So, just a quick question. Does ANYONE know ANYTHING about the gynormous helium balloon that is at the Philadelphia Zoo? I mean, I know it's an attraction at the zoo, where people can buy tickets and then lift off of the ground in a hot air balloon that is tethered to the ground. I mean, they DO get some height...apparently it'll lift to 400 feet in the air.
Which, I am here to tell you, is kind of a cool sight to see in the mornings on my way to work. You come around the bend on I-76E, and there in the trees, above the summer morning mist in the leaves, there's this huge bengal-tiger-striped balloon poking above the treeline.
But here I am, in mildly-dense traffic, in a pre-coffee stupor on the highway, and my mind goes. Want to know what I wonder? Well, I will TELL you...right after this disclaimer. I blame my parents for my craziness. If it weren't for them and their desire to inspire any sort of creativity in their children, I'd probably just drive in the traffic and yell at all the idiots. But, instead, I see this great sight, and the first thought that pops in my head? What happens if that tether breaks? I mean, have you seen it? It's this huge balloon, 400 feet into the air, and only held to the ground by tethers! I'm wondering if it's manned by pilots, because if it gets loose, SOMEONE needs to bring it down safely!
And see, when I see the balloon, it's at 7:15am, it's WAY before the zoo opens, so it's not like any ticket-holders are on board... So what is it even DOING in the air?
And, please someone! Tell me how well that's tethered to the ground! Because all I can say is, if it gets loose, I want to be the first person that said "I told you that could happen!".
I'm just saying. :)
Thursday, July 29, 2010
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
New Technology...to me.
As many of you know, I'm not a big follower. I hate bandwagons and all that they entail. But, much to my chagrin and to Anto's delight, I have become one of those blasted iPhone owners. I readily admit, though, that the best app EVER is Shazam. Hands down, it is amazing. If they had stock, I'd buy it. Wait. Do they?
Anyway, so I have this new iPhone, and I don't quite understand all the hoopla. I've got the previous iPhone users who tell me it IS way better than previous versions. OK, cool! I like it, it's fast, I can find all the free apps I want (except for good, low-carb breakfast recipes...), AND I haven't had any issues with it other than some glitches in the notepad and email. Minor things compared to what everyone has been complaining about.
We picked up my phone the day before the big press conference about the case. The guy that helped us out, even then, told us that the case was imperative. I'm thinking, cool! Two birds with one stone! No dropped calls AND protection when I inevitably drop the phone (hopefully NOT in the toilet). But he said something else that I think everyone needs to remember. Ever since the inception of the iPhone, if you hold it some freaky upside-down way, you're going to lose signal. You're basically touching the antenna. And then, of course, I love that Steve Jobs pointed out that if you hold ANY smartphone around THEIR antenna, they do the same thing.
So for as much as I've resisted Apple and anything related, I think Apple-1, other cell companies-0. Don't be haters. Just come up with something that allows you to hold the phone any crazy way you want, under water, and STILL keeps a signal. You figure THAT out? I'll be the first in line for sure.
Anyway, so I have this new iPhone, and I don't quite understand all the hoopla. I've got the previous iPhone users who tell me it IS way better than previous versions. OK, cool! I like it, it's fast, I can find all the free apps I want (except for good, low-carb breakfast recipes...), AND I haven't had any issues with it other than some glitches in the notepad and email. Minor things compared to what everyone has been complaining about.
We picked up my phone the day before the big press conference about the case. The guy that helped us out, even then, told us that the case was imperative. I'm thinking, cool! Two birds with one stone! No dropped calls AND protection when I inevitably drop the phone (hopefully NOT in the toilet). But he said something else that I think everyone needs to remember. Ever since the inception of the iPhone, if you hold it some freaky upside-down way, you're going to lose signal. You're basically touching the antenna. And then, of course, I love that Steve Jobs pointed out that if you hold ANY smartphone around THEIR antenna, they do the same thing.
So for as much as I've resisted Apple and anything related, I think Apple-1, other cell companies-0. Don't be haters. Just come up with something that allows you to hold the phone any crazy way you want, under water, and STILL keeps a signal. You figure THAT out? I'll be the first in line for sure.
