Now that Jason Kottke has provided us with a guide on “How to Order Food in a Restaurant,” I no longer have to worry about how I will pick just one item from a menu of dozens or hundreds of choices. I merely must decide which method to employ; another choice to make!
Category: Observations
Catching Things
It’s rare that I brag about something I said, but I think that this time it’s funny enough to share. Yesterday, Dan was talking about how the photos/video of John Kerry trying to catch a football was hilarious and about how bad Kerry looked. I said, “Do you know what’s funnier than that? Watching Bush try to catch Bin Laden.” Laughter and rebuttals ensued.
Another Design Thief
I must be getting popular: another person has stolen one of my designs. Mohammed Khan of Nashville, Tennessee stole the entire “Request a Proposal” form from my site and slapped it up on his site, Computer Technologies Inc., sans the style sheet. I’m surprised he’s not hotlinking the section heading images. Judging by the Whois listing, Mohammed Khan (1150 Vultee Blvd Apt #G106, Nashville, TN 27217) took less than two months to register his domain and steal my form. I think it annoys me even more that he didn’t bother to rewrite any of the drop-downs to fit his site. They’re all exactly the same as mine. By the way, nice work on the rest of the site, Mohammed! It’s so… colorful.
So how did I find out that Computer Technologies, Inc. of Nashville, TN stole my form design? Same way I did when SeeMonroe.com stole the old design for Northumberland.us: I check my referral logs. The only reason I didn’t bash them online is that they were modifying the design in an area that wasn’t live. I emailed them about it and they took it down. However, Computer Technologies, Inc. links directly to the form page; it’s available for all to see. Secondly, SeeMonroe is not for profit, while Computer Technologies, Inc. stole my design for profit. Oh, and last I checked, “Porposal” isn’t the way to spell “Proposal,” as it is in the URL. It’s only correct on the page because it’s ripped from my site.
Dolphins and a Locksmith
Over the weekend, I drove to Baltimore to visit Annie for the weekend. It had only been a week since I had last seen her, but it seemed like a few weeks had passed. On Friday, Annie and I went with Veronica to visit the Aquarium and then to the Hard Rock Cafe for dinner. I tried to take a few pictures at the dolphin show, but my digital camera is so slow that most of my shots were of the water or the dolphins’ tails as they re-entered the water. Veronica seemed to have the same problem with her brand new camera; I have to find one with a much quicker response once I have enough income to justify it. I uploaded a few photos from my weekend to Flickr.
Annie and I went to the Owings Mills Mall on Saturday for something different. Later, we went to Blockbuster to rent a DVD and I locked my keys in the car. Luckily, we weren’t far from Annie’s apartment where we waited for the locksmith because there was an icy wind that cut right through us. What amazed me is how fast the locksmith was able to get into my car; using simple tools that you could make in less than 15 minutes at home, he had my car open in under five minutes. That’s a bit alarming, considering that the guy was really taking his time walking to his truck and back to the car. If he needed to, I’m sure he could get into my car in less than a minute. So much for locking the doors.
Not Speaking English Is Hard
The other day the woman who cleans my apartment mentioned to me how hard it was to not speak English fluently. In the past, I assumed—wrongly, in fact—that Spanish was her first language, judging by her accent. However, she mentioned to me that she was originally from Bosnia and that she spoke Russian and German as well. It seemed unfair to me that a woman who is fluent in three languages works as a maid, while many people who only speak one language have more prestigious careers.
And I Knelt on the Floor
I went to Mass in the university chapel last night, and while it’s generally a nice little space, some seats don’t have kneelers. So long story short, I pay $30K a year to go to school and I had to kneel on the floor. How’s that for a lesson in humility?
Chaser Prevents Hangovers
I saw a commercial last night advertising Chaser, an unusual pill that will “prevent hangovers.” They said to take two pills for every three alcoholic beverages that you drink. This is just what we need: a pill to get rid of the effects of alcohol abuse–that way, you can drink yourself drunk and not have to worry about feeling ill. Last time I checked, hangovers were the reason why most people do drink responsibly, with the obvious exception of college students who need to get it out of their systems or something.
Although, many people said that a birth-control pill that eliminated the possibility of pregnancy from a casual sexual encounter would cause society to go through a sexual upheaval. Not that sexual revolution was worth banning an important drug, but could Chaser have any possible results that are not so hedonistic?
Meet Global Warming, She’s Schizophrenic
It’s cold outside. I’m not sure if you noticed. I noticed it because as I was cleaning the snow off my car this afternoon, my toes went numb. Yes, I checked to make sure that I was wearing shoes. Our outside thermometer is showing -1F degree, but the wind chill is reported to be about -20F. Just the sort of weather to make you want to go for an evening stroll.
It’s only a matter of time before some newscaster starts cracking jokes about the current lack of global warming. How quickly we forget that it was almost 60F in Pennsylvania less than two weeks ago. Global warming refers to warming the average temperature of the Earth; warming the Earth as much as 1 degree is enough to throw off the climate in strange ways. Places that should stay cold—like the ice caps—will warm up, while wet areas will have droughts, and temperate areas will swing wildly from one extreme to another. Didn’t you wonder why we’re breaking so many weather records? Now you know.
Apparently, She’s Retardedly Hot
I forgot to mention that when Annie and I were Christmas shopping at the Selinsgrove Mall, we heard a 20-something shoe salesman in the Bon-Ton tell his female coworker, “I saw this girl the other night and she was, like, retardedly hot.” Way to go, Slick. I’m sure your coworker wants you even less than she did before. Not just hot, “Retardedly hot.” Who says that?
Jack Bauer Evacuates Chi-Chi’s on 24
As always, 24 was excellent tonight. However, as the opening screen appeared and announced that “The following takes place between 4:00 PM and 5:00 PM,” I couldn’t help but think, “Jack Bauer’s violent encounter with Chi-Chi’s causes him to take a major dump.” For half the show, it could just show dramatic angles of his stall door while cutting to the CTU office staff going ballistic because they can’t find Jack anywhere. Jack could fold and refold a newspaper to give the sound crew a break from making horrific groaning noises on the sound stage. No, this probably would not work for a show unless Jack Bauer learns how to eat first. Have you noticed that he never, ever eats? I’ll bet there’s at least one Chinese restaurant with CTU security clearance in the LA area.