The Eyeballing Game

How good are you at eyeballing measurements? Try this puzzle out? The Eyeballing Game. The object of the puzzle is to come as close as you can to the proper measurement.  Let me know how you do! :)

Excellent Stalking Skills

Chargers Lose Again

On paper they lost but they actually had it won if it weren't for that late officiating error.  I think the reason Mike Shannahan went for two points instead of going into overtime was because he knew that the Broncos didn't deserve that TD.  He went for the riskier play and if they missed, then all is well and Chargers win.  Or am I giving him too much credit?

Snapple Real Fact #132

A crocodile cannot move its tongue..

The last thing you'd be concerned about if you're getting chomp-chomped!

Large Hadron Collider

We're still here!  If you're not a geek then you probably didn't know that they test fired the Large Hadron Collider today despite lawsuits trying to stop it because of fears that it might create a man-made black hole under the 17 mile site..

Although the chances are very remote,  some European physicists place the odds at something like 50 million to 1.  For a comparison, the odds of winning the lotto here in California is about 23 million to 1.

This reminds me of people fearing that detonating a atomic device would start an un-stoppable chain reaction destroying the earth back in the 40's.  And no, I don't remember it personally!  :)

Here's some big numbers related from this experiment: (from wired.com)

LHC FAQ in 140 Characters or Less

Particle physics is complicated. Tweets are not. So, naturally, answering your questions about the Large Hadron Collider in Twitter format, i.e. 140 characters or less, could help you understand some physics.

Q: WTF is a Large Hadron Collider?

A: Hadrons are the parent family for protons and neutrons. The collider will smash protons together to see what they're made of.

Q: What are ATLAS and CMS and all these other acronyms?

A: They are particle detectors. ATLAS and CMS are the big ones. Each detector is designed to carry out a set of experiments.

Q: How does the Large Hadron Collider work?

A: It smashes particles moving at near the speed of light together. Then, detectors look for very rare particles in the wreckage.

Q: Is smashing things together to look for progressively smaller and rarer particles really how particle physics is done?

A: More or less: yes. Theoretical physicists work out the math. The experiments get run to see whose math matches the world.

Q: Gimme the stats on the Collider? Factoid stats.

A: 17 miles around. 9,000 magnets. 7,000 scientists. $10 billion. Operating temp: -456.25 F. Power used: 120 MW. Network: 1.8+Gb/s.

Q: Who paid for the Large Hadron Collider?

A: You did! But not nearly as much as your European cousins. The US contribution stands at $531 million. Total cost: $10 billion.

Q: How does a particle detector work?

A: They work like digital cameras with 150 megapixels taking snapshots 600 million times a second! Then algorithms look for interesting stuff.

Q: Is there an end 'product/goal' that the average Joe will eventually see from these experiments? ie:teleportation?

A: Not directly, but confirmation that physicists understand the universe would be nice. And you never know. The engineering can lead to other things.

Q: When you smash particles at nearly the speed of light isn't that going to release a lot of energy?

A: Yes. The highest-energy collisions will reach 14 trillion electron volts.

Q: How many particles are actually colliding?

A: Hacked Wikipedia: The beam pipes contain 1.0×10-9 grams of hydrogen, which

would fill the volume of one grain of fine sand.

Q: Is the Large Hadron Collider a threat to human civilization and the existence of the Earth?

A: No. Einstein's relativity says it's impossible. And, just in case, studies of highly-energetic cosmic rays hitting earth rule it out, too.

Does the general population really care?  Not really...I just got off the phone with my friend and she says, "I'd rather be watching project runway!"  :)  Good Night.

Heather's First High School Volleyball Match

I drove out to watch Heather play volleyball in El Cajon after work today.  She made the varsity team as a freshmen so I'm proud of her!  The team lost but at least the conference matches don't start until next month so they have some time to work on things.

Pull My Finger

As an iPhone owner, I usually look over the apps that are available on a regular basis and pass on suggestions to my friends that have one also. But here is one application that you won't be seeing on the iTunes store because Apple rejected it stating (as claimed by the author) that it didn't think it would appeal to the iPhone/iTouch user. I told Jess about it and wonder what she would do if I snuck it on her iPhone (evil grin)

If you've seen the apps available through the app store, then you'll agree that this application would be in the top 50 for sure, or am I wrong? Honestly!? :)

Wash Your Hands

You've probably seen these signs in bathrooms before, but have you ever read one.  All restaurants are required to have a sign up that has a bathroom, or cooking for health reasons.  Of course you can't have a sign that says, "Hey you!  Wash your hands since you either just peed or took a dump!"

