Events in history Feb 21, 2006
This link has lists of things that happened on every day of the year throughout history.  (via Cynical-C) #technology
Speed regulation (1) Feb 20, 2006
I'm full of dumb ideas.  So here's another one to throw in the pile:  Regulating speed as a means to preventing traffic. 

Thinking back to the movie Minority Report (can't stand Tom Cruise), the futuristic ideas of cars and driving were pretty interesting.  From what I remember, it looked sort of like a roller coaster:  Everything was on a track (or several tracks), and people were in individual cars.  But the cars didn't really require any user intervention, seeing that the futuristic police were able to force Tom Cruise's car to go where they wanted it to go.  So basically, everything was automated. 

If everything was automated, there'd be no need for highway cops because no one would speed or break any other driving laws.  Merging would be no problem at all because cars would leave exactly enough room for another car to squeeze in.  Congestion would be non-existent because there wouldn't be that "one guy" that causes backups by tapping his breaks or driving too slow or rubbernecking or getting the sun in his eyes. 

So the idea of "regulating speed" would mean that everyone went the same speed.  Maybe that speed would be 70 mph.  Maybe it would be 40 mph.  Either way, everyone would be going the same speed, so no one would need to slow down or speed up or do anything stupid.  And the people merging onto a 65 mph highway would merge at 65 mph, not 30 mph.  (Obviously this idea stems from 16 hours of driving this past weekend.)

So yeah, I expect to see this implemented by tomorrow morning. #travel
Delaware Feb 20, 2006
I just drove from Virginia to New Jersey.  The only real problem I encountered in my 7 hour drive was the state of Delaware.  The entire state of Delaware.  All 3 miles of it.  I think Delaware exists for 2 reasons:  To gain money and to cause traffic.  On I-95, there was a toll to get into Delaware and a toll to get out.  Why?  Mainly to use their bridges and tunnels to get out of their God-forsaken state.  But the other reason is that they have no other way to make money than to charge people for driving through.  What a waste of a state.  Delaware's other main purpose is to cause traffic.  On a 10-mile stretch of I-95 at 1 or 2 pm, there were 2 huge spontaneous pockets of traffic.  Why?  No reason.  It wasn't construction, an accident, a cop, a merge, a toll, rush hour, nothing.  There was literally no reason for this traffic.  And hence my hatred for the state of Delaware. #travel
Inflection Feb 16, 2006
I work with a guy who's been doing a really weird thing lately.  He calls a lot of people during the day and leaves a lot of messages.  At the end of his messages, he says something like, "Call me back when you get a chance.  Thanks.  Bye."  When written out, this is normal.  But the way he says it is really weird:  His inflection on "bye" goes down to up, instead of up to down.  Try it.  It's totally unnatural. #language
Volkswagen Golf Harlequin Feb 16, 2006
In 1996, Volkswagen produced 264 multicolored Golfs called Harlequins.  They featured bodies with each panel painted a different color, including red, yellow, mint green, and blue.  These colors were chosen at random during production so that no two cars looked exactly the same. 

I always saw one of these cars when I was going to school in Hoboken.  I figured someone had some time on their hands, so they painted their car several different colors.  I always wondered what they said when someone asked what color their car was.  "Red...ish".  What did they have on their registration?  "Color:  Multiple"?  Anyway, I saw the same car on the streets of Dover after I moved an hour west of Hoboken to Randolph.  It wasn't that big of a deal, because I knew a bunch of people who went to school in Hoboken and moved out near Randolph to work near me.  But what was weird is that I would occasionally go back to Hoboken for various reasons and I would see that car in a parking spot.  What were the chances that a person went to school with me, worked with/near me, and went back to school at the same time as me?  Needless to say, I was slightly freaked out.  Now that I know that there are several of these cars, I no longer feel like someone's stalking me. #travel
Green candies (1) Feb 15, 2006
Jelly beans, Mike and Ikes, and candy hearts come in many colors.  Most colors match up with a similar-tasting fruit:  Red is cherry, orange is orange, yellow is lemon.  But what about green?  That's where they get ya.  Will it be lime or mint?  That question plagues me whenever I'm eating colored candies.  Lime is gross and reminds me of a Corona-drinking incident.  But mint is good.  It's like what Forrest Gump said:  "You never know what you're gonna get".  And that's sad.  The other sad thing is that I don't remember which kind of candy uses lime and which uses mint.  I'll be halfway through a bag of jelly beans and still be surprised every time I put a green one in my mouth. #food
Skipping stones Feb 15, 2006
This PhysicsWeb link explains the physics behind skipping a stone across water.  All this talk of lift forces, inertia, momentum, and trajectory kind of takes the fun out of skipping stones.  Or if you're a geek like me, it makes it more fun.  (via Digg) #technology
Parking (1) Feb 15, 2006
While reading a smartypants article in a top-notch periodical (perhaps the New England Journal of Medicine or the Wall Street Journal), I learned something interesting about parking:  You're actually supposed to position your vehicle between the line to the right and the line to left, almost as if you were parking "in" the spot.  This goes against so much wisdom I see in the real world:  Most people try to cover as much of one line as possible.  Some try to cover both lines at once.  This whole time, I thought that's how you were supposed to do it.  Man, was I wrong.  Now I know. 

*** Seriousness follows ***

I just got back from a store where a girl performed the worst parking job I've ever seen in my life.  I almost threw up on her car.  She was completely over the line to the left of her car.  Then somebody pulled into the spot next to her.  When the girl came back to her car, she had a look on her face that said, "Uh!  What kind of jerk would park so close to me?"  I almost threw up on her.  Sometimes (actually all the time), I have an urge to spit on the door handle of cars with drivers that can't park.  It's my little way of making sure karma comes back to them and sticks on their palm. #travel
Lego Eggo Feb 15, 2006
Eggo has a new waffle:  Lego-shaped Eggos.  The picture here shows a box that says, "Toast Break & Build!".  Awesome. #food
Relationship advice Feb 14, 2006
I ain't no genius.  This can be evidenced by the fact that I misspelled the word "genius" [genious] on this site several times in the past (and have since gone back and corrected these misspellings).  But I have a few recommendations for people in relationships. 

Guys:  If you're thinking about getting engaged, keep this in mind:  There's a stupid unwritten rule that says that the engagement ring should be worth about 3 months' salary.  If you're cheap or don't care, don't worry about it.  But if you want to follow the rule, get engaged when you have little to no income.  That's what I did.  I was in college, making about $50 a week at most.  If I followed the rule, I would've gotten an engagement ring that cost about $600.  If you've ever shopped for diamonds, you know that $600 would get you a 1/32 karat dirty yellow diamond with scratches on it. 

Engaged couples:  Have a destination wedding.  A destination wedding invitation goes something like this:  "Hey, we're getting married on a beautiful, faraway island.  You can come if you want, but we'll understand if you can't make it.  We're registered at the following stores..."  There are several awesome things about this. 

(1) Your honeymoon starts immediately after the wedding.  No travel time required. 
(2) Your wedding will most likely be small because only a select few people will be able to afford (and will want to) travel to a faraway island. 
(3) You'll still get wedding gifts if you're registered somewhere.  Gifts are normally received at the wedding shower, though there are a few at the actual wedding.  The problem with this is that most of the gifts at the wedding are cold hard cash, so this is a drawback. 
(4) You probably won't have to plan too much because let's face it, how many DJs and caterers are on faraway islands? 
(5) You'll be on a faraway island. 

If you don't like islands, I've heard there are magical cities in the US with blinking lights and drive-thru wedding chapels.  I'm not allowed to speak of these places because "what happens there, stays there". #lifestyle