 Rutherford B. Hayes moved down from 26 to 33
It will be interesting to see if the next list moves our lat President up or down after we have a few years to reflect on the last 8 years as well as how our current president will rank just after he has left office.
If you thought Nadya Suleman was a little off for adding to her first six IV based children with 8 more, you will find this just over the top. The Killeen Furtney Group, Ms. Suleman's publicist, has developed a website [domain was registered this past Monday and the url will not be linked here so you'll have to google it for yourself if you really, really want to visit the website] for the "family". It features pictures of the octuplets, courtesy of NBC, but interestingly enough pictures of her other 6 children are missing. Guess this is not a family website but more of a part-of-the-family website. Her new site currently exactly two features: Comments and Donations. Ok comments are fine. of course there are easier ways to have the public at large [the vast majority are complete strangers] to contact you. Publish your email address, join facebook, start a blog, ect. Now the other feature is a paypal account that accepts donations which you can charge to your Visa, MasterCard, American Express or Discover card. Ironically, somewhere in her team there has been mention of her site becoming a 501c corporation so it can act as a non-profit charitable organization. Of course unless their new "charitable organization" focuses on the ongoing support of unemployed mothers of octuplets, they might have some trouble with the IRS.
Maybe this is an after effect of not being able to sell her story for $2 million. she has had two interviews and to date NBC claims they have not paid her anything for them. And her attempt to find a TV gig as a mothering expert is down right laughable. Would anyone seriously take this woman's advice on parenting? In her other interview with MSNBC, the unemployed octomom firmly denying being on any form of Government assistance but the LA Times reported that she gets $490 a month in food stamps and another $600 in disability payments for three of her older children who suffer from ADHD, a speech impediment and autism. Also, the hospital where the octuplets are expected to spend seven to 12 weeks has requested reimbursement from Medi-Cal, the state's Medicaid program, for care of the premature babies [cost has not been disclosed]. On top of that, she also has $50,000 in student loans and credit card debit to deal with along with her expansive family and not so busy media itinerary. I guess she at least had time for some light cosmetic surgery recently, so things can't be all bad.
It took a bit longer than expected, but it is now complete. Here are a couple of before pictures:
Yeah it was blue. No it was very blue. I guess that was the look back in the early 70's. After 6 weeks, we have converted it into a bead board based room with a vintage looking vanity and mirror set:
It is really nice and kudos to my wife for the vision, encouragement and hard work in finishing this project.
Here is an interview with Alex Rodriguez from December 2007:
KC: "For the record, have you ever used steroids, human growth hormone or any other performance-enhancing substance?"
AR: "No."
KC: "Have you ever been tempted to use any of those things?"
AR: "No."
KC: "You never felt like, 'This guy's doing it, maybe I should look into this, too? He's getting better numbers, playing better ball,'" Couric asked.
AR: "I've never felt over matched on the baseball field. I've always been a very strong, dominant position. And I felt that if I did my work as I've done since I was, you know, a rookie back in Seattle, I didn't have a problem competing at any level. So, no."
Pretty good straightforward questions with simple answers, unfortunately they were not so honest. Once word leaked that A Rod failed a drug test during baseball's pre-testing days, he immediately say down with Peter Gammons to give you the real truth:
PG: "Alex, this weekend Sports Illustrated reported that in 2003 you tested positive for testosterone, an anabolic steroid known as Primobolan. What is the truth?"
AR: "When I arrived in Texas in 2001, I felt an enormous amount of pressure. I felt like I had all the weight of the world on top of me, and I needed to perform, and perform at a high level every day.
Back then, it was a different culture. It was very loose. I was young. I was stupid. I was naive. And I wanted to prove to everyone that, you know, I was worth being one of the greatest players of all time. And I did take a banned substance. You know, for that I'm very sorry and deeply regretful.
... The culture back then, and Major League Baseball overall, was very -- I just feel that, you know, I'm just sorry. I'm sorry for that time. I'm sorry to my fans. I'm sorry for my fans in Texas. It wasn't until then that I ever thought about a substance of any kind, and since then, I've proved to myself and to everyone that I don't need any of that."