Well, a focus group said they would come up with some politically correct way of saying this so as not to let anyone realize we KNOW what goes on in this "restroom."  A requirement is that they needed to have Spanish translation also.  Here's the Spanish version:

"Laven sus manos antes de abandonar este lugar para volver al trabajo."

Here's the translation:

"Wash your hands before you abandon this place to return to work."

Didn't know I knew Spanish, eh?  The mentioning of bathroom or any other bodily functions has been left out, not even restroom.  So, remember to wash your hands before you abandon your restroom.  Oh wait, not restroom,  "this place."

Compact Car Parking

They're already marking off parking spots for cars of the near future.   But somehow I think this car is not compact enough for this spot!

If you were a cop, would you cite him?

Photoshop Beauty

Think about this the next time you see a magazine cover!

FREE Lunch

I'm not offering a free lunch!  Tuesday the lunch truck lady calls me on my cell:

E: I'm not going to be there since my truck broke down on the freeway.  Can you do me a favor and let everyone know?
S: Sure!  I'll make a little sign for you and post it at the exit.
E: I appreciate that.  I'll be back tomorrow with your nachos!
S: Good.  I was about to ask you that.  :)

Esther just gave me my lunch for free and that she really appreciated me helping out. :)

Take a Seat

How many of you would take a seat in this room? The walls are padded and the floor is made of rubber. The chair is solid plastic with many holes in it and I don't even want to guess what's on the floor. There are no windows!

Warning!

What can be implied by the fact that McDonald's customers must be told that their coffee is HOT and that KFC customers don't have labels that say, "Caution: You might find chicken bones in your bucket of Chicken."

I think one of the best warnings is: "This superman suit will NOT give you the ability to fly." Have you come across a warning that just seems stupid?

Happy April Fool's

I'm always thinking of some kind of prank to pull and today I feel like I get a free get out of jail card since it's April Fool's Day. At work, I did the hotkey to invert the monitor display since we got new computers and all I could do was hide in my cubicle and pretend that I knew nothing about what was going on...It was funny!

Of course, I played a joke on the softball league where I volunteer and have been getting lots of feedback :) So far about 45 people have fallen victim to my devious prank...

Did you do anything to celebrate April Fool's Day?

Bank Robbery

A man walks in a bank, gets in line, and when it is his turn he pulls out a gun...and robs the bank! Just to make sure he leaves no witnesses, he turns around and asks the next customer in line... '

Did you see me rob this bank?' The customer replies, 'Yes!'

The bank robber raises his gun, points it at the customer and BANG! Shoots and kills him. He quickly moves to the next customer in line and says to the man, 'Did you see me rob this bank?' The man calmly responds 'No, but my wife did.’

Lost Churches

Someone sent this to me this afternoon:

One of the local television stations in South Louisiana actually aired an interview with a woman from New Orleans. The interviewer was asked if the complete devastation of the churches in the area had affected their lives.

Without hesitation, the woman replied,' I don't know about all those other people, but we haven't gone to Churches in years. We gets our chicken from Popeye's.'

Check out the Shoes

After coming back from lunch with my friend, I noticed his shoes. I thought that they were rather interesting and asked if I could take a picture. He said sure and wanted to know if they were going on my blog..."Of course!"

My other friend and I were giving him a hard time about his pink shoes with green and brown trim. It was all in good fun... What do you think?

Hunger

Alex and I went to the deli down the street and decided to eat outside. We noticed a group of tourists sitting across from us and then went on about our business. As we were almost finished, a homeless guy reached deep into the trashcan and got some bread and started eating it.

The guy started reaching into another trashcan and the lady tourist walks up to him and reaches out a $10 bill and says, "Go inside and get yourself lunch." The guy looks at her and shakes his head. She tries several times to get him to take the money but he refuses. He takes another bite from the bread and walks away.

The lady looks at me, and I raise my eyebrows giving her that, "You tried...What else can you do?" look.

I have nothing to write about

Yup. I'm having one of those days but I didn't want to leave the 9th blank with nothing here. :)

Snapple Real Fact #92

Fish can drown.

I guess we assuming that it's water in our lungs that kills but it's the lack of oxygen that is the culprit in drowning. So...if something is reducing the oxygen from the water then a fish could drown in water.

