Blurbs - Salty Hats

I like baseball caps as much as the next guy. Sure I have my favorites. I like plain logos and basic colors that match anything you wear.

There isn't a hat in the world however that I would put on my head once it develops that nasty white sweaty salt line.

Why do people do this? Really. How much is a hat? $9-$10? $30 if you're stupid and buy it at the mall? Throw that thing away, its disgusting!

Most importantly, don't wear it to work!

I don't usually care what other people wear but that is roughly equivalent to coming to work with shit stains. Sure you're gray, sure you're balding, we'll all be there eventually. Now you're repulsive. Congrats!

Random@Random

I was just wondering if somewhere, there is an all male retirement home called Withering Pines...

I don't have much time to write today but I thought I would leave something for you guys to think about. :)

Oh and I read this interesting article about Disney Animation I thought you all may enjoy. I guess I always knew this was a possibility but I had never seen it shown so clearly.

Disney

Have a great hump-day!

An Award for Ashley From Overcoming Schizophrenia

Regular reader, (and commentator), Vivienne has entrusted me with the coveted Nice Blogger award.

(Read with Royal English announcer voice.)

I, with great honor and humility, accept this honorable...uh...honorAND IN TURN wish to pay it forward to a recent regular contributor to this here blog which has recently, for reasons I wish not to disclose, suffered a bit from lack of tending BUT I DIGRESS!

The envelope please...

I would like to give this award to Douglas of Boomer Musings Valash from Overcoming Schizophrenia. Although Ashley is not a regular participant to this blog I figure what she does for society is so far beyond any self promoting pyramid scheme this "Award" tradition really started as anyway. I don't remember exactly how I found her blog at first, most likely in the forums, but I have learned so much more about schizophrenia than I ever expected to. Though this little recognition will do little to help her current insurance troubles, I hope it will help her through some of her dark days that there are people out there that applaud her efforts and successes. Good Luck Ashley!

As always I will modify the rules as I see fit because I wouldn't have it any other way. ;)

Award Details and Rules

• This award is a dedication for those who love blogging and love to encourage friendships through blogging.
• This award was redesigned to award those who seek and redefine all the reasons why we love blogging.
• Never forget to mention the person who gives you the award.
• Respond to the receipt of this award by posting this description and writing a short explanation about why you love blogging.
• Choose ONE person you feel deserves this award.
  
• Don't forget to notify the award receivers and put their links in your post so others can see how wonderful they are too.

Before I let you go, my short little statement about why I love blogging is simple.

Before I started blogging and after years of unanimous dislike for pretty much anything I had to write, I felt that any skill I thought I had was a waste of time and space. Now I don't feel the same. Or at least I have been lucky enough to find people who are nice enough to pretend otherwise. ;)

The Lights Are On, But Nobody's Home

UPDATE: I wrote this blog a few months ago but lost my train of thought as I so often do. I touched it up after reading a blog post by Argentum Vulgaris about Light Pollution.

Stupidity.

Reason #1 why the Earth is in the state it is in. More specifically, human stupidity. While I could go on for days simply listing the reasons, today I will specifically focus on one topic.

Electricity.

Click here to read more.

A LOT of business and revenue is generated by wasting electricity. Do you think the electric companies of the world are concerned with how much electricity you waste? Or do you think they would react and be more alarmed about the situation where you waste only a little? If they make a lot of money then so do the governments that helped foot the bill for the development of the infrastructure that they use to deliver that power to you.

That isn't really a solution but an explanation for their lack of motivation to give you a true functional solution. Those who really have the power and pull to make some changes lack that motivation for innovation.

Watch those bullshit informative commercials for saving electricity in your home. They always start with them saying, "What can YOU do." Great way to pass the buck you bastards. The most recent one shows to teens talking about their cell phone chargers. Seriously? Look out the window. Do you see that street lamp blazing all night long with no one around to bask in its glow? Do you see the 24 hour businesses with no one but a lonely teenage employee playing solitaire on the computer or an uneducated security guard watching re-runs of Jerry Springer on television?

