I saw this today on some random European website and "wow! how racist! But then I searched for "Mexican Flu" and found that it had been somehow "renamed" by a radical group wanting to "save California" from the infected Mexicans. Appropriately, their website is called "SaveCalifornia.com".
SaveCalifornia.com redirects immediately to SaveAmerica.com, where the claim to be "your pro-family organization dedicated to defending and representing the values of parents, grandparents, and concerned citizens who believe in family, faith, and freedom."
This is the kind of sentiment that a lot of countries make fun of the USA for, and with good reason. They somehow see some politicians, etc, supposedly standing up for ideas like this along with the agendas of big corporations and those with high-powered special interests at the same time when a significant number of American people often miss it or don't hear about it because of the agendas of the big corporations and those with high-powered special interests behind the news agencies that don't tell them about it.
Right or wrong is definitely not my point. I just think it's interesting that the non-American term for H1N1 flu is sometimes Mexican Flu. I wonder what other special interest groups were making that change happen?
There's way, way too much to do. Something is an emergency to someone absolutely all the time. There's not enough resources to make everything possible at the speed that would be preferable. Someone is always monumentally disappointed. Feedback rarely comes in any form other than grief - even after midnight on a Sunday. Oh, and there's no money. Idealism just isn't enough sometimes. I can't imagine I will ever help manage another non-profit ever, ever again.
I'm in love with my camera. I've had it for less than a month now and I've already taken more than 3,000 pictures with it. I'm still learning how best to gauge the shutter speed, aperture, ISO, white balance, and everything else that you can customize with it and I'm having a ton of fun doing so. I took a bunch of pics of my first guitar (which, cool enough, is my bro's first acoustic guitar that he passed on to me) and below are the five that I like the most. Which is your favorite?
"Can I carry a guitar on a Southwest Airlines flight?
The title question is what prompted me to post this here for future searchers looking for the answer:
Southwest Airlines informs upon inquiry that they allow carry-on of any "luggable" instrument so long as (a) there is available bin space, and (b) the instrument is in a SOFT PADDED CASE that fits in the overhead bin (SW is flying larger 737-400s these days, and the o'head bins are a lot bigger than they were a few years ago).
If (a) fails to be the case, you may gate-check the instrument (i.e. the flight attendant takes it from you just before you board the aircraft, and returns it to you as you step off at the end of the flight, so the "baggage apes" never get their paws on it.
Anyway, this has been great for carrying my gig-bagged Cort Parlor guitar back and forth between Houston and Tulsa these last couple of weeks.
I'll see if this answer remains true when I fly on a SWA flight on Thurs with the guitar that my bro gave me.
Greetings from Texas!
Note from after the flights:
I boarded two planes with my guitar in a soft-shell pack with no problems. I just put it in the overhead bin (fit easily with lots of room) and was never hassled at any point during the process.
I got a check from Google in the mail for $100.75. I was completely boggled about what it could be about until I saw that it was from my Adsense account. See the little ads on the left side of this page? I put those on here FIVE years ago and forgot about them. Apparently it took that long to generate enough income for the first payment (you must have at least $100 before they cut you a check).
So, here's the challenge. Google provides these ads for you guys, and if you go check out the websites on the other side of them they reward me financially. So give them a shot and let's see how long it takes to get the next check :)
As many of you are probably aware, my living situation can be considered different and, to many, "interesting". My favorite Chinese proverb (ok, the ONLY Chinese proverb that I know) is "may your life always be interesting." Of course, this can be taken as either a blessing or a curse. I typically feel that when I reach a point where I can't consider my life interesting than it is time to move on. Well, my life continues to be interesting, so here I still am.
One of my new favorite "interesting factors" is keeping our house stocked with a steady flow of new people. If you aren't aware of where I live here is some background: I have around 15 roommates in a big house in the SF area (right now it is Berkeley but that might change soon...) where everyone here contributes/volunteers/works/etc on a fun project. 4-5 nights a week we all somehow manage to eat together for a big, family-style dinner. It's really my favorite non-"work" related thing that we do here and I'm glad that we manage to continue doing it. Lately it's become even more fun.
These past several weeks I've been taking more time to find more people to invite over for dinner. On CS it's really easy to find new people who live in your area who just signed up. When someone looks particularly interesting (the super easy part is finding interesting people!) I send them an invite to come by and they often accept. And sometimes they find me! Last night we had two separate guests over who both asked through the website to come stay for a night or two. While I wasn't able to offer them a sleeping spot (we already have three guests right now in addition to the 15 that live here) I'm glad they were able to make it to dinner.
And speaking of guests - this is really the first time I've ever been able to offer my "couch" for other CSers to come and stay with me. It's been awesome to open up my home for people to come by and stay for a bit when possible. Having the space to do that is rare for us but my girlfriend and I have been trying to do it whenever a bed opens up.
Coming through the area? Let me know! I'd love to invite you to dinner, offer you a place to stay, or both! We really love having new people come by and share their experiences with lie detector inventors, time-share pitches (both stories from guests last night), or whatever you want to talk about :)
I haven't updated this blog for a really long time. Largely it's because I'm just not motivated to think of something interesting and "appropriate" to write here. I spend an exorbitant lot of time on this computer for work and when I'm using it for other purposes I just feel guilty for not working more and doing other things. Also, and this is the most annoying/fascinating/annoying-again part that most of you will probably find hard to believe: there are actually people that read whatever I put up here in hopes that they can use it against me. Sometimes I post stuff here that gets spread around certain internet message boards that then makes its way back to me when I meet people who say "oh, you're THAT guy" who supposedly said some little thing that someone took wildly out of context and then used it to further their own crazy agenda. Yep, it's stupid, petty, and annoying but it happens and I'd rather not feed the trolls that try to plague my life. If you are one of those people, I pity you and recommend you take up an actually constructive hobby like bicycling through the woods or learn to play the guitar to impress girls. The only thing dragging other people through the mud does is make people like me less likely to trust you with real info. When I have to watch what I say so I don't have to spend 10x longer explaining what I really meant because of your personal agenda/vendetta/ego/whatever, it just doesn't seem worth it to me to even bother when I already have so many things to be doing that no one else is very likely going to do if I don't.