Parents at Games

I was shooting softball games today with my mp3 player soft enough so that I could hear what was going on. Sometimes I take photos of the parents in the stands and how they react to certain calls. For the most part the parents are there but not paying attention.

There have been plays that I have captured where the spectators say, "Come on blue! That was a terrible call." I look at the photo and see that the umpire was right. Sometimes they come up to me and ask, "Did you get that? She was safe, right?" I tell them they have to wait until I post the pictures on the web and they can check for themselves.

For the most part, the games give parents a way to catch up with their friends and what's going on with everyone lives pausing enough to see an exciting play then back to chatting.

Many of the umpires ask me to get their best side. As I took this photo, the spectators laughed and said, "You go, Sam!"

I wonder if he'll want a 5x7 of this?

Only Drink Domestic Water

Non-domestic water is only good for irrigation or so the sign says. The Spanish version says, "It's prohibited to drink this water. Only for Watering."

I should have you guys send me photos of signs that you find interesting.

Endless Campaigning

Does it just seem that this campaigning takes way too long? Non-stop promises until November coming out of both camps and of course they can reverse, fix, and make everything better.

I wonder if anyone has compiled a list pre-election promises versus actual accomplishments. Real accomplishments, not the speech they give in January saying, "See...employment was up in December by 25%" and failing to note that it was part-time Christmas help that will be let go after the return season is over.

Oh...and who is voting for Ralph Nader?

Parking Lot Behavior

When you drive into a major parking lot it's only natural that someone would want to park closest to the entrance and at first that's easy. But how much effort to do you go into trying to attain that perfect spot?

Do you head right to the door and keep on going back further trying to get the closet that you can get? Are you the type that will wait as people are leaving and eyeball them and ask them if they are leaving as is common on college campus?

Have you ever "fought" someone for a parking spot because you had your blinker on for 5 minutes waiting for grandma to pack her trunk and someone just zoomed right into it from the other side?

I used to have a handicap parking placard and people would stare at me as I got out of my car, but would instantly change their expression when they saw me help my mom out of the car with a cane. My mom loved that we could park right in front! Basically this was the only time that I would go to the front.

Personally, I just park in the sparse area and beat those that are circling the lot. Heather can attest to that as I say, "My legs work perfectly fine how about yours?!" :)

Disposable BS Bags

It has been mandated that each employee place one of these bags next to their desk and give it to the appropriate person when the BS meter goes off.

Don't worry about running out as we've order a huge supply of these bags!

Pick a Number

A conversation I had with my daughter Heather many moons ago:

Heather: Daddy, what's your favorite number?
Me: 5,693,452
Heather: No, I mean like a smaller one, between 1 and 10.
Me: Hmmm, okay. 7.94!
Heather: Daddy...a number with no point in it. And it can only be 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9, or 10.
Me: But you said between 1 and 10. You just included 1 and 10.
Heather: [stares at me with daggers]
Heather: A number from 1 to 10 ONLY with no point in it. You can pick the 1 or the 10 too.
Me: 9
Heather: Hey that's my favorite. Pick another one.
Me: 5
Heather: I forgot what I was gonna tell you.

iPhone

Yup, I went out and bought an Apple iPhone on Thursday night. So, I've been playing with it and I like it so far. I've moved all my contacts over, and loaded some music, customized it a little, and ran it through it's paces.

Some interesting things that are missing is GPS navigation, but it gives you a general idea of where you are when you load up google maps and tap on the find me button using the cell towers. There is no voice activated anything, no movie recordings, but the iPhone's pictures are really nice. The internet access is slow but usable and I like the auto wifi leech mode. The iPhone uses your wireless connection for iTunes, and for faster youTube viewing.

Heather likes to use the iPhone to get on her myspace page, and watch youTube videos while we wait for our orders to arrive when dining out. I've sent gmail, and done all that other internet stuff but was dissappointed in the web apps. I'm signing up for the SDK so that I can write some native applications in a little bit and so far I like my iPhone.

Snapple Real Fact #9

The average speed of a house fly is 4.5 miles an hour.

And how exactly does one get a fly to cooperate in this experiment?

War of the Roses on 92.5

Many of you keep asking me for the link for this and even though you can google it, I'll just link to it - War of the Roses. You kind of have to wonder when someone is just going to fake one of the stories just to see if they pull it off.

Just a fresher:
What is 'War of the Roses' in San Diego?

Leap Year

It's the 29th of February. Anyone have their birthday on this day? If so, do they only count years that they can celebrate as their age?

