Thursday, April 27, 2006, 08:55 AM - Cool Stuff
Last night’Doug and I had dinner with Larry, my friend and former supervisor. The company I used to work for closed 90% of its stores. In the late 1990s, we had 80 locations and now the company has EIGHT. Larry runs the last remaining store in Maryland.
He seemed to be doing okay. His wife went back to work now that his income has dropped 75%. On the other hand, he doesn’t work 65-hour work weeks anymore either.
Somehow, Doug and I got talked into helping him sell wireless phones at a baseball game on May 12th. Ha ha ha! Doug has never been in sales. On the other hand, I’m not one to turn down some easy side-money!
The thing to know about the cell phone industry is that it is rapidly moving away from a brokered/contracted product. I predict that within five years, cell phones will just be sold “off the shelf” without contract or credit check. The end user will just key in a credit card number and use on-screen prompts to select rate plans and features.
Personally, I don’t sign contracts anymore. The “full” price of a phone is a lot less than the early termination fee. Besides, most “free” phones on contract are junk.
It was nice meeting up with Larry again, however. We had pizza and salad at Pizza Hut. It was a pleasant evening.
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( 3 / 1156 )Monday, April 17, 2006, 09:03 PM - Cool Stuff
I can honestly say that I had the kind of Easter holiday that I enjoy the most: a nice church service and a good dinner with Doug.
The church service was great. I had a five-bell assignment and also sung tenor. The Choirmaster's selections were ultra-tough as always, but we pulled it off flawlessly!
Then, Doug and I visited two friends for a while before we went out for Easter dinner. We had ham steak and mashed potatoes at the Nautiloid. It was just Doug and I -- no crazy relatives. Very nice! No fuss, no muss/
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( 3 / 1574 )Saturday, April 15, 2006, 08:05 PM - Cool Stuff
Doug and I had an *awesome* time in New York today. We saw "Three Penny Opera", starring Alan Cumming. The play was very strange and had a lot of cursing. The musical score was quite odd.The lighting was bizarre. It featured the life and times of Mack the Knife.
We bought cheap seats, which meant that our ears popped when we climbed the stairs! Our seats were so *small* that they could double as torture devices.
But other than uncomfortable seats, we had a real BLAST!
http://indigohalo.com/pblog/index.php
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( 2.9 / 1433 )Wednesday, April 12, 2006, 08:20 AM - Cool Stuff
So far, the diet/exercise plans that Doug and I are using *really* seem to be working! Doug is on the Jenny Craig diet and does a 2-mile power walk about three times per week. I’m on a low-fat diet and do a 5 km run at the gym three times per week.
The result? Doug has lost 19 pounds in two months and I’ve lost five pounds. Very cool!
Right now, I weigh 197 and would *like* to weigh 185. Doug now weighs 310 and would *like* to weigh 250. It just goes to show you that diet and exercise (not fads and funky herbal supplements) really can make a difference!
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( 3 / 1265 )Monday, April 3, 2006, 07:29 PM - Cool Stuff
Just a quick update: my partner, Doug, is now up to a total of 17 pounds lost on the Jenny Craig diet -- in just six weeks! Yay![ add comment ] | [ 0 trackbacks ] | permalink |
( 2.9 / 1341 )Tuesday, March 21, 2006, 09:06 AM - Cool Stuff
I've noticed that the mainstream media has this unending drumbeat against gas/electric hybrid cars. It usually goes something like this: "The gas money you save doesn't offset the price of the car. The batteries are expensive to replace. Hybrids don't get the advertised gas mileage. You're a fool if you buy one!"
Lemme tell ya: I drive a 2003 Civic Hybrid and it is by far the coolest *and* most reliable car I've ever driven. Since I own one, I'm in a position to make *informed* commentary.
Point 1: If your sole concern is having the car pay for itself, then DON'T buy a hybrid. All cars depreciate -- really quickly. No car pays for itself, hybrid or otherwise. But if you would like to use less gasoline because of the knowledge that this resource is finite and non-renewable, then you SHOULD buy a hybrid.
Point 2: Hybrid batteries are pretty expensive to replace. That's why they are engineered to OUTLAST the car. Only a handful of battery packs have been replaced worldwide, and are typically heavily subsidized by the car maker. I had the batteries tested in my car at the 90,000 mile mark; they still functioned at 92% of original capacity.