Now, back to what I was going to write about... dammit. I totally lost my train of thought. I guess I should go back to work anyway. I'll try to think of something interesting for some of you (read: a very, very small but annoying fraction of a percent of you) to vilify me for.
I have the Google Alerts that email me when certain keywords make their way onto the internet, and below is something that popped up because of "flip top head":
If I've ever had your phone number then chances are high that I don't have it now. My phone disappeared Saturday night and I now have a "new" one thanks to my friend Casey and his hand-me-down. My number is still the same so gimme a call or email me your number.
As the United States gazes out on the wreckage of the past eight years - a $1.2 trillion (and growing) budget deficit, 7.2 percent (and rising) unemployment, two open-ended wars, a sullied U.S. image abroad, environmental degradation and a world that seems to be ripping apart - the hope must be that Bush has so tarnished these policies, which trace back to Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan, that they will never be tried again...
In the wake of the last horrendous 8 years, who wouldn't look like a knight in shining armor?
I'm learning a new programming language style and found this interesting application that kept me occupied for 2 minutes and 53 seconds. It is this simple game where you try and name all 50 states in under three minutes. I did it! Can you? Try it for yourself here.
I would have done it much faster but apparently this Texas boy isn't that great at spelling Masachu..., er, Massachu.. eh, you get the idea. :)
As you might expect, Obama winning the presidency made the city of San Francisco very, very happy. To further investigate, our secret agent bunny squad took to the streets to get the full-tilt scope of the night's festivities.
So yay for Obama and yay for the spirit of change! It's the 'end of an error!'
I got an email forwarded to me yesterday helping me weigh the political issues in a 'fair and balanced' way. While it obviously came from the McCain/Palin camp I was amazed at one thing.
For the last eight years Bush has McCain's and the Republican Party''s absolute hero. Even while he was destroying everything in his path they stood behind him with big grins on their faces. Is it only surprising to me that they now want so little to do with Bush and the current administration that they even say that Obama - the challenger and enemy of the GOP - would do what Bush would do?
The craziest (and truly boldest) part about this to me is that their 11th our pitch is "We're not like Bush, Obama is!" What's next? Will I get an email later today calling him "Obama bin Laden"?
Particularly as the Volunteer Coordinator of an internet based organization, I get an incredible (and often overwhelming) amount of email every day. Yesterday I read 128 and sent 32. I don't know exactly if it was an average day but it certainly didn't feel outside of any range of whatever could be considered 'normal' in my life. Rather can file for email bankruptcy I actually hit a milestone I'm really proud of: no unread messages!
Let me be clear: I read all of my messages, almost always the same day that I receive them, but keep them marked as 'unread' until I am able to reply to them properly. I usually have an average of 10-20 messages marked as such almost all the time but this month I've been making a serious effort to get down to zero. I'm really happy to get to it (as you can see by me writing a whole entry on it AND snapping a screen shot :)
I've always felt bad about having messages that I hadn't responded to sitting in my box for more than a few days. One recent one was over a month old, which is totally unacceptable in my book. Getting it down to zero is part of a new goal of not putting myself (or those awaiting the reply) in that position again.
So how do I do that? When I write or respond to an email I think about the stat that each email replied to "produces between 1.5 and 2 additional e-mail in return" and ask myself how I can satisfy whatever situation it is without getting stuck in an email loop. This kind of thinking has been more beneficial than just reducing email but making me more effective in what I do.
For more good ideas about how to be more effective check out my favorite blog.
If you forgot to pack your toothpaste and decide to dig through someone else's medicine cabinet looking for it, don't assume that the tube resting in the cup next to another toothbrush is what you want to brush your teeth with. It might just be Clearasil, and it'll make your tongue numb for at least an hour.
Continental Airlines falsely claims on their own website to fly me from San Jose, California to Raleigh/Durham, North Carolina for the impressive fare price of $155. After spending 20 minutes trying to buy the ticket online and continually getting a error "We're sorry, but continental.com was unable to complete your purchase. Please try your purchase later or call 1-800-xxx-xxxx * for assistance" I finally phone them up to find the published fare price isn't available but I'm welcome to purchase it for a whopping $537. Excuse me?
Here's how that convo went:
Continentail Airlines: "The next available price is 537."
Me: "....dollars? Or do you mean rupies?"
CA: "Dollars."
Me: "Are you insane or do they pay you to treat me like an idiot?"
And then I apologize for lashing out at him and how it's the company not the employee, blahblahblah, and then say no thanks to the 350% markup and hang up. But then I wonder, when did it become acceptable to do business with companies that you have to employ the "it's the company, not the employee" mantra? I did everything I could not to call up that 800 number because dealing with the soulless Muppets on the other end was the last thing I wanted to do this AM before my morning sugar-free Rockstar.
In the modern day of infinite choices why do we still have such an abysmal array of competing products that it continues to be no surprise when we're regularly disappointed through these kinds of encounters Big Business? It shouldn't be a surprise when the rare occurrence does come around that I'm actually glad I called anyone in the Fortune 500 directory. WTF kind of way is that to run a business???
* I've X'd their number because I don't want to give them ANY help in getting business at all
...that there must be a problem with your email provider when you haven't received an email in the last hour? I'm so used to reading and responding to, seriously, dozens of daily emails (today has been relatively light, so far, with only 31 sent messages) that it's a strange feeling when I don't hear that "ding" sound of my inbox lighting up for over an hour. Eerie? Yes. A little sad? Definitely.
Ah, thanks Netflix. As I was writing that last sentence they quickly sent me a message letting me know that The Breakfast Club is on its way. Yay for my email being ok, boo for allowing myself to be so chained to it.
Some of you may know that my last, wonderful couch didn't make the journey across the Pacific with me. She suffered a huge gash in one of her seams that despite many attempts proved to be irreparable. But I thought I could run off with Pooh and catch up with my little red friend once I made it back to the States and found a replacement. But the 2.5 months that I've been in New Zealand have been exactly 2.5 months too long to not have my wee red couch by my side. Pooh has been a lovely companion, but he makes a rotten seat. The trio needs to get back together.