I heard that there is an old English tradition that states that on the 29th of February a woman can propose to a man. If he refuses then he has to pay up! That could be anything from an item of clothing or something of her choosing.

Ladies! Would you take advantage of this tradition if your man was taking too long to pop the question?

Men Make More Money

I first need to say that this is not my theory but something that raised an eyebrow over lunch. I was talking to a someone while waiting for the lunch truck and he asked me what I thought about a theory he heard: "Men make more than women because men have to pay for the woman (dinner, going out, movies, gifts, etc..) Basically, paying for both so that's why they need to make more."

What do you think?

Snapple Real Fact #117

The starfish is the only animal that can turn its stomach inside out.

Aren't you jealous?

FlickrVision.com

If you're addicted to flickr then you'll really like watching FlickrVision.com. It uses the flickr mashup api to check which photos have been recently added and gives you a sample image and location using google maps to show you where it was uploaded from. Pretty cool if you ask me. What do you think?

IOMEGA Zip Drives

I went with my friend to purchase some computer stuff by my work, and I noticed the sign as we walked in. Zip Drives? What? I remember the 100mb zip drive a bazillion years ago, but wondered why they still had it listed on the sign.

As my friend is looking around for stuff, I ask the sales guy, "I'm looking for some zip disks. Where are you stashing them?" The guy looks at me with that "dude?! What are you talking about?" look.

I point to the sign and say, "Well...you sell zip Zip Drives, you sell the disk for them too, right?" Then we both start laughing. He says, "I guess we should take that sign down, huh?"

Did you ever have a zip drive?

Lunch Plans

Her: What's the lunch plan? Esther's?
Me: Dunno. You have something in mind?
Her: Anything.
Me: Okay, how about Anthony's?
Her: Nah, I had fish yesterday.
Me: Uh...The little deli.
Her: I'm not in the mood for a sandwich.
Me: Brickyard?
Her: We just had that Friday.
Me: Harry's?
Her: That would take too long.
Me: Chineese? What do you want?
Her: I told you! Anything except Chineese.
Me: Okay where do they sell this "Anything," so we can get moving. Otherwise, I'm going to Esther's.
Her: Geez! Touchy today aren't you?
Me: :)

80th Academy Awards

Nope. Didn't watch the award show since I didn't see any of the movies or know many of the actors that did win. I think that going to rotten tomatoes is more fun, anyway.

The only time that I did watch was for extra credit for my speech class in college, but these types of shows don't interest me. How about you?

Not a Trash Can

Make sure to follow instructions, okay!

Volleyball in Oceanside

Heather's team had four matches up in Oceanside, Ca. today. I managed to shoot one game of softball down at Discovery Park and I headed to Heather's volleyball matches.

By the time I got there the $5.00 parking guy was gone but finding a spot was still pretty hard. Luckily, I found a spot after someone left to go get lunch. Heather did well and the team had fun even though they didn't do that well overall. During the downtime, Heather took over my camera and the girls laughed at all the pictures that I had taken since everyone has funny expressions when they're playing.

Another side note was that the indoor bathrooms were for the women, and the men had to go outside and use the portable toilets out in the parking lot. Gee thanks.

San Diego Drivers and Rain

Rain! The trip wasn't that bad and the a CHP Officer in his rain coat was standing at the usual car pool trap. He didn't look very happy in the pouring rain but now I'm thinking this trap isn't a random thing.

Snapple Real Fact #60

The tongue is the fastest healing part of a human body.

I guess our body thinks we'll be damaging our tongue on a regular basis?

Car Pool

My friend asked if I would pick her up on my way to work. I agreed with the condition that I would leave if she wasn't ready when I got there. Let's see how long this car pool thing works. I'm predicting two days.

Immigration issues at the street level

You're probably innundated with political promises by the candidates and one of these topics is immigration. When my friend Alex and I were down at the lunch truck. I asked one of the Pedicab Operators if business was good for a bit now that the rain had subsided. He said, "Oh yes. But more because the INS and police have cracked down on those not foreigners that aren't supposed to be working here that buy up all the bikes and force us out." He had made enough so far today to enjoy a good warm lunch.

Later he stated, " you know they come here on short-term permits but they stay longer than they are supposed to and take our jobs. Now the Americans can get more fares."

What's your view?