Lets focus on that shall we, instead of the cell phone chargers some of which use only 0.005 kWh. Your typical street lamp uses 18 to 400 watts depending on the brightness. Considering that it is those very same street lights that you can actually see from space, then one could safely assume there is a lot of energy being wasted there. I'm sure there are a lot more of them then there are plugged in cell phone chargers in the world.

So how do you solve this problem? Well, one solution could use technology that has been around for decades. Motion detectors. Why have a street light on all night long when there isn't even a car in sight?

Motion detectors aren't perfect you say? Agreed, but the more time and money is invested to mass produce them I bet their efficiency and reliability would increase dramatically.

Still not convinced? Well there are other technologies that could be used. RFID for one. Everyone has a Driver's License or some sort of picture ID. If they start handing them out with RFID technology integrated these lights would come on automatically when a person would approach. Someone loses their keys or wallet where the RFID is implanted, the redundant motion detector fail safe would be there to back it up. A lot of street lamps currently have light detectors to turn them on or off when the sun rises so additional technology added to those devices isn't new.

Expensive? At first perhaps but functional and after time their development costs would greatly decrease as it does for all technology. Besides, I believe the cost of the electricity we would save would greatly outweigh the price of the technology.

So the ball is back in your court big corporations. What can YOU do to save electricity? I am currently sitting in one office building in a group of 10 with 80% of the employees off for the day and ever single light is on, every computer is on and the air conditioning is running full blast even though the temperature outside is fantastic.

If Michael Jackson could have lights turn on for him wherever he walked, why can't we?

Walking in Silent Mode

Ninjas. You can learn so much from them.

When I dress for work I wear these big stomper type shoes which I consider necessary. I don't like those business shoes that look flat and European. Yes, that makes them heavier but they are cheaper, more cushioned and I prefer the way they look. Since they are heavier, when I walk they make me stomp which is why I call them "stompers."

Walking around cubicles people can hear me coming and sometimes poke their heads out, halting my progress in order to resolve their usually petty issue. Since I was a child I practiced stepping quietly. (It's quite the workout actually you should try it.) Not tip toeing but carefully placing your heals and progressing with the smooth even stride that greatly reduces both wind resistance and pant friction.

Yes you look stupid doing it.

Granted you don't look as stupid as say...a speed walker but stupid nevertheless. (For the greatest comedy skit featuring speed walking watch this episode of Malcom in the Middle.) Interesting M.I.T.M. trivia: Malcom's eldest brother, Francis is played by Christopher Kennedy Masterson, and his brother, Danny Masterson, played Steven Hyde on "That 70s Show."

ANYWAY!

This skill, if you can call it that, has saved me quite a bit of time. I have returned of course to resolve or assist them with their problems but only after they request assistance through the right channels. Organization equals efficiency. Walking in Silent Mode has saved me from repeated time consuming explanations about why people need to request assistance the official way. It saves us all a lot of time in the long run if they only spend a few more seconds.

Anyone else use this technique or am I the only dork?

Blurbs - Ultimate Fail

I met a guy with the following last name today.

Feil.

So I read that and thought, "Wow, what a challenge!" My name is difficult enough but to be tagged your entire life with failure as a qualifier must suck tremendous giraffe dangler. Then I thought about it some more and decided, cockily, that this man does not accept his name for what it is.

In no way could he possibly face up to this challenge laid before him.

I figured I would test my assumption and, yep! When I called his voice mail he said his name was "Fi-El" Come on! What are you from Krypton? I mean "feel" may pass but "Fi-El?!?"

We are all victims of our parents and heritage, you can't run away from it. You have to confront your Dark Side young Jedi and admit that you are one in the same. Stop shoveling that Pi-El of crap facade of a name and accept your feilure, move on.

In his cowering path of ignorance he has, ultimately failed miserably.

I now anxiously await the opportunity to direct his attention to the "Ci-Eling" for something completely random and insignificant, like this blog post.