After extensive research I'm confident that a red, inflatable "original bubble sofa" cannot be found on this tiny set of islands in the South Pacific. Further research on the internet outside of NZ came up fruitless as well. So this is where you can help. I have a friend coming over to New Zealand to meet up with me on March 4. If you can find a couch for me just like the one above I'll come up with the money to pay for it to be shipped to an eagerly awaiting address San Francisco within the week. You have your mission, now GO!
update: If any of you can find just ONE red inflatable couch out there that I could buy myself (i'll come up with the money somehow!) I'd be eternally grateful. If anyone can point me in the right direction I'll take a fantastic pic of the new couch and send it to you in the mail. Help!!
And the "Strangest Email of the Day" award goes to...
I don't know who this person is or how he thinks he knows me, but here it is:
Ambassador? Is there an embassy in Dublin? Shit. I'm an
expatriate queer. Thanks for changing the name, boyo.
Good on ya, as these mad Irish say. Don't be too quick
to tell peaple in the rest of the world that most
Americans vaguely recognize as FURRINERS, a locale
distincly and alarmingly NOT AMERICAN. I'm telling you
boy they'll nail you to the wall for George Fucking
Bush. But they'll feel sorry for you all the same.
Also, speak quietly and soflty. We speak louder than
other cultures generally, and it irritates the fuck
out of a lot of different cultures. But if you're
good-hearted ignore all the above. A pure spirit
shines through. Reading Paul Theroux's Riding The Iron
Rooster, about his 1986 train trip through China.
Best of luck to you. Slan,
(name removed)
Speaking of email, I'm on the hunt for a good hosted POP3 email host. My current host is abysmal at best and I'd like a new place to direct the Fliptophead.com domain. Any ideas? I found one that looks great but I'm not ready to plunk down $60+ for better email control just yet (my current one is only $20).
I know what your problem is. Couch envy. Don't lie.
Let's face it - you love my lil' couch. Day after day you keep asking yourself how you could own one of these wee red gems. Well, wonder no more! Josh at HotBeanBags.com has your answer.
My couch is very road weary. She has more holes than swiss cheese and is in need of some serious rest and relaxation. It's time to bring in a body double.
I saw the new Spike Lee joint Inside Man this weekend. I'm not normally a big Lee fan but I had to check it out since it a) stars Denzel Washington (probably my fav actor), and b) is about a bank robbery. When I was a kid my three major "career" aspirations were 1) rockstar, 2) jet fighter pilot, and 3) bank robber. Mental note: if I ever actually do rob a bank I'll have to remember to come back here and delete this post from my website as I don't want to see this come up as Exhibit A in my trial (if i'm caught, anyway - which i won't/wouldn't be).
Anyway, go check out Inside Man. Despite a few very minor open ends I don't think they ever got around to entirely closing up Denzel was great as always and Clive Owen (a relatively new fav of mine) did what he did best - act cool, mean but not so mean you could tell he wasn't in control, and, of course, mysterious. It was fun Sunday flick.
11 days to go until State48 Road Trip - Part 2 continues and i'm getting antsy. I just hope that I keep up this need to write as I'm on the road and actually have something interesting to write about. Thanks to Michael , Rob, and The Savage for actually following along and offering me feedback. It's nice to know that someone enjoys reading my drivel.
The time is now 9:01pm. My clock is flashing 6:29pm. What time did the power finally come back on last night while I was hard asleep?
Yeah, i know - these last few entries have been somewhat lame BUT i will be again pounding the pavement shortly. Two weeks from right now I should be somewhere in Mississippi, possibly near Jackson if I can either find someone to let me crash on their couch or locate an especially inviting place to pitch a tent.
Here's my proposed route so far. The red tent-like symbols represent CouchSurfers that have already agreed to let this stranger stay a night or two. The red flags, by the way, are places that i've stayed before - some of which i'll certainly drop by again... and again..
The first 1500 miles are going to be way more rushed than I'd like, but it's going to be worth it since I get to meet back up for a few days onboard Robert's Candide before he takes of for a month-long sail to and around the Bahamas. I just love being around people before they begin a huge voyage. The pre-trip buzz is a high not to be missed if you have the chance to catch it. From there I'll lazily drift up the coast to a few other stops in the Carolinas that I have neglected long enough. The time is now!
This week I finally got my new iPod in the mail (thank you eBay!) and I can't be happier. I've just gotta have my music. This morning I woke up at the way too early hour of 3am and couldn't go back to sleep. I passed part of the next four hours downloading album artwork for my iTunes music and dropping random favorite songs into a "favs" playlist. Today at work I passed a good deal of my time with one earbud snaked from my pockeet up my shirt and slyly in one ear, jamming to that monstorously random playlist. I'm fairly positive that today was the first time Nick Drake's subtle Pink Moon was ever casually sandwiched between Muse's Stockholm Syndrome and NIN's Piggy. I've gotta say, though - it worked mysteriously well.
Today's eclectic mix reminded me of a quote from one of my favorite movies spoken by one of the most under-appreciated actors in the biz:
"You're the only man I know who could mix Elvis Costello and Public Enemy! [singing] What's so funny about... peace, peace, peace... love and under... peace, peace. / Death Row, what does a brother know? peace, peace. / Yow, wow, wow, wow, wow, kapow! You're the King, man, you are the King!"
So, the questions I pose are this: What movie and what actor? And NO Googling allowed!! Here's a hint - the actor played the very brief part of "Dr. Bob" in one of my top 5 favorite movies of all time. Bonus: What actor does he refer to as "the King"? Extra bonus: Try and figure out the above answer/s before "Silent Rob" from New Jersey reads this and steals the show.
--- update Apr 13 ---
You had your chance, people. "Silent Rob" dropped in swinging and knocked another trivia question out of the park as usual. The answers were Singles, Jeremy Piven, Heat, and Scott Cambell. Nice try anyway, Michael!
Today is one of my most favorite days of the year for today is the day of the vernal equinox. Actually, the VE happened officially last night at 18:26 UTC time but since today is the first full day of the new season I choose now to celebrate.
