Thursday, July 26, 2012
Medal of Freakdom
A few weeks ago I found a lump on my lower right chest which concerned me. I wasn't too concerned that it was cancer, but with my genetic makeup I was and am concerned that I could develop more lumps. I went to the doctor this last Monday just to be sure it wasn't something bad as I'm not big on diagnosing myself. The doctor told me I have a Lipoma, a benign fatty tissue tumor, so nothing to worry about. My problem with this lump comes from the fact that my father is riddled with these f-ing lumps, like freak-show time. I suppose I could have asked to have my quarter-size micro-Kuato removed, but then I thought about the little jello sack and what it meant or could mean. Isn't this disturbing badge of strangeness worth retaining? I chose, yes. Now when I take off my shirt in public I'm telling, nay warning the world 'I am a genetic freak, fear me, FEAR ME!
Monday, July 23, 2012
Seattle to Victoria
Recently my wife, Sam, and I set out on a planned adventure to Victoria, British Columbia. We were only there for a few days, but we had a good time. Even though Sam and I have both been to Victoria before; in fact we were on the same band trip back in 1993 when we were both still in high school. Victoria seemed quite different for some reason; buildings we remembered to be in seemingly different locations, streets we didn't seem to have noticed or remembered have evidently existed all along, and in one case an area I remembered from my childhood on my first trip was completely gone and redeveloped. Another thing that was very different for us this time was we were in control of our journey, lodging, and entertainment, which meant I needed to do some research before heading out. This is what I learned.
Venturing to Canada isn't like going to an alien world or anything, but is kind of like stepping into a bizarro world where everything is the same as home, yet still quite a bit different. Somethings are definitively better, yet there are somethings that made me feel much better once I was back home in the good old U.S. of A, like higher speed limits posted in MPH, and Constitutional Rights. There are a few ways for the international traveler to get from Seattle to Victoria. First there is the Victoria Clipper passenger ferry which leaves from Pier 69 in Seattle which is convenient departure point, and is a fairly quick way to get there, but at a starting price of $99 (U.S.) round trip per/person it is a bit expensive. An even more expensive way but probably the quickest way to get from Seattle to Victoria is by sea-plane, and even though Kenmore Air takes off from South Lake Union in Seattle and Lands in the inner harbor of Victoria the cost of around $300 per person is steep by my standards. Something worth thinking about when considering taking the Victoria Clipper or sea-plane is where you want to go while in Victoria; if you are only going to be milling around downtown Victoria the Clipper or air may be the choice for you, but if you are planning on going else where like Butchart Gardens it might be worth taking your car as a bus tour from Downtown Victoria to the gardens will cost around $50 per person; and Public Transportation would take a very long time. There are the ferry options to get across the water to Vancouver Island if one decided to drive. The more ridiculous option is the Blackball/Coho ferry out of Port Angeles, WA which cost $61.50 (U.S.) per vehicle and $17 (U.S.) per passenger each way, so not only is it expensive it is also an extraordinary long drive to get to Port Angeles from Seattle; and it's an added cost to take the Bainbridge Island ferry to get across to the Olympic side of the sound. I chose to take the Anacortes Ferry to Sidney, B.C. which was $77.85 each way for 1 car and 2 total passengers. I strongly suggest that if one planned to take the Anacortes/Sidney Ferry to make a reservation with the Washington State Ferry system via https://secureapps.wsdot.wa.gov/Ferries/Reservations/Vehicle/SailingSchedule.aspx or by calling 1-888-808-7977. The sailing from Anacortes is very picturesque, and takes about 2 1/2 hours; it's a little over 4 hours with the 90 minute drive from Seattle. All ferry business whether Washington State Ferry or Blackball is done in U.S. dollars or in Canadian dollars with a exchange fee. Also if driving a car consider parking fees, yet as we stayed at a nice hotel it was only $16 a day for parking; I am sure less expensive parking could be found. Getting from Sidney to Victoria is easy and is only about a 20 minute drive. One of the many little differences in Canada is they use the metric system and that includes road signs, yet since most cars display Km/hr (Kilometers per hour) it's really not that difficult to adjust.