Total Lunar Eclipse

I like astronomy so I had my camera ready for the total lunar eclipse but didn't think I would get a shot since it was so cloudy...and I was right. Well, here's a sequence of images of what I hoped I would see.

Did you get a peek?

Rainy Nacho Day

It was raining pretty hard so I called up Esther to see if she was actually coming by. She laughed and told me that she was only 8 lights away and to be outside in 5 minutes. I put on my raincoat and headed out there.

There was only one other person brave enough to weather the rain. No wait at all. :) Esther asked, "what kind of soda do you want?" As I turn, she smiles tells me that she is merely testing me. She knows that I haven't had any sodas in about 10 days.

Fender Bender

I usually go down to the little mini-mart in our building in the morning to get munchies. Today my friend was late and as I was about to head down, out popped my friend out of the elevator. She told me that she got into an accident. What? Nothing serious but a broken tail light. I waited for her while she put her stuff away. I asked if she got pictures, or a signed statement that that was the only thing wrong. She said, "Oh no, he was really friendly."

As we walked down I said, "don't be surprised if he starts wearing a neck brace and that broken light turns into a couple of thousand dollars, wants his car painted and ..." She laughed at me...but not for long. She got faxed a quote for $1,500. He wants the fender replaced, tail light, oh, and the car painted since there are now some scratches :) btw, that's not the accident picture in case you're wondering.

Just wait a couple more days and his neck will start to get sore. Then I got smacked in the arm then get asked, "Oh...can I borrow $2.00?"

Happy President's Day

Woohoo. I get the day off and again woke up at the regular time since my Monday through Friday alarm doesn't know holidays! Now there's no holiday to look forward to until later May 26th, Memorial Day. A friend called me up and we talked for little bit and I gave some advice. Now whether they take it or not is a different story but they wanted to hear what I had to say.

Did you do anything exciting or just kick back?

I dropped something

How many of you know how to juggle?

Softball Opening Day

Today was opening day for the softball league that I volunteer for and we had a surprise guest - "The San Diego Chicken." Not very many of the girls knew who he was but a lot of the parents did!

It had just rained the previous couple of days so our field crew was up early getting the fields ready to play. They did a great job.

I was there the whole day and the kids are the ones that are the most excited to see me because they know that I will be taking their action shots (if there is some) and posting it on the website.

Heather was supposed to help me photograph the T-Ballers but she went to Arizona to watch her sister during the long weekend. I called her during the 7:00 p.m. game and asked for a little update. I told her that she'd get photo credit if she helped me. :)

Some people asked about "the hat," but I couldn't find it. Regardless, I didn't get sunburned this year. Two and half more months before all-stars...

Slow Motion Bullet

Chinese Astrology

Today my friend and I went to China Camp for lunch downtown. While we were waiting for our order, we were reading the little place mats with all the Chinese astrology signs. This just happens to be Chinese year of the rat and I found out that I was born in the year of the horse but most importantly that I'm 95% compatible with a woman born in the year of the dog. I take all this stuff just for fun...how about you? Or do you believe that when you are born determines everything?

Happy Valentine's Day

I got into work this morning and I had chocolate chip cookies on my laptop table. I read the card and went over to thank her. She just smiled and said, "You're welcome."

I had a surprise for the girls in the softball league. I changed all the colors to pink, and made a little softball valentine with an arrow going into the softball. Now what to come up with for April Fool's day. The season starts this Saturday and I'm exited about seeing everything, it's been a long time since I've seen some people....

She'll Let You Know

My friends online and in real life, sometimes ask me about stuff and one topic was how some break-ups could occur "out of the blue." But I told him that no, it doesn't just happen like that.

It's not what a guy thinks concerning what will make his girl happy, it's what she tells him about what will make her happy that counts! If he ignores this, then she'll be gone...because he just didn't listen.

By telling, I mean: her reaction, body language, mood, communication, etc. Remember that just because you stop fighting about things doesn't mean that it's not an issue anymore. It's that she's given up for whatever reason.

Then when it's too late, it doesn't help to blame it on everything or anyone else and think that you had no part in it, because then even your friends (the honest ones will just tell you you screwed up, and learn for the next relationship) will know you left things out of your story.

Dumb Question #1

I wonder where "Wilson" from the movie "Cast Away" ended up floating to? Where do you think he washed up?

Brother Mine

My sister lives across the country, and asked (she greets me with 'Brother Mine') if I had a webcam so that she could get hers set up. Sure...I flip mine on and poof there I am but I couldn't see her. After suggesting things for about an hour we finally got hers to work. First thing I saw was her raising her arms in victory! LOL

Since she has several IM clients they were fighting for control of the camera and neither could use it.