While our west Texas winter was relatively mild for most of its season it refused to retreat quietly for another 9 months. Our last day of winter was punctuated by a day of intense 70 mph wind blowing anything not nailed down (as well as plenty that now needs re-nailed) anywhere and everywhere. Winter continued its feeble grasp by hanging on for the first part of today making it one of the coldest mornings in weeks. But Old Man Winter couldn’t hold on all day – Spring finally started warming things up just after 11am. Any season that doesn’t feel the need to begin its day until almost noon is just peachy with me.
In the spirit of the new season I’m sharing out a copy of my favorite Springtime song: The World At Large by Modest Mouse. I’m still looking for ways of converting it to Real Audio or some other way I can stream it but for now just right-click (Windows users, that is) and save-as. I don’t know how you Mac’ers do it but I’m sure you can figure it out. Here is the song.
St. Pat's Day last year I was working/playing/drinking heavily at a wee bar in the even wee-er town of Blackball, New Zealand. I can't believe it's already been a year!! Click here for the one picture I appear to have taken during the night (hmmm...i wonder why it's blurry...)
I'm a sucker for nostalgia. Thinking back on that day makes me reeeeally miss the land of the Kiwi. The most beautifully random things would happen on a near regular basis. That day I was mowing the lawn outside when a stranger tapped me on the shoulder and said, simply, "come on now, we're off to play cricket." I didn't know this guy, had never seen him before, but with only a second of hesitation I left the mower where it stopped and hopped into his van. New Zealand is definitely that kind of magical place if you let it be.
I'd never once played cricket...and it showed. Even so I can now say I was once a part of the Blackball Cricket Team that lost so miserably the the Bob Marley clad look-a-like (complete with fake dreads) team that comes all the way across the island from Christchurch every year to play a game with the locals (and a few of their tourists) in this small, laid-back town.
The story of how I hitched there is one of my favorite short stories. If you didn't read it last year here's the link.
I've decided to scrap the Couch Calendar idea for now. Several reasons contributed to this decision including a) not enough time to do it all myself (i spent 2 hours just working on January's layout). The place I found to do it somewhat cheaply makes you do each and every little thing on your own and I don't have enough experience with the areas Photoshop that I need to know nor the time to learn it. Reason b) not enough interest. I don't want to spend $300+ on a box of calendars and money on them. I wasn't expecting to really make any money but I don't want to squeeze in the time to get them done in an already crowded schedule to further depleat my travel fund, and c) I'm just about out of time. December is, somehow, over half over. Where does the time go?
Sorry for the handfull of you that actually professed an interest (you know who you are - thanks for your support). Next year I hope to have found a better way to do it AND i'll have lots of more couch pics to put on it so look for one then.
I'm spending as much of the day as I can watching football. It's my one day of the week that I get to take a day off. My 'Boys come on at 3pm but the Colts are keeping me company while I anxiously wait.
While Indi and Jax went in the locker room for halftime I spent my time doing a 20 minute yoga workout. I've done 20 minutes of it nearly every morning this week and it's made an amazing difference in the way I feel. My days have been full of energy I didn't know I had. The days that I've missed the workout are the ones that really show me the difference it makes. Go yoga!
I've been wanting this one for since it came out in August. It's a 7.1 megapixel camera as opposed to the 3.2 and 5 mp cameras I've been using in the past. Even though I've taken significantly higher quality pics than I thought I could with those other two Canon cams I'm excited to see what the big, bad 550 can do. And I finally upgraded to a cam with the SD memory card instead of the familiar CompactFlash ones. I even got the 1 gig ultra card. To those who don't speak Camera Geek talk that means I can take a lot of cool pictures really fast (4 per second on the rapid fire mode, if i like).
Sadly my timing on buying the camera couldn't have been much worse. I've been waiting and waiting and waiting and, yes, waiting for it to go on sale anywhere for weeks now but hadn't seen anyone spot a deal yet on SlickDeals so I went ahead and picked it up for the cheapest price I could find. The next morning I checked SlickDeals again and found this for about $50 less than I paid for it. Ouch.
Either way I'm excited about getting it in the mail in a couple of days and getting back into taking some pics. It's been too long! More pics of a little red couch in west Texas coming soon!
It's been a while since I've posted anything non-couch related. Here's something my friend Red in NJ sent me this morning. I love it! My dad is already brainstorming ways of making his yard the local multimedia extravaganza attraction.
Warning: this may (by that I mean will) take a while to load (4.9mb) but it's worth it! Just make sure you have your speakers on.
If you'd like to help with my trip it's now reeeeeeal easy. See the Google Ads links on this page? On the main page you'll find them in the left column, above the "hospitality links". Each time to visit my site it helps me a LOT just by clicking on one or two of the links you might find interesting before you leave. That's all. If enough people visit them I'll actually get a check one day for it. Easy as that!
Updated 7/20: Only 9 of you actually clicked on the links. Is it too much to ask?
While you're at it, there's another site that you can help out just by clicking on a link. It's called The Hunger Site. Every time you click someone gets to eat.
My camera broke today. I don't know how but it just did. It takes pictures but they come out blurry. There's a grinding noise where it sounds like its trying to focus. I didn't drop it but that's what it so I don't know what could have caused it. If you know anything about the Canon S500 and how to diagnose and fix them I'd love to hear about it.
There's no way I could spend another $300 on another camera. Anyone have any ideas?
Working sucks. This last week I clocked in 62 hours at the hardware store I'm helping out at to save for my next trip. It's great to have at least one day in the week where I can relax and do more than work, eat, and sleep. Well, eating and sleeping are good, and I'm doing a lot of both today, but at least the working part will wait until tomorrow when the new weeks starts.
I have a idea for my upcoming trip and I need an inflatable couch, preferably like the one pictured above. Does anyone want to donate one? I promise I'll make it famous and give you credit for it.
My site has been down for the last few days where I couldn't add anything to it. Thanks to my web guru Sonny for helping me getting back up and running. It's just as well that I was offline anyway. I probably would have just ranting about the election and I'd rather not do that. Let's just cross our fingers and hope that Bush's second term turns out better than his first. How's that for optimism?
Here's some random pictures for you. I took a blurry picture of a cow tonight that was blocking the road I was driving on. Right after I snapped the pic the cow walked off. Thanks for posing, cow.