Venturing to Canada isn't like going to an alien world or anything, but is kind of like stepping into a bizarro world where everything is the same as home, yet still quite a bit different. Somethings are definitively better, yet there are somethings that made me feel much better once I was back home in the good old U.S. of A, like higher speed limits posted in MPH, and Constitutional Rights. There are a few ways for the international traveler to get from Seattle to Victoria. First there is the Victoria Clipper passenger ferry which leaves from Pier 69 in Seattle which is convenient departure point, and is a fairly quick way to get there, but at a starting price of $99 (U.S.) round trip per/person it is a bit expensive. An even more expensive way but probably the quickest way to get from Seattle to Victoria is by sea-plane, and even though Kenmore Air takes off from South Lake Union in Seattle and Lands in the inner harbor of Victoria the cost of around $300 per person is steep by my standards. Something worth thinking about when considering taking the Victoria Clipper or sea-plane is where you want to go while in Victoria; if you are only going to be milling around downtown Victoria the Clipper or air may be the choice for you, but if you are planning on going else where like Butchart Gardens it might be worth taking your car as a bus tour from Downtown Victoria to the gardens will cost around $50 per person; and Public Transportation would take a very long time. There are the ferry options to get across the water to Vancouver Island if one decided to drive. The more ridiculous option is the Blackball/Coho ferry out of Port Angeles, WA which cost $61.50 (U.S.) per vehicle and $17 (U.S.) per passenger each way, so not only is it expensive it is also an extraordinary long drive to get to Port Angeles from Seattle; and it's an added cost to take the Bainbridge Island ferry to get across to the Olympic side of the sound. I chose to take the Anacortes Ferry to Sidney, B.C. which was $77.85 each way for 1 car and 2 total passengers. I strongly suggest that if one planned to take the Anacortes/Sidney Ferry to make a reservation with the Washington State Ferry system via https://secureapps.wsdot.wa.gov/Ferries/Reservations/Vehicle/SailingSchedule.aspx or by calling 1-888-808-7977. The sailing from Anacortes is very picturesque, and takes about 2 1/2 hours; it's a little over 4 hours with the 90 minute drive from Seattle. All ferry business whether Washington State Ferry or Blackball is done in U.S. dollars or in Canadian dollars with a exchange fee. Also if driving a car consider parking fees, yet as we stayed at a nice hotel it was only $16 a day for parking; I am sure less expensive parking could be found. Getting from Sidney to Victoria is easy and is only about a 20 minute drive. One of the many little differences in Canada is they use the metric system and that includes road signs, yet since most cars display Km/hr (Kilometers per hour) it's really not that difficult to adjust.
The options for lodging appear to be wide and various, and I can only suggest doing what we did and select a somewhat centrally located hotel that is within your budget. We only drove to Butchart Gardens and we walked everywhere else.
One might wonder what is so special or rather what there is to do in Victoria once you've arrived. Obviously one thing to do is immerse yourself in the Canadian culture and notice all the little differences; like how most people are friendly and polite, that's different. There is a multi-level museum downtown near the harbor, also known as the Royal British Columbia Museum; it's interesting. If that isn't your cup of tea maybe make a reservation to have High Tea, a truly victorian experience, at the Fairmont Empress Hotel; it is a bit expensive. If treating yourself to tea sounds like a good idea yet you don't want to spend a bunch of money I suggest once again doing what we did and find a less expensive alternative; we went to a place called Murchie's, which not only sells tea, coffee, and traditional tea treats, they also sell tea sets and other brewing related stuff.
The big tourist attraction is of course Butchart Gardens, but it's not Disneyland. If the subject of gardening causes you immense mental discomfort, or you otherwise have little to no interest in flowers, bushes, and/or trees DO NOT make the effort to visit Butchart Gardens as you most likely will start eating the flowers from boredom or insanity. If your the kind of person who loves spending hours and hours working on your garden or if you just appreciate pleasant looking things then it might be worth the rather steep admission fee of $29.60. On the bright side the hours are extremely generous open to as late as 10 P.M. in the summer. The snack bar is surprisingly above average just in case a snack is needed. You maybe asking yourself 'what kind of time one would spend at a place like this?', and all I can say is that it is all relative; we aren't big plant people and we stayed for just over 2 hours before feeling like it was time to go.
If you find you run out of things to look at I suggest taking a look at the Canadian money, it's very different. The Queen ages on the coins showing her likeness at the time the coin was pressed. I know, not very interesting but hey, it's Canada.
After a weekend in Victoria you might find as I did that is the kind of place you don't really have a problem leaving, yet it was pleasant enough you'll feel like returning. I look forward to travelling to Victoria again, and maybe next time we'll take the Victoria Clipper.