Point 3: It is true that hybrid cars *usually* don't deliver the advertised gas mileage. But regular cars don't either. This is because of a long-standing error in the EPA's testing formula. The EPA figures assume a set of "ideal" driving conditions: 75°, low humidity, a flat/smooth road surface, gentle acceleration, 50-55 mph velocity, and no use of air conditioning. If all these conditions are met, ANY car (hybrids included) will get the EPA estimate. The sad fact is that most Americans (hybrid owners included) just don't know how to drive. They slam the gas pedal to the floor when the light turns green and speed at 80 mph with the AC blasting.
Myself included.
If I drive like "Mad Max", my car gets 36 mph (still not too shabby!) But if I drive very conservatively, I get about 47 mph. On a perfect day, I've gotten as high as 52 mph! And that is truly stellar.
Other than the car being expensive, I have not a single complaint about my car. It's very quiet (thanks to the 1.3L i4 vTEC engine), powerful (thanks to the battery assist), and pretty. It has never had a mechanical failure in the hybrid propulsion system.
Of course, it also pollutes a lot less than a regular car. That's an important factor in Baltimore where we get a lot of "Code Orange" and "Code Red" daily pollution warnings each summer.
Would I buy one again? You bet! I don't know when that's going to be, however, since this car seems like it's going to run FOREVER!
Is my hybrid worth the expense? Every last penny!
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( 3 / 1208 )Sunday, March 12, 2006, 08:21 PM - Cool Stuff
My partner and I did one of those New York day trips where you pay $50 for a round trip bus ride. Man! We squeezed a LOT of stuff into just 12 hours!
We got to see a lot of computer and gadget stores. We drank some really awesome coffee and ate some triangle-shaped Jewish pastery. Then we visited the AXA gallery and saw some really creepy Louisiana folk art (it way good, but erie and creepy).
For lunch, we ate at a genuine Irish pub staffed with actual Irish people with actual Irish accents! How delightful! I had "bangers & mash" and Doug had shepherd's pie.
We hung out at a museum art store and looked at books and trinkets. There was a beautiful book on Irish art, but it was REALLY heavy, so I didn't buy it. But I may order it online.
Then we visited Saint Patrick's Cathedral. That was certainly a Thistle-motivated choice! It is a huge old church with beautiful sculptures and a lot of very pretty side-chapels. I bought a set of amethyst Rosary Beads. (Violet is Thistle's favorite color!)
So then it was time for the play! We saw "Mama Mia", which is a musical that features a lot of ABBA music. They even did Super Trooper! The play was a real hoot.
We left New York just as it was getting dark. We avoided the Vampires and CHUDs, thank God!
On the bus ride back, they showed the movie "Walk the Line", the Johnny Cash story. I always admired the Man in Black because he, too, had a lot to overcome and turned his darkness and pain into something truly memorable and lasting.
We're *definitely* going to do this again!
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( 3 / 1365 )Wednesday, March 8, 2006, 05:44 PM - Cool Stuff
My partner and I have been doing well on our respective health plans. Doug is on the Jen-1 Craig diet and has lost 12 pounds in 2 weeks! I have been doing an hour workout at the gym 3x week. I haven't lost weight, but I have slimmed down from 38" waist to a 36". So I guess I'm building muscle and losing fat.
I'm very proud of Doug. Soon, he will be below 300 pounds.I think he might be able to fit on roller coasters then. Yay!
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( 3 / 1344 )Thursday, March 2, 2006, 09:15 PM - Cool Stuff
My partner has been trying to lose weight for the past five years because he is very heavy. I love him very much and his weight problem doesn't bother me, but I have been worried that his obesity will shorten his life.
Well, he's on a pretty comprehensive weight management program with Jenny Craig. After only a week, he lost 4 pounds. He wants to lose 50. So... he's 9% there after only 7 days. That is very, very cool!
I told him that if he loses 50 pounds, he can get a new car. Now, if I can only convince him to buy a hybrid!
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( 3 / 1351 )Monday, February 27, 2006, 07:08 PM - Cool Stuff
My website now has illustrations! Check out the "My Alters" section![ add comment ] | [ 0 trackbacks ] | permalink |
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