Do you use video when you can't be with your loved ones?

Composite Shadow

I took this last Wednesday while waiting for my supreme nacho lunch from the roach coach truck (apx. 11:05 a.m. for those trying to figure out the angle)

These are actually two shadow photos pasted on top of each other so that you could see my arms since I had to hold the camera with the other. :)

If I were still doing my 365 then would this count as a self-portrait?

Great Day in San Diego

I picked Heather up after calling and saying, "Let's get out of the house!" We went down to Discovery Park and it was full of girls practicing for the new softball season that starts in one week. Ran into so many people that I knew and of course the question I always get, "Where's the camera!?" There will be time for that next week :)

We went to volleyball practice later and she and I arrived early and played a little 2 on 5 against her team mates for fun. We did okay :) I'd love to have her as my partner for 2 on 2 sand volleyball since now she can probably do better than the majority of our weekly sand volleyball crew.

Snapple Real Fact #77

No piece of paper can be folded more than 7 times.


I had someone try this at work yesterday and they said they could do this. Can you? I think Mythbusters tried to disprove this one with a GIANT-sized paper, but I didn't see the episode. Try it and let me know what you find.

Single Signal

Have you ever had a word that messes you up? For me it used to be the word single and signal. At one point I was in a school movie and I played the 'Asian Dick Clark.' Our version of "American Bandstand" You could of guessed it was some sort of parody, right?

In the particular scene, I was supposed to say, "Let's give it up for Buddy Holly and his new hit single." I jumped into camera view with my cheesy little microphone and kept substituting signal instead of single. Luckily, I was doing this with all my friends, and at first we couldn't stop laughing. But after several takes, we all got frustrated and by the time I did get it right, my picnic red checkered jacket was on crooked. Nice! We ran out of film and exhausted our budget so it was a wrap.

We played it for the class and somehow the speed was wrong, and that combined with the crooked jacket, messed up chipmunk sound; people thought we did it on purpose. It was a hit, a Charlie Chaplin type wannabe movie. We got an "A."

Have you ever thought you messed something up bad, but things ended up better than you thought?

Pizza Delivery Tip

If you buy this $10.00 large pizza for delivery, you're charged a $2.00 delivery fee, then how much should you tip the delivery person when they show up?

The Mile of Men

Radio station Star 94.1 in San Diego does it's annual "Mile of Men," tomorrow. Men call in to the station and they sort of audition to be placed on a list of guys that will stand on the side of the road with numbers. The men also send in photos to be placed on the website so the ladies can see what's on the shelf for the next day to pick from. Women drive by really early in the morning on the big day and call into the radio station and pick "their" man for Valentine's Day.

These women go wild driving up and down frantically looking for another guy after their first choice is gone. At times, they then then just give up and ask for anyone ages, "30-40." I'd hate to be the last guy standing after over one hundred other guys got picked, but at least they have a date, right?

If you were a guy would you do this? And, if you're a woman; would you drive down the mile and pick a man?

Happy FAT SUPER Tuesday

The Gaslamp in San Diego was being blocked off for Fat Tuesday this morning and a convoy of porta-toilets lined the entire block on one street. They're ready are you?

How many of you got automated calls to remind you about Super Tuesday? I got some on my home and cell. I guess they assume nobody watches the news, gets on the internet, listens to the radio, or checks their mail.

Does it annoy you when you get home and turn on the tv and the anchor on any major news channel says, "With 5% of the vote in...we are declaring Marey Carey the winner!"

My blog is worth?

My site is worth $71,579,097.How much is yours worth?

You've see them everwhere. These little "how much is your blog worth" banners showing an exact figure, but I think my blog is worth ZERO. But it seems like website calculator thinks it's worth just a little bit more. Go ahead, enter this blog in the little box on their website and you'll see. After you do that, let me know what you think! :)
I know why it's valued that high (71+ million USD) but it flucuates rather sharply but what's a few million dollars? Do you know why it's valued that high?

Snapple Real Fact #10

Mosquitos are attracted to people who just ate bananas

Hmmm...Now there's a gag gift idea - a banana spray! I wonder if that would work?

Super Bowl 42

The final score Giants 17 Patriots 14. The game was rather boring except for the 4th quarter when the game came down to do or die. Sorry, I'm not into defensive type games. Shoot-outs please!