The big tourist attraction is of course Butchart Gardens, but it's not Disneyland. If the subject of gardening causes you immense mental discomfort, or you otherwise have little to no interest in flowers, bushes, and/or trees DO NOT make the effort to visit Butchart Gardens as you most likely will start eating the flowers from boredom or insanity. If your the kind of person who loves spending hours and hours working on your garden or if you just appreciate pleasant looking things then it might be worth the rather steep admission fee of $29.60. On the bright side the hours are extremely generous open to as late as 10 P.M. in the summer. The snack bar is surprisingly above average just in case a snack is needed. You maybe asking yourself 'what kind of time one would spend at a place like this?', and all I can say is that it is all relative; we aren't big plant people and we stayed for just over 2 hours before feeling like it was time to go.
If you find you run out of things to look at I suggest taking a look at the Canadian money, it's very different. The Queen ages on the coins showing her likeness at the time the coin was pressed. I know, not very interesting but hey, it's Canada.
After a weekend in Victoria you might find as I did that is the kind of place you don't really have a problem leaving, yet it was pleasant enough you'll feel like returning. I look forward to travelling to Victoria again, and maybe next time we'll take the Victoria Clipper.
Monday, January 30, 2012
Plumbers and Harpoons
This Sunday the wife let me know the drain wasn't working very well when she was taking a shower. I decided to put some laundry detergent down the drain and checked it after a while but no increase in drainage occurred. Why detergent? I used to clean the drains in my last residence which had chronic clogging problems with detergent and it usually helped. The next step was to go to the store and get some Drano, and long story short, it didn't work. I noticed after running the water in the kitchen the bathtub in the bathroom, of course, had water in it where as it didn't moments before. This was a disturbing realization as it meant all water would flow backward through the tub drain. Yikes! Also this meant no toilet. 'No toilet' is the key terms that signal when it is time to call a plumber. Surprisingly even in the modern metropolis of Seattle it is very hard to find a plumber on Sunday, and after calling several plumbers, over six, with good reviews on Yelp and no responses we called one of the Plumbers in the yellowpages that stated they were available Sunday. One of the first things the person on the phone said to my wife was that it was going to cost $100 just to come and look at the problem, and after the actual plumber showed up I had to show him where the clean-out was, because he couldn't find it. I was informed that to run a snake would be $477. I had to repeat the amount because I couldn't believe it, but he was there and I wasn't sure that we could get another plumber to show up or that we could go without a toilet for a day, so I gave the 'go head'. Unfortunately I assumed rather erroneously that the $477 included the $100 show up fee and tax, but that wasn't the case. We were harpooned for the gargantuan sum of $630 just to have a plumber run a roto rooter snake down our drain, but wait there's more. The guy who couldn't find the clean out 3' in front of him continued to try to sell a video survey of the drain for an extra $150, or else he couldn't guarantee the clean out. Maybe I don't have to say it, but I passed on the expensive sewer video. On the bright side the plumber did point out a leak in the drain from the kitchen I wasn't aware of. After the Whaler A.K.A. the plumber got in his truck and left I investigated the leak from the kitchen and found it was coming from under the sink. The odd thing was it was a really bad leak but it didn't flow out into the kitchen. Today, Monday, I tackled fixing the kitchen sink leak but found an old galvanized fitting that had corroded away that I was unable to break loose. I did my best to mend the situation and put everything back together. The result is the leak is a much slower drip instead of a flowing stream, and the landlord will be coming by this week to see what he can do.
Sunday, January 22, 2012
Snow in Seattle
This last week Seattle's nasty wintry weather was national news, and at one point the L.A. Times called us in Seattle something like 'snow wimps'. The snow wasn't too bad even though we got more than expected, but the freezing rain really screwed things up. The Tacoma Narrows bridge had to be shut down because big dangerous chunks of ice falling from the suspension cables on to the road way. Trees covered first by snow then coated in heavy ice from the freezing rain caused a few roofs to collapse and trees to snap; in some cases snapping trees and branches took out power lines. Power has been out for tens of thousands of households for days, and according to the local T.V. news the power companies are still working to restore power to customers. Where I live we were fairly fortunate only getting a small amount of freezing rain and only about 6 inches of total snow fall, also we never lost power. Our biggest heating problem has been that during the storm our heater working harder than normal started making a loud rumbling noise most likely from a bearing going out in the fan. During winter storms the city of Seattle only plows and treats 'arterial streets' or main commuter routes leaving the side streets covered in whatever state nature left it. Driving isn't that big of a deal with chains or four-wheel drive and I say that living on a small hill. I watched some knuckleheads and inexperienced drivers slide around on my street. I really miss having a 4x4. I mostly stayed off the roads for the worst of the three days during the storms, but mostly because I didn't want to become a victim of the knuckleheads or inexperienced drivers; state wide there were thousands of weather related auto accidents during these storms. When I did drive before and after the storms in my two wheel drive car I didn't even chain up, but to be honest the roads were at worst snowy but mostly slushy. As far as Seattle being 'weather wimps' I think not, but there are those who won't go out of their houses if there is any kind of sticking snow on the ground which is of course a drastic over-reaction. I can't imagine how the greater Los Angeles area would react to this same kind of weather as I have personally seen how badly traffic gets in SoCal when some residents become frightened by water mysteriously falling from the sky or otherwise known as rain.