While I'm posting blurry pictures here's one of the only fish I was able to catch (other than some stupid Garr that snagged my line) a few weeks ago.
There's a great book coming out this month by my hero. Steve Savage has finally written a book about his many, many travels. I have mine ordered and I can't wait to get it. Get yours!
Everyone be sure and check out today's edition of USA Today. Laura Bly, travel reporter for USA Today, interviewed me about my vagabonding experiences today for a story she is doing on CouchSurfing.com. Don't forget to pick up a copy!
I am working on summaries for my pics right now. So far I've done 731 out of 1,380. You people who keep begging to see them better appreciate the work I'm doing! Coming soon...
I got a grand total of two responses to the question I asked here. Two. Thanks to Jen and Matt. Are they the only ones looking at my site or are the rest of you out there, too?
Most of you know I´m a big fan of the hospitality sites listed on my site. So far I´ve stayed in over 30 different homes of people I´ve met through CouchSurfing, HospitalityClub, GlobalFreeloaders, and Place2Stay. I´ve had incredible experiences, a lot of which you might have read about on my site.
Have any of you joined up after reading about my experiences with it? If so, let me know. I´d love to hear from you. If you haven´t, why not? I´m also interested in why you may not want to do it. I know very few of you use the "comments" feature on my site and write back to me but make an exception this time and give me your thoughts. I´m trying to help make these sites better so more people can experience this type of hospitality exchange so your input would be appreciated.
If I had a mixtape of the songs in my head lately it would include both Candlebox´s "You" and Pearl Jam´s "You Are". Both of those songs have "you" in the title. What other of "you"r favorite songs include the word "You"?
I love pictures - both taking them and looking at them. Last week I went with Kirsten and Dieter to Odense, Denmark and saw an exhibit of photographs in the Kunsthallen Brandts. They had a great exhibit called "Join Hands" focusing on shots concerning "group viewing". The subtitle of the collection was called "the camera between the picture and the group" - at least that´s what my english interpretation says. I´m thinking somehow the Danish translation probably sounds better.
Here was another exhibit in the next hall that our entry pass didn´t cover. The artist was Beverly Semmes (from the US). I took this shot from the door.
Here´s the email I got from eBay today, terminating my auction:
eBay does not allow the auctioning of human souls for the following reasons:
If the soul does not exist, eBay could not allow the auctioning of the soul because there would be nothing to sell. However if the soul does exist, then in accordance with eBay's policy on human parts and remains we would not allow the auctioning of human souls. Therefore, we have ended this auction and all fees have been credited to your account.
Eh, it was fun while it lasted. I really would have liked to have that iPod, though. Instead I´m just still stuck with this soul that doesn´t have cool little earbuds that go along with it.
Ok, I´m getting tons of hits now from my eBay auction. I noticed my page loads really slow now. I hope my internet provider (aka Sonny) doesn´t get upset about the bandwidth. Oops.
Speaking of the auction, over 4,000 hits and my soul is still only worth $10.50??
Meet someone in a bar who you 1) don´t feel like making a scene out of not giving him your phone number, but 2) didn´t want to give it to him anyway? Now you don´t have to.
According to myfootprint.org if everyone in the world lived like I did in the States we would need 5.2 planets to sustain us all. By their calculations, worldwide there exists 4.5 biologically productive acres per person. I apparently use 23 of them all by myself. The average person in the US uses 24. Kinda makes you think.
Take the quiz and then comment with what yours is.
I'm having lots of issues with my email lately. Apparently my email provider went from average to terrible right as I left for Europe. It's unreliable at best. So if you've sent me emails I probably will get them I just don't know how long it will be. But please keep sending them!
Any idea what we should do with these? They're unused nose cones from wind turbines. My dad buys the strangest stuff and most of it usually sits somewhere (can you say trolly or playground equipment?) These are too interesting let let sit somewhere, though. Any ideas?
Is there anything better than a good sunset? That's one of the best things about west Texas. The sunsets are almost always gorgeous. I snapped this pic as I was taking out the garbage tonight. Most of you know by now I take a lot of pictures of trees. I look through my pictures on my computer and at least half of them are either trees or sky or both. I love it.
I had the BEST dinner last night. Some friends (Sonny, Kim, and Lindsay) took me out to Fogo De Chao, a really nice Brasilian steak restaurant. It was sooooo good.
It's actually snowing here in Denton. This happens maybe one day a year here (if that) so of course I had to take tons of pics. Here are two of them (for now). Of course you can click on them to see the larger version.
Here's an email I got tonight. Apparently someone thinks I'm in a position to offer employment. What a laugh! Here's what he wrote:
Dear Human Resources Department,
I am interested in securing a position with your company and would greatly appreciate your assistance on this matter...
Throughout my career, I have been directly responsible for the successful planning, development and implementation of numerous systems and have experience with a broad set of applications including financial, investment, media, retail, CRM, B2B/B2C E-commerce, and the Application Service Provider (ASP) solution-delivery model.
In addition to my technical strengths, I also have considerable experience in the areas of sales and marketing, facilities and personnel management, and recruitment and team building.
I am accustomed to dealing with a diversity of personalities and skill-sets, and have the ability to effectively convey solution benefits and ROI to client technical and executive members. One of my strongest assets is my ability to function as a 'trouble-shooter', in that I can quickly bring resolution to lingering or dysfunctional issues. I also bring with me that critical ability to evaluate systems and implementations with regards to how they will affect the company's bottom line.
I am a U.S. citizen. I am well-traveled, and am open to extensive travel and/or relocation.
I have attached my resume for your review. I would welcome the opportunity to speak with you further about my background, and the ways in which I can bring value to your organization.
Thank you for taking the time to send me your resume. For further consideration please tell me in short why you think you would be a good fit with my organization? Tell me why should I consider you for a position?
Jim Stone
HR Dept. Director
I also did a little digging and found that I'm not the only one who got this email and resume (yes, it was attached, too). It looks like he's been spamming out to everyone he can find. One one hand you've got to admire his vigor. There might be someone among the possible 100s or even 1000s who gets this who might appreciate his initiative. But me...I'll just leave it at this. Here's his email address: jobsearch2004@kifana.com and phone number (as listed in his resume): (551) 998-1909. Email him or give him a call and say hello. Tell him Jim says hi and I'll keep him in mind for whatever job he thinks he's applying for.