I would have liked to have seen the Patriots win and go undefeated, but having a huge upset is pretty good, too. In the end it turned out to be a good game with Eli coming through at the end. One thing with all the hype concerning their undefeated season is that the Patriots probably will be in one of those Southwest Airline commerials - "Wanna get away?"

Did you like the game, half-time show or commercials the most, IF you watched?

Pre-Game Ooops

Did Terry Bradshaw just say what I thought he said concerning Howie Long's "F"ing Head, on the Super Bowl pre-game show? Yes...He did. :) Let's see what happens now.

Ordering at a Restaurant

I went out to eat (what's new, huh?) and when I sat down the new guy gave me a menu. The regular server took it away from me and gave it to another table with a grin on her face. "Do you want your usual?" She asked in Spanish. "Si...con mas salsa por favor."

When you go to a restaurant, do you look at the menu but order the samething anyway?

Super Bowl Hype

Nobody gives the Giants any hope of winning the Super Bowl on Sunday. The Patriots are supposed to just walk into the stadium, sweat a little then collect their Trophy. But as I recall, the last time they met the game was pretty close only a three point difference. When the Pats played the Chargers...Brady didn't really play all that stellar. The Giants have a lot of confidence coming into the game after beating the Packers.

So...who knows.

Burn It!

I was throwing a receipt away at the mall when I a guy says, "someone could get that and charge up your card. That's why I shred and wait for the trashman to actually arrive before putting the cans out." I listened to his public service announcement and then said, "If someone wanted to they could piece together those strips much like the Iranian students did in 1979 with the U.S. Embassy documents. But it's a lot easier today to get your info..."

My friend just recently had her card fraudulantly used around the city. They bought some video games, clothes, hit up Walmart and did some grocery shopping. More than likely it was when she gave the card to someone and let it out of her sight.

How much are you concerned with identity theft/fraud?

Heterochromia

Would you be freaked out if you met someone with heterochromia?

Your car will tell on you!

Federal, state and local coffers are in need of some help and with all of them promising no taxes, they have devised a new method to get extra revenue.

Beginning in 2010 all new vehicles will be equipped with a "SRRD." This self reporting revenue device is connected to the vehicle's GPS and stores your entire trip speed/driving behavior record in memory. If you've noticed those little cut-out circles in the road, or the sensors like the "HOV" monitors, then you know they have been modified to gather your SRRD data as you drive by.

How many times have you broken the speed limit, and for how long? Any violation lasting longer than 6 seconds (time required to pass a vehicle) will be ruled a violation and auto-reported. This can get really expensive because you can have multiple violations in one trip. They've anticipated this and you can take advantage of "Section 19: Multiple violation charges can be reduced to lower price, provided that it is paid via guaranteed method as outlined in Section 17 within 48 hours of the reported violation by the SRRD. A non-refundable convenience fee will charged separately for using this option."

You may think that removing the device will help but the penalty is steep for doing this: "Section 2: Removing or tampering with the SRRD in anyway, shape, or form including the distruption of the transmission of data to and from the system is punishable by a $25,000 USD fine, one (1) year of incarceration or both."

As you may have guessed, the auto industry has resisted such plans and they were appeased in part when the Federal government pushed legislation through via earmarks in locations where the automakers have plants.

What do you think of all of this?

Be back before sundown

How far do you let your kids go outside of the house without supervision? My parents let me go as far on my bike as long as I was back before sundown. Some of my friends could only go to the end of the block, while others could only be in the yard and in plain parent view.

Random Sam Fact #45

When I as eight, my parents left me alone for a week while they went down to Mexico to take care of business. I had school so they thought it best for me to stay in the house by myself. One night, I heard someone/people right outside my parent's window. I turned on the light but they didn't go away. I ran into my bedroom and got my dad's handgun, and got the clip. I had first thought about the 30/30 but it was too heavy.

I chambered a round and was hoping that they would go away just from hearing that distinctive sound. My little dog "chewy" was chasing me around the house and I had my .22 rifle read also. By the way, did I tell you I was terrified with all the lights on in the house? I totally freaked out when I heard the window screen move.

I put one round THROUGH the wall and I heard it hit the sand pile right outside and also heard the "bad guys" start running. Right after that I went outside with Chewy, and fired three more rounds at the dirt piles. It was dark but I could see three figures running down the railroad tracks.