Friday, December 16, 2011
Wish Lists
This morning I was watching the news and the subject of 'gift registries'/'wishlist' was being covered. It is the Holiday Season, but who knew there would be such polarized opinions about wishlist. There are people that like having wishlist, like myself, who believe there is nothing wrong with letting people know what gifts you might be hoping for. There are also those who seems to like the convenience of being able to see what someone would prefer. On the other side of things there are people that don't want to have a wishlist because they want people to put thought into the gift. And there are people who believe that people who have wishlist are being arrogantly expectant. But who's right?
I myself think that a wishlist/registry should be vast in the amount of items it contains, and diverse with concern for price ranging from the ridiculously expensive to the humbly affordable. I believe my system allows the shopper a true option to be thoughtful. I'm not saying that a big wishlist is being expectant, but rather shines a light on ones interest and in that way a shopper could decide on their own if they want to purchase a wishlist item or come up with something on their own based off of the information they have observed from the wishlist/registry. From this stand point the argument could be made that people who have wishlist with very few items or have no wishlist at all are conceited jerks who desperately want attention, but that could be false. I believe some people are actually humble, and I believe there are people that want to hide behind a facade of being content for elitist reasons but really do have wishlist wants they won't publish. And then again there are people who aren't very creative, so they just aren't able to add many items to their wishlist. There could be other reasons for having a limited wishlist but frankly I don't care. So is a big wishlist wrong?
No! There are some people out there that see a big wishlist and think the creator of the wishlist is greedy. I disagree. In addition to the points I've made above I'd like to point out the obvious, it's a "wishlist", it's not a 'practical needs list'. What fun would a 'practical needs list' be anyway? If society decides to go that route I think it should be based on all one's needs, and not just selective needs; we can all learn so much about one another. For example: You are looking at someones needslist and see the person needs hemorrhoid cream, you now know more about that persons life and you can assist with an uncomfortably personal gift. After all wouldn't that be thoughtful? That may be too extreme. I don't think it's wrong for a person to list their wants and/or needs, or even their demands. There is nothing that says you have to buy anybody any gift if you don't want to. I don't even think it's presumptuous if someone dares to add a "highest" priority to a wishlist item, and that being said I wouldn't hesitate to purchase an item from a wishlist that has a "lowest" priority, as the person who added the item to their wishlist obviously wants it but just not as much as something else. So what does my wishlist look like?
It should not shock anyone that I have 173 items contained in 8 categorized wishlists. Of the 173 items and 8 list there are 23 items in one list of weird and/or funny things I've found that I don't want, but thought it would be neat to share my finds. My categories are fairly basic; Clothes; Cooking Stuff; Media; Outdoor; Tools; Ridiculous; Stuff I don't want; and Miscellaneous. If you are curious as to what the biggest and most expensive item I have on my 'Ridiculous wishlist' is, it is a new Toyota 4x4 pickup. Am I ashamed to display such extravagance? No. It's on my ridiculous list for a reason, and I have no expectations or even rational hopes that I'll be receiving such a thing as a gift........well ever. The least expensive items in my wishlists are only around $4.
As a shopper/gift-giver I don't think I've ever looked at a wishlist and thought "what an expectant @#%!" or anything like that. I'm not saying I've never had a problem with other peoples wishlists, because I have. My issues with other peoples wishlist are usually things like they have too few items for any gift to be a surprise, or every item on the wishlist is more expensive than my budget. I have also found that sometimes I'm just ornery and don't want to purchase any of the options listed, but manly because I don't understand the interest in the items. Eventually I get over my personal issues and figure out something to give. It's hard for me to understand the people that just hate wishlist.