Is it bad luck to watch the movie Insomnia while I'm suffering from insomnia? I have the DVD even though I don't really like the movie. I don't think I've even ever watched the disk before.
I'm reading through a hilarious website right now (5ives.com). Because of it's randomness (coupled with the Tylenol PM i took an hour ago that hasn't kicking in enough to make me sleepy, only talkative and a wee bit loopy) I've decided to make a list of the five random things I did throughout the coarse of the day:
Played dozens of games of Yahoo! Pool despite my clear denials of addiction. Does this mean I have to give my 90 day "free and clear" chip back?
Took lots of pictures of the sky. I find myself doing that a lot. Also took one of a guy at work who didn't know I was taking his picture. I find myself doing that a lot, too.
Started keeping a journal for the first time in years (and no, this doesn't count -- this is more a way to friviously spend my seeming wealth of idle time). I probably haven't kept one since the last time I was in Europe (2001). I plan on keeping one when I go back so I suppose it's good to get in the habit of it, even if I did only start writing again tonight to try and become more sleepy (ie. why i'm writing this, too).
Discovered that Mount Tauro in Taormina, Sicily really is as nice as my book says. Of coarse I came about this information talking to a guy who lives there (would he really have told me no?).
Found another pic I took a few nights ago while I was driving when it was really foggy (yes, I know I'm supposed to be taking pictures while i'm driving at night in the fog but i'm going to do it anyway so just mind your own business). I love this picture.
I sent an email to an old friend of mine I haven't seen in several months on her birthday. I said hello and how it would be nice if we were able to meet up for coffee or something again before I left this town and never came back. Want to see the email I got back? Click the button below...
Dear Jim,
Thank you so much for remembering my birthday! I appreciate it. I am excited for you that you are going back to Europe. I know how much you loved it last time. I don't think I can get together with you. Things are just very different now, I am getting married in 5 months and I am happier than I have ever been in my entire life. I have a wonderful man who would do anything for me and I have looked for him for as long as I can remember, I am finally secure and completely happy. I just can't do anything to disrespect that relationship. Seeing you or spending time with you, in my eyes, would be disrespecting [name deleted]. You will always be special to me and I always will want to hear about your latest adventure but that's about it. That's as much as I will be able to give you. Know that you are a part of the person that I am! But God truly has plans for us all and there is a very good reason that it is called the past, that's where it needs to stay. I hope that you understand where I am coming from.
Take Care,
[name deleted, although i shouldn't have]
-------------------------------------------------
Does anyone understand this? People are so strange.
I'm applying for a job in Paris with Mike's Bike Tours and need to send them a pic with my resume. I took a couple today and want to send the best one. Look at them here and then tell me which one you like best. Hurry! I'm sending it by Friday.
This is an interesting read. I like the idea of embracing new technology instead of being scared and threatened by it. It's too bad the people that need to be reading this kind of stuff (ie. record companies) won't be.
I was trying to figure out how long the average person works at a job in their lifetime. While I couldn't find that answer I did run across some other interesting (and depressing facts). Here are a few:
A typical career position lasts 2.7 to 3.7 years. Which is six times longer than a job.
Going to job fairs and handing your resume to someone in the booth fails 92% of the time.
For every 1 job offer tendered and accepted employers receive 1,470 resumes.
The chances an average employer can pick the best candidate by interviewing is only 3% better than drawing straws.
So if you're looking for a job good luck with that search. Sounds like you might need it. Oh, and being that this is Monday I'll go ahead and throw this one in for you: According to suicide statistics, Monday is the favored day of self-destruction.
I got to see my first Cowboys game live yesterday since I was a little boy. I forgot how much fun it is to go to one of the games. Although trying to get out of the parking lot afterwards wasn't near as fun we had an overall enjoyable experience. And they won! Not only that but by doing so they clinched a spot in the playoffs! Yay!
My best so far is 259.2 meters but I can do better. Now I'm definitely not getting anything done today.
If you want to really annoy people who work go to this site with you turn your speakers up really loud. It took all of about 5 seconds from the yoddling to go from cute to deathly annoying.
What's the worst smell ever, you ask? Disgusting cigarrette smoke. Why is it I can't go to a bar and get my drink on for a couple of hours without coming home smelling like an ashtray?
Everyone hurry and look at the Amazon.com Friday Sale and spend spend spend your way into further debt buying stuff you don't need or to give to people who don't need it either. Hurry!
They'll try anything to get you to wear that seatbelt
I saw this billboard today while waiting an HOUR AND A HALF for an oil change. Talk about a wasted afternoon. At least I was able to read a lot of my book.
I pulled up to work yesterday afternoon to find four sheriff's office vans lined up a long the building with officers everywhere. My first thought was "goodie! they're finally going to arrest all of management for some sort of malicious crime!" And then the SWAT team van pulled in and guys carrying guns and riot gear helmets, ect stepped out. Then I thought "one of them finally cracked and is holding one of the bosses hostage. I wonder who it is this time?" Well it turned out...
that neither happened. They were having some city type meeting of bigwigs and officials and wanted to show them Denton has a good sheriff's office and SWAT team. They burst into their meeting and flashed their guns and yelled at everyone and rounded them up in vans to show them the prison facilities. Kinda neat, kinda lame. At least I got a cool pics of the SWAT guys posing for me.
OFF-GRID BUDDING COMMUNITY seeks motivated singles, couples and families to envision a permaculture farm, on the jungle side of Maui. We have animals, gardens and alternative structures. Housing available, and if you’re handy you can build your own abode. Long-term potential. For more details, please call...
How interesting does this sound?! Does it remind anyone else of that movie/book The Beach?
This was the first time in I don't know how long I actually was asleep by 11pm. Apparently that was a mistake. It's not 3am now and I laid in bed awake for almost an hour before I finally got up. Guess what's on as soon as turn the TV on? Yep, Insomnia.
I was having a good dream, too. I was on a beach in one of the small towns of the Cinque Terre in Northern Italy. It was a really nice dream and I'd sure like to go back to sleep and be there again.