Dear Job Seekers
One word of advice: If you hear ANYTHING telling you that you should check out this job search engine called "Bojadeeni", DON'T do it! It's crap!
I had heard a rave review about this job search engine that would make things so much simpler by pulling job postings from various search sites, by searching the specific keywords you type in. Well...believe you me...I thought I'd check it out.
First, it's not user-friendly. If you have tons of time to figure it out, it can be done. Secondly, it DID pull many job postings, but I use this term lightly, because most of them were not related to my search at all. I look for bookkeeper, and I'd say 75% of the results are "online survey takers wanted".
And last, but certainly not least, because it's a doozy. I think the two that I actually checked out BOTH came back within 12 hours of each other as SCAMS.
So, if you're looking for unrelated jobs, or to be an innocent party in huge scams, definitely check out Bojadeeni. (Which is "I need a job" spelled backwards. The creator of this engine DOES need a job, in my opinion...maybe a nice telemarketer job? Can you tell I'm pms-y?) :)
But if you are looking legitimately for LEGAL jobs, go the old-school way, and go through all the various job sites like CareerBuilder.com and the like. It might be a pain, but it's better than the alternative.
I had heard a rave review about this job search engine that would make things so much simpler by pulling job postings from various search sites, by searching the specific keywords you type in. Well...believe you me...I thought I'd check it out.
First, it's not user-friendly. If you have tons of time to figure it out, it can be done. Secondly, it DID pull many job postings, but I use this term lightly, because most of them were not related to my search at all. I look for bookkeeper, and I'd say 75% of the results are "online survey takers wanted".
And last, but certainly not least, because it's a doozy. I think the two that I actually checked out BOTH came back within 12 hours of each other as SCAMS.
So, if you're looking for unrelated jobs, or to be an innocent party in huge scams, definitely check out Bojadeeni. (Which is "I need a job" spelled backwards. The creator of this engine DOES need a job, in my opinion...maybe a nice telemarketer job? Can you tell I'm pms-y?) :)
But if you are looking legitimately for LEGAL jobs, go the old-school way, and go through all the various job sites like CareerBuilder.com and the like. It might be a pain, but it's better than the alternative.
Friday, July 16, 2010
Pay attention to the road? Anyone?
For as long as I can remember, I've wanted to drive. Ever since I turned 16 and I could legally drive, I've loved to drive. I remember as a kid, while my dad sat in the driver's seat, and I sat in the back seat, I'd help him drive. He didn't know it, but I had my invisibile steering wheel that turned so precisely, my stick shift positioned next to me on the armrest on the door (even though we always had automatic), and my invisible gas and brake pedals at the ready (mostly gas, because I DO like to drive fast!). I kept my eyes on the road and watched for everything. And I was good. I'd turn when he turned and I'd slow down when he slowed down. Every once in a while, he'd surprise me with a sudden brake or a quick swerve. Oops! I didn't see whatever he saw, because face it. I was in the back seat. Maybe I would have seen it had I been in the driver's seat, but then again...maybe I just took my eyes off of the road for a split second because my sister was sticking her tongue out at me and I needed to take care of that issue immediately.
Fast forward to now, where any number of things can distract a driver. Believe me, I've seen quite a bit of that on my commute. Admittedly, I have also succumbed to being distracted. Whether it be that woman lighting a cigarette with both hands while trying to merge into heavy traffic, that kid looking on the floor for a new CD to put in while he's turning a corner, that girl that's texting next to you while you fly down the interstate at 80 (I mean, 55) miles per hour, or myself being lost in thoughts or listening to music, we are all distracted drivers.