Basically I think there are people that prefer to complain and try to justify their negativity with a glazing of moral superiority. I don't like it. If you feel some sort of irrational obligation to buy a gift from a wishlist that is your problem, and resenting the list or the person who made it isn't going to help anything, nor is it in the holiday spirit. If you don't feel that way GREAT! My advise to everyone this holiday season is to relax and enjoy being with people you love or at least like, and if you are going to give gifts remember it's hardest to think of something on your own, it's easier to shop off someone wishlist; it's even easier to pick something at random; it's even easier still to give a gift card; and it's easiest to give cash. Giving nothing doesn't count because doing nothing is nothing and nothing is disappointing.
I myself think that a wishlist/registry should be vast in the amount of items it contains, and diverse with concern for price ranging from the ridiculously expensive to the humbly affordable. I believe my system allows the shopper a true option to be thoughtful. I'm not saying that a big wishlist is being expectant, but rather shines a light on ones interest and in that way a shopper could decide on their own if they want to purchase a wishlist item or come up with something on their own based off of the information they have observed from the wishlist/registry. From this stand point the argument could be made that people who have wishlist with very few items or have no wishlist at all are conceited jerks who desperately want attention, but that could be false. I believe some people are actually humble, and I believe there are people that want to hide behind a facade of being content for elitist reasons but really do have wishlist wants they won't publish. And then again there are people who aren't very creative, so they just aren't able to add many items to their wishlist. There could be other reasons for having a limited wishlist but frankly I don't care. So is a big wishlist wrong?
No! There are some people out there that see a big wishlist and think the creator of the wishlist is greedy. I disagree. In addition to the points I've made above I'd like to point out the obvious, it's a "wishlist", it's not a 'practical needs list'. What fun would a 'practical needs list' be anyway? If society decides to go that route I think it should be based on all one's needs, and not just selective needs; we can all learn so much about one another. For example: You are looking at someones needslist and see the person needs hemorrhoid cream, you now know more about that persons life and you can assist with an uncomfortably personal gift. After all wouldn't that be thoughtful? That may be too extreme. I don't think it's wrong for a person to list their wants and/or needs, or even their demands. There is nothing that says you have to buy anybody any gift if you don't want to. I don't even think it's presumptuous if someone dares to add a "highest" priority to a wishlist item, and that being said I wouldn't hesitate to purchase an item from a wishlist that has a "lowest" priority, as the person who added the item to their wishlist obviously wants it but just not as much as something else. So what does my wishlist look like?
It should not shock anyone that I have 173 items contained in 8 categorized wishlists. Of the 173 items and 8 list there are 23 items in one list of weird and/or funny things I've found that I don't want, but thought it would be neat to share my finds. My categories are fairly basic; Clothes; Cooking Stuff; Media; Outdoor; Tools; Ridiculous; Stuff I don't want; and Miscellaneous. If you are curious as to what the biggest and most expensive item I have on my 'Ridiculous wishlist' is, it is a new Toyota 4x4 pickup. Am I ashamed to display such extravagance? No. It's on my ridiculous list for a reason, and I have no expectations or even rational hopes that I'll be receiving such a thing as a gift........well ever. The least expensive items in my wishlists are only around $4.
As a shopper/gift-giver I don't think I've ever looked at a wishlist and thought "what an expectant @#%!" or anything like that. I'm not saying I've never had a problem with other peoples wishlists, because I have. My issues with other peoples wishlist are usually things like they have too few items for any gift to be a surprise, or every item on the wishlist is more expensive than my budget. I have also found that sometimes I'm just ornery and don't want to purchase any of the options listed, but manly because I don't understand the interest in the items. Eventually I get over my personal issues and figure out something to give. It's hard for me to understand the people that just hate wishlist.
Basically I think there are people that prefer to complain and try to justify their negativity with a glazing of moral superiority. I don't like it. If you feel some sort of irrational obligation to buy a gift from a wishlist that is your problem, and resenting the list or the person who made it isn't going to help anything, nor is it in the holiday spirit. If you don't feel that way GREAT! My advise to everyone this holiday season is to relax and enjoy being with people you love or at least like, and if you are going to give gifts remember it's hardest to think of something on your own, it's easier to shop off someone wishlist; it's even easier to pick something at random; it's even easier still to give a gift card; and it's easiest to give cash. Giving nothing doesn't count because doing nothing is nothing and nothing is disappointing.