I saw The Last Samurai Friday night and I have to say...I was pleasantly suprised. I expected not to see this one due to my fed-up-edness with Tom Cruise lately. But my brother ended up dragging me to it. Sure it had it's schlocky moments of cliches and predictable scenes but that's only to be expected from big Hollywood productions these days. I was more surprised at the larger than expected amount of good content.
Japan itself was definitly my favorite character of the movie, and probably the main reason I liked the movie. The scenery was amazing. I had read once that 80% of Japan is inhabitable because it is such a mountainous nation. They never said how beautiful these mountains were. Japan has always been one of those places that sounded like it probably be neat and exciting but with so many other places I'm dying to go it was somewhere I'd probably just go to if it was on the way to somewhere else. Now I HAVE to make a special trip there someday.
--updated 9 Dec--
I just found out this movie was made in New Zealand, not Japan. Now I've gotta go there, too.
This is first time my electric bill is lower than my cable/internet bill! You'd think in such a small place the bills would ALWAYS be like this but they've been around twice this.
So this is what's made my day today so far. Yeah, it's been kinda slow. I made plans with someone earlier this week to ride trails all afternoon and never heard back from her. That's twice this week she's not called back when she said she would, which is uncharacteristic of her. It's also looking like tomorrow's plans are going to fall through, too. What is it with people lately? It's not a full moon, is it?
Uncovered: The Whole Truth About the Iraq War is a documentary which "includes two dozen interviews with US intelligence professionals, diplomats and former Pentagon officials lambasting the Bush administration for its distortion of the case for war against Iraq and damaging the ability to gather intelligence in the future." If you want to see where it's being shown in your area look here.
See this tire swing? It's not really a tire. It's a swing that's MADE to look like the old uncomfortable, dirty tire some busy dad of long ago strung up one hurried day because he was weary of his little boy crying for a swing. This way you get to actually pay for a swing that looks like the tire you could get for free when you finally rub on bare. What's next, TV antennas that just look like coat hanger covered in foil?
I think my apartment is haunted. Or maybe it's not so much haunted as it is just brewing evil.
My brother lived here before I did and twice while I was visiting him and sleeping on the couch I was woken up by him screaming and running for the door. He was having nightmares of someone telling him to get out. Obviously when he moved out I had to move in. That makes sense on some sort of level. Right?
So anyway, it's not so much about how my apartment feels as it is how much I loved the other places I've lived. Last night while I was crusing what felt like the entire town on my bike we peddaled by one of the old houses I lived in for a while. I loved that place. It just felt good there. The house we moved to after that didn't feel like it had near the same level of character as the one before it but it was nice and the electricity bills were tiny (ie. the reason we moved). But it still didn't feel bad. Here is weird. I just don't like this place that much. Oh, that and they arrested one of my neighbors, a school bus driver, a while back for possession of huge amounts of child pornography and then later charged him with sexual assault of a 11 year old girl from his route. Yeah, I probably need to get out of here.
I'm on my 3rd liter of Diet Pepsi today and RaceTrac is responsible. They opened a new store here in Denton and they sent out this free refill card to promote it. With it you get free refills on any cup you bring in until the end of January, no other purchase necessary. So now whenever I pass one of their many stores I drop in with my 1.5 liter mug (or maybe it's more of a small barrel) from 7-11 and fill'er up . I love it.
This is kinda fun and a little too revealing. It's bittersweet finding out how bad my favorite foods are for me. "Nutritional information" has already killed Taco Cabana for me and now I'm seeing the caloric/fat content of Pizza Hut. It's harder for me to enjoy food when I know it's killing me.
I got to work Friday morning about five minutes late (which is still early for me) to find this note on the door reading "watch the bug!!" and a bug right above it. This means someone had to come to work, see the bug on the door, go inside and write a note and then come back out to make sure the bug was still there and put the note up (for whatever reason). And knowing some of the people I work with this bug was probably a topic of conversation for at least the first 30 minutes. Again I say, the people at my work are strange.
I never realized how freakin' dirty the keyboard on the computer I use at work is. Ugh. I probably wouldn't have noticed it either if I hadn't tried taking some cool pictures of the keys (I play with my camera all day long so I take lots of pics). I didn't notice how gross it was until I got home.
What about you guys? Do you share a keyboard at work with 6 other people (with questional hygiene, it appears) or are you one of those people who have the little keyboard vaccum handy?
Also, now that I think about it, no wonder I'm sick.
Why do the drive thru ATMs have Braille on the keys? I've always thought this was a funny thing to have on an ATM you can only use while in your car (it wouldn't be safe for someone who COULD see to walk up to the one I use) but I never thought much beyond that. Today I looked it up.
According to section 4.34.4 of the ADA Accessibility Guidelines for Buildings and Facilities (Appendix to Part 1191, 36 CFR Chapter XI, issued pursuant to the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990) "Instructions and all information for use [of an automated teller machine] shall be made accessible to and independently usable by persons with vision impairments." While the drive-up ATMs aren't required to be wheelchair accessible they haven't ruled out blind people using them. Even stranger is that while they have the Braille number keys they still do nothing for the instructions that can only be read on the screen. How silly is that?
And now for the obligatory joke about blind people: Why don't blind people bungee jump? Because it scares the hell out of the dogs. :)
November 28th is Buy Nothing Day. Are you going to participate? I know I will be. My participation (or lack of, I guess) will be out of part laziness and part disgust for the commercial holiday "spirit" of the holidays.
Of course if you live in west Texas and are near my dad's Ace Hardware then continue to buy, buy, buy! I have no problem with you supporting my dad's business so he can buy me nice things for Christmas. :)
The Cowboys better not lose tonight. The 4th quarter is half over and it's not looking good. We'll see what happens...
I'm writing from my dad's house in Crane. He has a shiny new laptop with wireless a cable nternet connection at his house. That's a sentence I never thought I'd say or type.
It's been a fun weekend and i've eaten way too much. My brother and his finace loaded up on all sorts of swag and everyone's had a good time.
Back to the game. Let's hope it has a happy ending.
