I have a pretty solid streak of perseverance.  When I do things, I tend to do them until they're done or until they can't be done anymore.  I think this is mostly a product of how I was raised.  When I played sports as a kid and got sick of them halfway through the season, I was reminded that I made a commitment.  Commitments shouldn't be broken because both parties can be and usually are adversely affected.  I've carried this practice into my current belief system.  Some people think you should just give up if you experience adversity.  Some people think you should change your plans if something gets harder than you expected.  Some people think it's ok to be flaky and to choose when to show up and when to skip out on commitments.  I don't think any of these things are ok. 

So when I recently changed my hiking plans mid-hike, I somewhat disappointed myself.  I was all set to complete a goal despite all the obstacles I knew I would encounter.  But because of some unforeseen obstacles (all compounded together), I had to cut the hike short and go home early.  And I think this had a larger psychological impact than I would've imagined.  Not only did I not achieve my goals, but I didn't complete the task.  And it's not that I would've done anything differently if I could do it all over again, it's just that it went against my pattern of perseverance. 

So it was refreshing this past weekend to go hiking again and cleanse the bad taste I had in my mouth.  It was good to complete a goal by reaching a destination.  It was good to actually reach a campsite.  It was nice not seeing any bears or other threatening wildlife.  And it was comforting to sleep in a warm, dry tent.  I'd hate to say that I wouldn't be able to persevere through all that stuff at a later date, but maybe I would just need to be a little less ambitious.  Seriously, 50 miles in 3 days during a hurricane in bear country?  What was I thinking? #psychology

I read a Digg post a few days ago that said something about getting your "dream gadget".  The article it linked to actually said nothing about that; it talked about buying your dream gadget by shopping online and price-matching.  But that got me thinking:  What's my dream gadget?  It didn't take long to come up with a full-featured super-gadget that can never and will never exist.  But I can dream can't I? 

[I feel like that kid from A Christmas Story.]

My dream gadget would be a mobile media and communication device.  It would consist of a phone, a computer, a camera, a digital music player, a satellite radio tuner, a GPS device, and a video game system. 

Despite my extreme dislike for the phone in general and cell phones in specific, I have to admit that it's quite convenient to be able to call a pizza place while I'm in the car and have it be ready by the time I get there.  And it's good to be able to call people when I get lost while trying to find a bowling alley in the suburbs of Paterson.  Plus, text messaging is currently my favorite means of communication.  It's so simple and to-the-point. 

Despite my extreme dislike for the current state of mobile internet usability, I can see that it's an extremely useful thing.  It's great to be able to find all kinds of information at any time of the day, wherever you are.  And aside from the mobility part, a computer is great at organizing information, such as contacts, notes, a calendar, etc.  This would require WiFi in addition to a mobile internet voice/data plan. 

Despite my extreme dislike for cell phone cameras, it just makes all the sense in the world to decrease the number of gadgets a person carries.  I used to carry a cell phone and a PDA, so when I got a Treo, I was overjoyed.  And now I carry a Treo and a camera, so it would obviously be great to combine them.  However, like I stated in my previous post, it would need to be a considerably good camera. 

I've never owned an mp3 player, but I would like portable digital music if it fit into my existing device.  My Treo can play music, but the headphone jack is in such a terrible location, it makes me wonder if the thing was designed by a blind person (not that I have anything against blind people; but I would imagine they're not the best at designing usable electronics products).

Satellite radio is something I'd like to get into eventually, but I just don't have enough courage to take the plunge.  Like I said in the past, if a device came pre-installed with a satellite radio tuner, I would probably be willing to fork over the $15/month for the service. 

GPS is another thing I'd really like to get into, but I have trouble justifying spending hundreds of dollars on another gadget.  If it came bundled in my dream gadget, I would definitely be a fan.  I keep coming across scenarios where it would be really great if I had GPS.  Like when I'm lost in the middle of the woods and I need to find the nearest crossing road.  Or when I know there's a quicker way to get to a certain destination, and an aerial view would make it completely possible.  Plus, GeoTagging is a great way to trace your steps and/or leave a breadcrumb trail.  Flickr just enabled the functionality so that it's easy to tell where photos were taken (with a high degree of precision).  It would also be cool to see a breadcrumb trail for a hiking trip or a road trip.  "Where were you on Sunday at 1:40pm?"  I was at 42.2733823022,-73.1899702181. 

A video game system would be the icing on the cake.  "Game cartridges" and "platforms" are stupid.  I want the universal self-contained gaming system.  I know the technology is there.  It's more about the licensing and intellectual property. 

On a final note, despite my extreme dislike for Bluetooth, I would want my device to be able to wirelessly communicate with other devices.  I think that's what Bluetooth is supposed to do, though it utterly fails.  Once they finally get all the kinks worked out, it would be nice to stream music from my gadget to a device of my choosing (home theater, car stereo, etc.).  I would want to see my digital pictures on my TV.  I would want to listen to satellite radio in my car.  I would want to sync information between my gadget and my computer. 