My mom found the hole right away when they got back and asked what I had done. I told her and she said she wouldn't tell my dad if I helped her fix it - Deal. I was still allowed to target practice everyday so all was well. :)

Snapple Real Fact #69

No word in the english language rhymes with month.

AND Caller ID is illegal in California.

Someone showed me the first one and then someone else showed me the second one at work, both had the #69 on it.

Storm hits San Diego

I knew that the storm was supposed to hit today so I raked up the remaining leaves from around the tree. It's now completely naked. I raked the neighbor's leaves also since I think it looks stupid for one-half of the area to be clean and the other to be all filled up with stuff.

How many of you think the neighbor will return the favor?

I saw several "softball people" at Heather's volleyball practice, and they came up to me and gave me a hug. We talked for a little bit and caught up. Today's practice was a short one, and at one point Heather asked if I wanted her to ask the coach if I could practice with them. I'll probably take her up on it next time. :)

After dropping Heather off at her friends house, I hit a bookstore and vegged out for a little. Nothing exciting...

Finally

The CHP was at their regular carpool trap. I'm gonna see if they have a pattern. Or, if it's just when someone calls and complains?

My invoices got "processed!" This means that hopefully in thirty days, I'll actually have some money. :)

I had lunch in one of the new remodeled Carl's Jr, but I wonder if they think that will get more people to eat there?

Laughter over death leads to longer sentence

A woman was sentenced to almost the maximum by a judge for killing a bicyclist after she was found to be laughing about the death. Her lawyer said that the defendant was very remorseful but the tape shows otherwise.

Do you think her punishment was appropriate?

Huge Clock

When I was out and about during lunch, I noticed this huge clock on the wall. I liked it so I took a picture of it with my cell phone and the guy asked me if I was going to try and steal it! :)

I like the roman numerals because they remind me of when I learned how to tell time. I wonder how long before kids won't even know how to tell time without it being digital.

I'm here at the draft right now texting my daughter and telling her what team her friend is on.

A Reminder!

You've probably heard that Heath Ledger is dead by now and to most it was a shock. Everyone saying he was so young and that he had a lot going for him.

But, I just see this as a reminder of how fragile we are and that you can be gone NOW for whatever reason, either natural or not.

Keep in touch with people and don't use the excuse that you're too busy!

Carne Asada Burrito

Today was a long day!!! I got in a little late, but made the time up by staying late so no harm done. There was just enough time for a burrito and quesadilla at the local taco shop before going to the Mini-Minor draft.

The lady looks at me and says:

Lady: ¿Como te puedo ayudar?
Sam: ¡Quiero una carne asada burrito y una quesadilla para qui!
Lady: [smiles at me] se dice, quiero un burrito de carne asada.
Sam: Entonces, quiero un burrito de carne asada y la quesadilla, por favor!
Lady: Muy bien.

I rarely get to practice my Spanish and I found it rather interesting that she corrected my Spanish in front of everyone, an older lady just smiled as I got my lesson.

The mini-minor draft went well, just two more nights. It's gonna be a long week and I'm already tired.

Snapple Real Fact #37

A snail breathes through it's foot

Snail have feet? What? I thought they slithered!

Martin Luther King Day

I didn't work today, but I had a rush of last minute sign-ups for my volunteer work. I was told that it was going to rain but went on my 5 mile anyway looking up to see if I would get caught in the rain. The split second after I got back it started raining. :)

This was the first time that I went down to Discovery Park during a registration and noticed that one of my friends had signed up. I saw a bunch of familiar faces, and they came up to me and shook my hand as I sat down on the ground with my laptop and long range wireless. I had called Heather and asked if I could do registrations from there if my connection wasn't good - "Sure Daddy."

It was a cold clear night but at least it was a full moon. It's also been three years since my mom died. Time flies...

Random Sam Fact #75

When I was in elementary school, I wanted to change my name to Aaron. I didn't like that we would have to line up in alphabetical order and my name starting with a "S" meant that I was nearly always last for everything.

For some reason the teachers didn't think highly of my suggestion with starting with "Z" this time...

2008 AFC Championship

Final Score 12-21, Patriots. The Chargers had multiple opportunities to win this game, but could only get four field goals. They managed to intercept Brady three times, and the Pats won the game with the running game.

At least they didn't lose by the 14 points they were supposed to lose by. The hardest part was watching the the Patriots just killing the clock on their final possession - 1st Down, after 1st Down. 'till next year.

The Patriots are 18-0 and only one game from the "perfect" season. Can they do it?