So now the story is he did use but only because everyone else was and because he had to prove his worth, as in his huge new Texas sized contract. One question still lingers that is Sports Illustrated hadn't broken the story, would he been man enough to come out and say he did it and hasn't need to in the past 5 years? Yeah I don't think so either.
2008 Olympic Gymnast Shawn Johnson Grammy Award Winning Rapper Lil' Kim
Sex and the City Actor Gilles Marini
Rodeo Athlete Ty Murray
Jackass and Wildboyz Performer Steve-O
Access Hollywood Co-Anchor Nancy O'Dell
Film and TV Actress Denise Richards
Retired NFL Linebacker Lawrence Taylor
Country Singer Chuck Wicks
Apple Co-Founder and Philanthropist Steve Wozniak
What should be interesting is Ty Murray and his wife Jewel both competing, Chuck Wicks dancing with his girl friend Jullian Hough, can bad boy and girl Steve-O and Lil' Kim live up to the family friendly program and will Steve Wozniak make it past the first day. Starting on March 9th, we will see...
Yesterday, the list of apparent customers of Bernard Madoff was filed in federal bankruptcy court who were caught up in what is believed to be a $50 billion Ponzi scheme. A Ponzi scheme is a fraudulent investment operation that pays returns to investors from their own money or money paid by subsequent investors rather than from profit. The scheme is named after Charles Ponzi,who became notorious for using the technique after emigrating from Italy to the United States in 1903. Ponzi did not invent the scheme, but his operation took in so much money that it was the first to become known throughout the United States.
The list of Mr. Madoff's "customers" includes more than 13,600 names and hits some pretty wealthy people where it hurts. The list includes names like actor John Malkovich, talk-show host Larry King, New Jersey Sen. Frank Lautenberg, former baseball star Sandy Koufax, Steven Spielberg's Wunderkind Foundation, New York Mets owner Fred Wilpon, John Denver Concerts Inc. Charities, art collector Norman Braman and Berkshire Hathaway money manager David Gottesman. Others have come forward who are not on the list include Kevin Bacon and his wife Kyra Sedgwick and Zsa Zsa Gabor. All told, it has been estimated he milked over $50 billion from some of countries richest people and that is money they may never see again.
Needless to say, I think Mr. Madoff will be spending a large amount of time paying for his crimes.
It was only a matter of time before someone dropped Bale's Terminator set rant over the top of the now famous Bill O'Reilly rant which hit the net last May.
Would you like to let loose on a co-worker? I think the next time I drop this many insults on someone I work with, I'm going to just claim I am a method worker and that being interrupted breaks my concentration and that I will no longer work unless they are fired. Yeah that will work. Not.
For fans of How I Met Your Mother, last night's episode made reference of two never before mentioned things: Barney's Video Resume and Ted's college alter-ego radio personality the mysterious Doctor X.
This actually might be the wave of the future given we are becoming a full-on YouTube generation. You can watch the full length video online. Note the awesome resolution video is 14 megs while the not as awesome resolution version is 21 megs but a smaller video in visual size.
I love that his site is sponsored by the mythical Golith National Bank. I wonder if their a business model here for personal video resumes hosted online with corporate sponsorship???
Ted is somewhat of a douche in college and his on-air personality is even worse.
"Fluent in six languages (seven if you count the language of sign), Dr. X divides his time between the United States and India, where he has attained the rank of Tantric master, known for both his discipline (8+ hours) and knowledge (74 positions)."
The Super Bowl is by the far the most expensive time to air a commercial on television [estimated at $3 million per 30 seconds] and therefore is typically a place where advertisers put forth their best creative effort. From the funny to visually stunning, this gives us football fans something else to look forward to during the big game. This year felt like one of the more bland years in Super Bowl advertising. Here are a few worth comment:
LMAO
Doritos Crystal Ball
Pepsuber
In-Sight-Full
The Coke Heist
Bud Light Lime Is Summertime
Train wreck
Gold4Cash, Heeeer's Money
As for the worst, I have to say the GoDaddy spots were my least favorite and watching them in their entirety online, even though I went to their website which was the main idea of the ads, didn't make them any better.
Today at lunch I am going to eat some Doritos with a Coke and a Pepsi and today I'm going to sell some gold online drinking a Bud Light Lime in hopes that next year will be a better day for super advertising.