So in the end, all I want is a GPS-enabled computer-camera-phone music and satellite radio playing and streaming video game system.  Is that too much to ask? #technology

ErrorZilla is an excellent Firefox extension that gives the user a few more options when Firefox can't find a certain website or page.  Options include the simple yet previously absent feature "Try Again", the "Google Cache" and "Wayback" links for cached copies of the page (I'm waiting for the Coral links to come with the next version), and simple yet useful tools like "Ping", "Trace", and "Whois".  After installing it, I immediately used it several times.  Firefox sometimes doesn't find sites on the first try (it might be a problem with my network), so I clicked on "Try Again" and it worked.  Other times, the website wasn't found and the "Try Again" button didn't do anything, so I pinged the site and got no response.  In other words, the site was down.  So I clicked on "Google Cache" and was able to view a perfectly cached copy of the page. 

The plugin was designed by a guy who's website is notoriously unreliable and difficult to navigate through (who uses Google search when their website is powered by WordPress?).  His plugin is ironically useful for his own website. 

(via Download Squad) #technology

James McAdam is a British artist who designed a bedside table that quickly converts into a shield and a club for beating nighttime intruders senseless.  Awesome.  (via Neatorama) #products

I think it's funny that every NFL team has a "predator":  A black guy with long dreads that stick out the back of his helmet.  It's funny because it's the most impractical hair style imaginable, especially for an extremely physical game like football.  It wouldn't take much to yank one of those things right out of a person's head.  Thankfully, most of the NFL's predators are defensive backs, so they aren't usually "the ball" when everyone else is playing "kill the man with the ball".  It the predator was a running back, he'd have a pretty tough life.  It's also impractical because they're black people, and I've been told that black people have enough problems with their hair as it is (correct me if I'm wrong). 

The other reason it's funny is because every team has one.  If I randomly browse through some team rosters, I find this guy from the Bears, this guy from the Browns, this guy from the Saints, this guy from the Seahawks, this guy from the Buccaneers.  The list goes on. 
#sports

In the tradition of 5ives (arguably one of the greatest websites on the internet), here's my list of five things. 

Five old-people words that make me feel weird when using them:
1.  Belch
2.  Slacks
3.  Trousers
4.  Underpants
5.  Rear end #psychology

This is totally me. 
#entertainment

A few weeks ago, I went to a restaurant/bar that had a bathroom attendant.  This is the guy who stands near the sink in the bathroom and performs unnecessary menial tasks such as providing deodorant and cologne and handing you a towel after you wash your hands.  He also perpetuates his purpose by placing a big metal tray for tips right in the middle of the sink.  The first time I used the bathroom, I washed my hands and took the towel from him thinking, "I'm not paying this guy to give me a paper towel.  He needs to get a real job."  But the second time I used the bathroom, I felt guilty about using his services and not tipping him.  Although I'm perfectly able to operate a paper towel dispenser on my own, this guy took the liberty to do it for me.  What a guy.  So I tipped him.  Begrudgingly. 

For a little background information, please understand the role of the bathroom in the life of a male:  A bathroom is for doing your business.  That's it.  Plain and simple.  There's no socializing, no eye contact, no recognition of other human beings.  You go in, you get out.  So it was immensely uncomfortable to have to greet this dude in the bathroom, take a paper towel directly out of his hands, and thank him.  It was both mortifying and disgusting.  I saw several guys come in the bathroom, do their thing, and walk out quickly without washing their hands.  I can't blame them.  I would have done it too, but I feel bad about touching other people (like holding Wendy's hand or something) knowing I didn't wash my hands after I went to the bathroom. 

So in conclusion, I don't think bathrooms need attendants.  I think most people are fully capable of operating the various functional areas of a public bathroom without the help of a third-party dude.  And if they're not, they'll get bacteria all over their hands, spread it to all their dumb friends, and evolution will take care of the rest. #entertainment

It's true.  I have no friends.  And I had to hear it from MySpace.  Woe is me. 
MySpace also said, "To start having fun on MySpace you need to invite some friends and get the ball rolling!"  Maybe that's why MySpace isn't fun.  I need to add friends.  Or it could be that it's a hideously ugly website filled with semi-adult ads, taking the place of the mall in the 1980s-90s as the hangout for dirty teenagers with nothing to do but breathe and take up space. 

Or maybe I'm just mad because I don't have friends.  Yeah that's it. #technology

I HATE when the president of our country has anything important to say during prime time television.  I can understand when a few news networks want to cover the event, because let's face it, it's usually newsworthy.  But why on earth does every friggin channel on the entire "TV dial" (old person term) need to televise this event?  Is there any reason for this?  Do people stick with their "favorite channel" and watch the stupid thing there?  Do people change the channel back and forth so that their "Nielsen household" can cast a vote across multiple networks?  No matter what the reason, it's a bunch of crap and I hate it.  I would say this makes me more mad than anything else, ever.  I can't even verbalize how mad this makes me. 

For this reason, I was unspeakably happy and excited when I remembered that Monday Night Football moved to ESPN.  ESPN is all about sports, no question asked.  Of course they wouldn't televise some stupid presidential address.  And they didn't.  And I was so happy, I completely forgot about how mad I was to begin with.  God bless football. #politics