This is the first in a series of short HOW-TO videos we’ll be doing over at Linux Journal. What do you think? (Sorry for the click through, but I’m looking for feedback over there)
General Thoughts
Whoa, Almost Missed a Day!
Being gone on the weekend almost caused me to miss my daily blog resolution!
So here is my Saturday thought: I was watching Dirty Jobs (the TV show), and they were smoking bologna – that was in plastic tubes. How would the smoke flavor penetrate the plastic? Does that seem strange to anyone else?
NASA, It Never Gets Old
Most bloggers are pumped when famous people visit their websites. Me? This friend stops by, and I’m all a twitter. 😉
Soft Cookies
Apparently I’m on a “which do you like better” kick. I am a BIG fan of soft cookies. In fact, I mean BIG in a literal sense because eating cookies has that effect on me. I never knew anyone that preferred hard cookies until the other day I was approached with the idea that soft cookies don’t maintain their structural integrity while being dunked.
You know, that’s actually a good point.
I always considered cookie-dunking a workaround designed to facilitate the consumption of hard cookies. I never really thought of it as a preferred method. Don’t get me wrong, I like to dunk cookies, but I always do it because they’re hard in order to soften them up.
Have I been to quick to judge the crumbly ones? Are the crumbs all over the table worth it for the joy of drowning them in a beverage of choice? Does anyone actually prefer hard cookies?!!?
Star Wars or Star Trek?
I’m not talking about epic battles, but rather which a person identifies with more. Myself, I grew up in the Star Wars era. I had action figures. I dreamed of fashioning my own light saber. I was both scared and fascinated by Darth Vader. (Actually, he scared me even more in Return of the Jedi with his helmet off, eiw) I played with Star Wars figures for years.
Then, I met Star Trek. I shunned The Next Generation at first, because I had some silly notion it was ruining Star Trek. Then, I actually watched a few episodes, and I was hooked. There was no one on Earth I wanted to be more than Wesley Crusher on board the Enterprise. And Star Trek had science. Yes, fantasy science. Yes, at times silly science. But where Star Wars was just futuristic action, Star Trek was science fiction. Star Trek was (and is) friggen awesome. 🙂
So I’m a Trekkie. I love all the series. I love all the movies. Yes, some more than others — but I don’t hate any of them. How about you? Phasers or sabers?
Anti-Lock Brakes
I posted a comment over at John Scalzi’s website that piqued my curiosity enough to ask the question to everyone:
* Do you love/hate/not_care_about anti-lock brakes on your vehicle?
* Also, where do you currently live, and where did you live when you started driving?
I ask, because I live in northern Michigan, and we have icy roads all winter. Anti-lock brakes tend to annoy the crap out of me. Not because I’m a crazy driver that feels the need to lock up my tires and slide around like an idiot (although, I admit at times that’s kinda fun). I learned to drive with regular old brakes, and I tend to perform best when I have a “feel” for the road conditions, and can apply the stopping force that is appropriate.
I find that anti-lock brakes assume I’m an idiot, and go PBPBPBPBPPBPBPBPBBPBBPPBPPPBPBB, stealing any actual braking skills from me and forcing me to hope the van knows what it’s doing in time to stop. I’ve had this discussion with people that assure me it’s physically impossible for a human being to stop better than anti-lock brakes can. Well, I say pshaw.
How about you? Do you love anti-lock brakes on icy roads? Am I just and idjit?
UPDATE: Interestingly, this post just received a visitor from a computer user at daimlerchrysler.com. Welcome. 🙂
Resolutions
I’m not usually a fan of New Year’s resolutions, but this year, I’m going to try a few. It’s not that the concept has grown on me, but rather the timing is fairly good. I need to concentrate on a few things, and it happens to be the end of the year. So: Resolution Time. Here are mine:
1. Blog-a-Day
I could say this was so that I entertained everyone at a more regular basis. I could say it was so I would get enough regular traffic to make money with ads. But, since I don’t have ads and I’m not terribly entertaining, that would be a lie. Basically, I need to write. For many reasons. Feel free to watch. 🙂
2. Lose Weight
Yes yes, very common New Year’s resolution. It’s really starting to affect me though. I need to weigh about 35-40 pounds less than I currently do. If you know me, and think I’m being absurd — trust me, I carry my weight well. Too well.
3. Certain Health Issue
I’m really not up for talking about the specifics publicly, but suffice to say I’m having some pretty serious health issues that I’m forcing myself to take care of. I’m seeing a doctor tomorrow, which is so not like me. I suspect I’ll blog about it later, sorry to bring it up and not explain. Mentioning it here, even this vague, is forcing me to deal with it. Take THAT, me!
I think 3 is good for now. How about you? Do you do the whole “resolution” thing? What are some of yours?