Friday, November 4, 2011
Hope and Change Not Paying the Bills
I've tried to avoid politics on my blog, but that is about to change. So no matter who you want to blame for the United States economic crisis it is clear the government doesn't have any good ideas how to fix it. I have some serious ideas, yet what fun would it be to focus on those. What could I possibly have in mind? We the tax payers are paying for storage of untold thousands of secret documents, and occasionally some of them get released after they are deemed and/or censored safe. I think that the U.S. government has some information in files that are deemed secret yet pose no risk to national security, and could be wildly profitable. Currently the government just announces they are going to release designated files and they become available to the public; I think this should continue, yet I think this process could be modified to provide much needed cash. The premium price I propose would be for early release and the limited rights to
individual specific media formats; Movie; T.V.; Internet; T.V. news;
Printed news; Books, etc. All deals would of course contain a royalty
clause for smaller yet continual revenue flow; no contracts would be
forever exclusive and other parties could produce materials
based from public records after they have been released to the public. I
think all items should be subject to public auction to avoid any
'behind door deals' or any unforeseen manipulations, as well as public right to know who made the purchase, and how much money we the people received for the privileges. I'm fairly sure the entertainment industry would pay a premium for the opportunity to view and produce materials from certain types of government information. For example I think the uncensored U.F.O. files or the files for the J.F.K. assassination would be top picks.
I think it's about time these files were open to the public, so why not make a buck on it? With the J.F.K information I find it very hard to believe something that happened over 48 years ago should remain a secret. I have no idea why the J.F.K. files are off limits and I wonder if it is because of some misguided honor to the Kennedy family. It's not quite clear why, and that is a problem. There are other files that are mysteriously still off limits with no real explanation as to why. I understand that some U.F.O. files would contain current military information, and that should of course remain off limits for the near future. Yet with very few exceptions information 40 years and older as well as the non-military stuff should be public, and uncensored; or at least minimally censored. I mean what is the point of releasing pages and pages of blacked out text? This information after all is the property of the U.S. tax payers, and if we are not allowed access to information we pay for we should at least ask 'Why?'. I don't think that this is going to happen, nor do I think it will fix the economic crisis or even stop the ever increasing national deficit, but it would add revenue to a damaged system that doesn't seem to know how to manage a budget. The next step would be to hold politicians accountable, but I think that is a topic for another time in another Blog.
I think it's about time these files were open to the public, so why not make a buck on it? With the J.F.K information I find it very hard to believe something that happened over 48 years ago should remain a secret. I have no idea why the J.F.K. files are off limits and I wonder if it is because of some misguided honor to the Kennedy family. It's not quite clear why, and that is a problem. There are other files that are mysteriously still off limits with no real explanation as to why. I understand that some U.F.O. files would contain current military information, and that should of course remain off limits for the near future. Yet with very few exceptions information 40 years and older as well as the non-military stuff should be public, and uncensored; or at least minimally censored. I mean what is the point of releasing pages and pages of blacked out text? This information after all is the property of the U.S. tax payers, and if we are not allowed access to information we pay for we should at least ask 'Why?'. I don't think that this is going to happen, nor do I think it will fix the economic crisis or even stop the ever increasing national deficit, but it would add revenue to a damaged system that doesn't seem to know how to manage a budget. The next step would be to hold politicians accountable, but I think that is a topic for another time in another Blog.
Thursday, October 6, 2011
Movies, Me, and Mind-Mush
I found myself curious what the worst movies have been and how many of them I've seen. I found a list of the 'Bottom 100' at http://www.imdb.com/chart/bottom, and I am happy to report I've only seen two. What are the two horrible movies from the bottom 100? I'll tell you, 'Gigli' and 'Meet the Spartans'. I can't imagine that I am alone when feeling slightly embarrassed in my admission, but I can explain. First 'Gigli' was a movie my wife wanted to watch, and as a married man I understand there are some compromises worth making; luckily it wasn't too bad, but it was bad. Second 'Meet the Spartans' was something I saw while on an airplane, and I have to say that I may have enjoyed my flight a little more if I hadn't watched this cheessaster (that's cheesy-disaster). I can not say that I did not willfully watch either of these movies because that would be a lie, but I can say joyously that I did not like either one. I'm not sure that just because I've only seen two out of 100 of the worst movies means I have excellent taste in movies, but rather lucky or fortunate that I haven't seen more.