Yes YOU can have this very toaster! Anyone who needs a shiny new top of the line toaster...should look elsewhere. All I have here is an old one I found while cleaning out the back of my closet today. I don't know where it came from (my guess is dad's house, like a good deal of my old kitchenware...sorry dad) and I wouldn't dare eat anything cooked in it. That's why anyone who wants it can have it. I'll even ship it somewhere if you PayPal me some cash and I'll do it.
I put this racket up on Ebay a week or so ago. While I didn't get any bids I did generate a lot of discussion on another website. I relisted it today to see if anyone else wanted to laugh at it or even possibly buy it. :)
I'll never eat at Taco Cabana again. I never get anything other than the Beef Fajita Cabana Bowl. Today I was curious what the "nutritional" content of it was. I found it here.
Beef Fajita Cabana Bowl (1466 cal/74 g fat)
I'm surprised I haven't dropped dead yet with as many as I've had over the years. Well, that news ruins them for me for good. Goodbye TC.
I got a cool postcard in the mail today from Jennifer, a cool chica who's website I stumbled upon at one time for some reason or another (who can remember such things?).
Anyway, I read something that went "Want a gen-u-ine Hawaiian postcard? Send me your mailing address, turkeys!" and got the postcard today. What's really funny is today when I was driving around at work I out of the blue remembered sending her my address and wondering why I hadn't gotten the postcard yet.
When I got home just now I was surprised to find it in my box. Coincidence? Hmm...
Yeah, it sounds crazy but someone's actually calling today "talk like a pirate" day. It's apparently fairly popular, which sounds kinda crazy. Arrrrg, what'll they think of next, maitey? Yeah, I couldn't resist:)
It's been nice and dry all week and Johnson Branch was FINALLY opened back up after the wash we got last weekend and then this afternoon it comes out of nowhere. Ugh. No bike riding for me today:(
I've been noticing I have a bunch of bar coasters I've been picking up over the years from the various water holes I've visited and have started scanning them. I figure I'll make a page on my site devoted to them. Why not? So if you have any send them to me! I'll provide you with the mailing address if you ask and give you credit on the site.
I hate it when I type a bunch of stuff and click something and it all goes away and I have to start over. I hate it when all i want to do is go to sleep so i can get up early and ride my bike and can't get in even a wink. I hate it when I think i'm out of Benidryl (aka sleepy pills) and find some three hours after i'd like to be asleep. So now I'm waiting for them to kick in, too late to get up too early and ride with the boys, and I remembered a picture I took earlier today. I like this picture. I like the owner of this property framed out this little patch of grass like it's a flower bed. As I drove by I checked closer to make sure there wasn't something I was missing. I thought surely there would be some tree or flower or plant I was missing but no- just grass. I love it. :)
I was shocked today to see gas prices dip down to $1.29! I didn't really even need to fill up yet but I couldn't pass it up. Who knows when it'll jump back up. This station is on the corner of Eagle and Carroll in Denton, if anyone wants to know where it is. I bought gas here two or three days ago for $1.59 (i think) so you can imagine my surprise when I saw this today. Hurry!!
Ok, I'm a dirty, stinkin' liar. I haven't put any pics up on Paint Rock or anything else lately. Yeah, I'm kind of a slacker. But I'm also working a lot on redesigning this site. It's come to my attention that the template I adapted from a skin I found on Blogskins was one that someone else stole from a popular website. So I'm changing the look up and it's taking forever. I don't really think anyone is reading my gibberish anyway so it shouldn't really matter but I'm having fun playing with it so I'm going to keep talking, if even to myself. :)
The intro page is no more. Didn't you notice how much faster you got here this time? I love the little guy but he isn't really relevant to the site anymore. Ok, I guess he never really was. I tried to change what he says to "I love Pez and Travel" but that just seemed even stranger. So, alas, he's gone. Go ahead and get one last look at him.
Can't believe how hot it's been lately. I snapped this from my truck's thermometer. It's not completely accurate but it's not far off. I need to get out of Texas.
I got a check from Google in the mail for $100.75. I was completely boggled about what it could be about until I saw that it was from my Adsense account. See the little ads on the left side of this page? I put those on here FIVE years ago and forgot about them. Apparently it took that long to generate enough income for the first payment (you must have at least $100 before they cut you a check).
Yesterday I read 128 and sent 32. I don't know exactly if it was an average day but it certainly didn't feel outside of any range of whatever could be considered 'normal' in my life. Rather can file for 
I know what your problem is. Couch envy. Don't lie.
I've decided to scrap the Couch Calendar idea for now. Several reasons contributed to this decision including a) not enough time to do it all myself (i spent 2 hours just working on January's layout). The place I found to do it somewhat cheaply makes you do each and every little thing on your own and I don't have enough experience with the areas Photoshop that I need to know nor the time to learn it. Reason b) not enough interest. I don't want to spend $300+ on a box of calendars and money on them. I wasn't expecting to really make any money but I don't want to squeeze in the time to get them done in an already crowded schedule to further depleat my travel fund, and c) I'm just about out of time. December is, somehow, over half over. Where does the time go?
I'm spending as much of the day as I can watching football. It's my one day of the week that I get to take a day off. My 
While Indi and Jax went in the locker room for halftime I spent my time doing a 20 minute yoga workout. I've done 20 minutes of it nearly every morning this week and it's made an amazing difference in the way I feel. My days have been full of energy I didn't know I had. The days that I've missed the workout are the ones that really show me the difference it makes. Go yoga!
Even though I've taken significantly higher quality pics than I thought I could with those other two Canon cams I'm excited to see what the big, bad 
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![globe_half[1].gif](http://www.fliptophead.com/archives/images/globe_half[1].gif){kind=small}
This was the first time in I don't know how long I actually was asleep by 11pm. Apparently that was a mistake. It's not 3am now and I laid in bed awake for almost an hour before I finally got up. Guess what's on as soon as turn the TV on? Yep, 
I saw 
I'm on my 3rd liter of Diet Pepsi today and 
I love the little guy but he isn't really relevant to the site anymore. Ok, I guess he never really was. I tried to change what he says to "I love Pez and Travel" but that just seemed even stranger. So, alas, he's gone. Go ahead and get one last look at him.