I love to listen to musc while I drive. Driving and music are two things I really enjoy, so why not do them together for my hour-long commute? Multi-tasking! Sure, you say. Why not? It's not like I'm gabbing on my cell-phone and not paying attention while I almost take someone out while I'm trying to switch lanes. It's not like I'm texting on the cell and I don't see the wall of cars or the sudden braking in front of me. It's not even like I'm trying to eat my granola bar, drink my coffee, brush my hair, apply my make-up, AND drive stick-shift at the same time. I'm just trying to listen to Eminem and feel the pain and anger in his words, and trying to understand what he might have gone through and comprehend the vulnerability of actually putting all of that out there for the whole world to hear. Or maybe I'm just drifting off in my own thoughts. And then I snap back to trying to focus on the road, and it dawns on me that I'm a mile further down the road. I have no recollection of the last minute's worth of road travelled, and I wonder why the car behind me is not the same as the one I remembered. How did it warp into another color, make, and model? Crazy!
How am I different from those people that annoy me so much, because they cut me off or veer into my lanes at high speeds, and when I pass by to give them a death stare, I see they are only paying attention to their phones and what's being said or what they're reading, or they give me a surprised look like "What? What just happened?"
I might not have an easy thing to blame like a cell-phone. And as much as I'd like to see cell-phone use (yes, even those blasted earpieces or blue-tooth devices) banned while driving, I think we will always be distracted drivers. Before there were cell-phones, there were still the multi-taskers. Yes, you know the ones...the people who drive with two hands on the wheel. The better to hold up the book they are reading while they are rocketing down the interstate at 70-mph! Now they still read...just on smaller platforms, like the iPad, the Kindle, or even just a text on a simple cell phone. You have the people who love their music, and the ones who change CDs, change radio stations, or maybe even change cassette tapes, all while they attempt to maneuver through traffic and the lanes that dictate direction and order. You have the people who eat while driving, smoke while driving, and the ones who try to contain their children while driving. And you have the people who just listen to talk-radio as intently as if they were actually there, actively participating in the conversation.
So, for as much as I hate the cell-phone users and even the usage of it myself while driving, I have to get off of my soapbox and look at the other side of the coin. If you were to ban ALL distractions from driving, we would all still be walking to work. And even then, would you ban these distractions from walking as well? Because otherwise, we could end up in a man-hole because that text from our BFF saying "LMAO" was so important, we didn't see the huge, uncovered hole in the earth ahead of us.
I think it's human nature to distract ourselves. You don't want us to be bored while we are driving (or walking or running), right? We might then fall asleep at the wheel (or on the sidewalk or the track)! Narcoleptic, anyone??? But that could be a topic for another day.
Because the idea of a distracted driver is inevitable, the ideal place to run away to today is someplace with no cars. Let's run away to the mountains and go hiking! Let me know of some great places you have been to and would love to go back to. I think the best hiking I've done (and granted, it hasn't been a ton...) was in Elk Ridge, Utah. There weren't any opportunities for distractions, because you needed to keep making sure you didn't slip off of the log you were crossing over the falls with, and you had to keep your footing in check on the rocks you were scaling on the side of the mountain. Scary, for sure...and it DID quench any thrill-seeking for a while!
Fast forward to now, where any number of things can distract a driver. Believe me, I've seen quite a bit of that on my commute. Admittedly, I have also succumbed to being distracted. Whether it be that woman lighting a cigarette with both hands while trying to merge into heavy traffic, that kid looking on the floor for a new CD to put in while he's turning a corner, that girl that's texting next to you while you fly down the interstate at 80 (I mean, 55) miles per hour, or myself being lost in thoughts or listening to music, we are all distracted drivers.
I love to listen to musc while I drive. Driving and music are two things I really enjoy, so why not do them together for my hour-long commute? Multi-tasking! Sure, you say. Why not? It's not like I'm gabbing on my cell-phone and not paying attention while I almost take someone out while I'm trying to switch lanes. It's not like I'm texting on the cell and I don't see the wall of cars or the sudden braking in front of me. It's not even like I'm trying to eat my granola bar, drink my coffee, brush my hair, apply my make-up, AND drive stick-shift at the same time. I'm just trying to listen to Eminem and feel the pain and anger in his words, and trying to understand what he might have gone through and comprehend the vulnerability of actually putting all of that out there for the whole world to hear. Or maybe I'm just drifting off in my own thoughts. And then I snap back to trying to focus on the road, and it dawns on me that I'm a mile further down the road. I have no recollection of the last minute's worth of road travelled, and I wonder why the car behind me is not the same as the one I remembered. How did it warp into another color, make, and model? Crazy!