When it comes to good movies I can't say that I'm an oracle or anything as I've only seen 59 of the top 100 movies from http://www.imdb.com/chart/top, and I can't say that I loved every single one of the 59. It was a bit disappointing to see that 'Star Wars: A New Hope' (1977) was ranked a mere #16, and 'Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back' (1980) ranked higher at #12, and 'Star Wars: Return of the Jedi was ranked a lowly #96. Even though I would rank the Star Wars movies from best to least-best in that order it was still slightly disturbing that not one of them ranked in the top 10. On the bright side none of the Star Wars prequels ranked even in the top 250, and rightly so. I was amazed at some of the movies that made the top 250. For example 'Ratatouille' ranked #191, and I found it disenchanting that a mediocre animation flick could out rank #196, 'The Princess Bride'. Oh well, I guess it is just further proof of the mind-mush epidemic.
*(Mind-mush epidemic is not an official epidemic, yet)
When it comes to good movies I can't say that I'm an oracle or anything as I've only seen 59 of the top 100 movies from http://www.imdb.com/chart/top, and I can't say that I loved every single one of the 59. It was a bit disappointing to see that 'Star Wars: A New Hope' (1977) was ranked a mere #16, and 'Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back' (1980) ranked higher at #12, and 'Star Wars: Return of the Jedi was ranked a lowly #96. Even though I would rank the Star Wars movies from best to least-best in that order it was still slightly disturbing that not one of them ranked in the top 10. On the bright side none of the Star Wars prequels ranked even in the top 250, and rightly so. I was amazed at some of the movies that made the top 250. For example 'Ratatouille' ranked #191, and I found it disenchanting that a mediocre animation flick could out rank #196, 'The Princess Bride'. Oh well, I guess it is just further proof of the mind-mush epidemic.
*(Mind-mush epidemic is not an official epidemic, yet)
Sunday, September 25, 2011
Really Bad Poetry
I was struck with the will to write down some words that look like poetry........well Vogon Poetry. Just sharing the weirdness, enjoy!
When the wind blows the shadows fall, the heart sinks to an all new low. Dried up puddle residue is keeping the regret. Whispers of ghost not known as friend or foe, taunting the hinder of delight.
When the wind blows the shadows fall, the heart sinks to an all new low. Dried up puddle residue is keeping the regret. Whispers of ghost not known as friend or foe, taunting the hinder of delight.
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
NASA's Folly
What may fall from the sky is usually unknown, but according to NASA an old satellite will fall to the ground as soon as tomorrow, Thursday September 22, 2011. The first news report I saw said the largest chunk of debris could weigh up to 250 pounds, and not to worry, most of the debris will weigh 1 pound or possibly less. If you are feeling O.K. with getting hit by a 1 pound piece of debris I'd like to point out that the debris will be traveling at velocity, and unless the debris has an immense surface area, like a piece of foam, I would prefer not to get hit by any debris even if the pieces are small....... even as small as lets say a bullet. The news report also said that NASA had no idea where the satellite debris will land and would not have any idea of it's final trajectory until the moment it enters the atmosphere, giving anywhere from 2 hours to as little as 20 minutes warning. It's not clear if the warning will be made public or not. To top it off the statistics given are 1:3,200 that a person will be hit by falling debris. Since it is not known how many pieces of debris will impact the surface it is slightly frightening to consider that 1:3,200 could lead to a large number of injuries and fatalities in a densely populated area. If the unfortunate falling nightmare comes down in my neck of the woods, Seattle, the horrifying number of casualties could be as high as 1,277. I think 1,277 is massive. When did NASA become so.............incompetent? They shut down this satellite in 2005 and I find it hard to understand why they didn't bring this thing down sooner, purposely, controlled, and as safe as possible. It didn't seem that long ago that the U.S. Navy shot down a toxic Russian satellite, yet tomorrow we could have a 250 pound burning hulk return to earth through my roof....I don't think my landlord is going to like that. If I'm one of the unlucky ones to take a NASA sky-turd to the grave I want my friends and family to rejoice that they knew me and sue the bastards that killed me. I hope you make it, but be aware I'm seriously thinking of wearing my hard hat tomorrow.
Friday, September 2, 2011
Barbecue Spider
Ever plan something small but good only to have it get all bugged up? Last night I planned on grilling some delicious salmon for dinner, yet I became aware of a small problem with our gas grill. After letting the grill preheat I went back outside with the fish and noticed the right burner was not lit, yet the valve was set to high. I turned off the right burner and then tried to lite it again on the higher 'lighting' setting; it lit but went out when I turned the knob to high. I thought for a bit.......well a few seconds, and then re-lit the right side and left the right burner on the highest burner setting, 'lighting', and watched it. At first the burner fluctuated from being skimpily barely a lit, to ferociously flaring out like I was pouring lighter fluid on it. I wasn't adding lighter fluid, and I don't even own any if you were in some kind of delusion that I was, or am a pyromaniac. I'm not. A little after a minute of the fluctuating flame business I got a big surprise when the right side went out and seconds later ignited under the grill where the burner and the valves connect. First thought, hand toward fire to turn off the valve. Why? Prevent explosion; I used to work on high-pressure gas wells and I guess it is just a left over reflex, not that I ever had to put out any well fires. I was a little freaked out, a little miffed, and most certainly confused as to why the fairly new grill was acting up. After a minute or two I grabbed the fish, put it on a foil lined jellyroll pan and added some butter and olive oil to it then broiled it in the oven. While cooking the fish in the oven Sam and I hear, BANG! and we both look at each other and say "what the hell was that?" and we both head to the kitchen. Out of the oven there is a little bit of smoke seeping out of the door, and I'm thinking "well fuck, I guess I'm going to catch everything on fire tonight", but luckily the smoke was just some of the spattering oil burning off and the bang was the jellyroll pan contorting in the heat. After the fish finally cooked we enjoyed it's tasty goodness, but I wondered what they heck was wrong with my grill.
I really couldn't imagine what the problem could be with the BBQ because it is only a few months old, and it had been working fine. It wouldn't seem to be a problem from assembling because it would have gone wrong months ago, so I wondered if it was a manufacturing problem. I started to think that Char-broil had screwed me and I was really getting agitated. I looked online and didn't find anything about my specific grill, but i did see some stuff about people pissed off at Char-broil because they will not fix problems with their grills. Disheartened I resolved to try to figure out what exactly was wrong with my hunk of junk, and see if it could be repaired. From the way the right burner was acting I figured it was a clog as something further down the line would have effected the left burner. I disconnected the crap keeping the burner module in place, and son of a bee sting I busted the wire connection to the ignitor start. Once I finally had the burner out I blew into each of the two venturi-tubes (the right venturi tube shown below), and sure enough the right one was noticeably restricted. 'Hmmmm, I know I'll shove some wire up there and see if that makes a difference', it didn't, but I did notice spider webs on the end of the wire when I pulled it out. I really don't see how a spider big enough to cause a blockage could get in there but I figured I should get it out if there was one in there. I turned the tube toward the side-table of the grill and started tapping and after only a few seconds, VOILA! the culprit had been found. I'm pretty sure the trespasser had been barbecued to death the night before, so the capital punishment was accidental; but I would have totally killed that fucker had I caught it alive. I'm thinking of just repairing the stupid wire to the ignitor and returning the burner to the grill and seeing if the dang thing will work, but I have asked Sam what she thinks because blowing myself up over $20 seems stupid. I still don't see how that spider got in there as all the opening I am aware of are way smaller than that guy.
I really couldn't imagine what the problem could be with the BBQ because it is only a few months old, and it had been working fine. It wouldn't seem to be a problem from assembling because it would have gone wrong months ago, so I wondered if it was a manufacturing problem. I started to think that Char-broil had screwed me and I was really getting agitated. I looked online and didn't find anything about my specific grill, but i did see some stuff about people pissed off at Char-broil because they will not fix problems with their grills. Disheartened I resolved to try to figure out what exactly was wrong with my hunk of junk, and see if it could be repaired. From the way the right burner was acting I figured it was a clog as something further down the line would have effected the left burner. I disconnected the crap keeping the burner module in place, and son of a bee sting I busted the wire connection to the ignitor start. Once I finally had the burner out I blew into each of the two venturi-tubes (the right venturi tube shown below), and sure enough the right one was noticeably restricted. 'Hmmmm, I know I'll shove some wire up there and see if that makes a difference', it didn't, but I did notice spider webs on the end of the wire when I pulled it out. I really don't see how a spider big enough to cause a blockage could get in there but I figured I should get it out if there was one in there. I turned the tube toward the side-table of the grill and started tapping and after only a few seconds, VOILA! the culprit had been found. I'm pretty sure the trespasser had been barbecued to death the night before, so the capital punishment was accidental; but I would have totally killed that fucker had I caught it alive. I'm thinking of just repairing the stupid wire to the ignitor and returning the burner to the grill and seeing if the dang thing will work, but I have asked Sam what she thinks because blowing myself up over $20 seems stupid. I still don't see how that spider got in there as all the opening I am aware of are way smaller than that guy.
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