How am I different from those people that annoy me so much, because they cut me off or veer into my lanes at high speeds, and when I pass by to give them a death stare, I see they are only paying attention to their phones and what's being said or what they're reading, or they give me a surprised look like "What? What just happened?"
I might not have an easy thing to blame like a cell-phone. And as much as I'd like to see cell-phone use (yes, even those blasted earpieces or blue-tooth devices) banned while driving, I think we will always be distracted drivers. Before there were cell-phones, there were still the multi-taskers. Yes, you know the ones...the people who drive with two hands on the wheel. The better to hold up the book they are reading while they are rocketing down the interstate at 70-mph! Now they still read...just on smaller platforms, like the iPad, the Kindle, or even just a text on a simple cell phone. You have the people who love their music, and the ones who change CDs, change radio stations, or maybe even change cassette tapes, all while they attempt to maneuver through traffic and the lanes that dictate direction and order. You have the people who eat while driving, smoke while driving, and the ones who try to contain their children while driving. And you have the people who just listen to talk-radio as intently as if they were actually there, actively participating in the conversation.
So, for as much as I hate the cell-phone users and even the usage of it myself while driving, I have to get off of my soapbox and look at the other side of the coin. If you were to ban ALL distractions from driving, we would all still be walking to work. And even then, would you ban these distractions from walking as well? Because otherwise, we could end up in a man-hole because that text from our BFF saying "LMAO" was so important, we didn't see the huge, uncovered hole in the earth ahead of us.
I think it's human nature to distract ourselves. You don't want us to be bored while we are driving (or walking or running), right? We might then fall asleep at the wheel (or on the sidewalk or the track)! Narcoleptic, anyone??? But that could be a topic for another day.
Because the idea of a distracted driver is inevitable, the ideal place to run away to today is someplace with no cars. Let's run away to the mountains and go hiking! Let me know of some great places you have been to and would love to go back to. I think the best hiking I've done (and granted, it hasn't been a ton...) was in Elk Ridge, Utah. There weren't any opportunities for distractions, because you needed to keep making sure you didn't slip off of the log you were crossing over the falls with, and you had to keep your footing in check on the rocks you were scaling on the side of the mountain. Scary, for sure...and it DID quench any thrill-seeking for a while!
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Purpose of this blog
So, here I am, making my first attempts at creating a blog, and perhaps entertaining a few readers. What my vision is to do is to simply write down thoughts I have. I'm not going to journalize my entire life, nor am I going to get crazy about all of my thoughts. But a few years ago, amidst so much tragedy in the world, and so much personal drama, I conjured up this idea. What if I could just run away and never come back? Where would I go? No place in this world is safe. Ah! The perfect place? Ideal Island. It's simply that. It's a idea of a beautiful place where everything is perfect. For me? It would be white sandy beaches, no people in sight, a bright and beautiful sun that never burns you, and a place where right is right and no one tries to do wrong. I'm generally a realist, but there's a caged up idealist that needs to flee to Ideal Island. Come with me and get away to Ideal Island.
These will be free-form ideas I have, with my thoughts and questions. I don't pretend that my thoughts are correct, though I will do my best to research anything of controversy. I exercise the right to express my opinion, and I allow every single one of you to do the same. But do it civilly and with respect. Don't diss me, and don't diss anyone else. We can agree to disagree, and make any heated discussions fun, provocative, and possibly enlightening. And believe me...there also will be some posts that just might be light and fun!
These will be free-form ideas I have, with my thoughts and questions. I don't pretend that my thoughts are correct, though I will do my best to research anything of controversy. I exercise the right to express my opinion, and I allow every single one of you to do the same. But do it civilly and with respect. Don't diss me, and don't diss anyone else. We can agree to disagree, and make any heated discussions fun, provocative, and possibly enlightening. And believe me...there also will be some posts that just might be light and fun!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)