Latin (1) Nov 7, 2006
I always get confused when using common Latin phrases and abbreviations, and in the interest of not appearing to be an idiot, I make an attempt at looking them up in order to use them correctly.  Here are a few from AccessAbility SIG of the Society for Technical Communication: 

i.e. - id est - that is
e.g. - exempli gratia - for example; for instance
etc. - et cetera - and so on; and other people/things #language
Long distance drive-through Nov 7, 2006
Apparently, Wendy's restaurants are currently using centralized drive-through call-in centers instead of employing drive-through operators within each store.  Studies have shown that it cuts down on wait time and allows employees in each store to concentrate on making food and collecting the money.  The example in the article said that the Wendy's in Burbank, CA was using a drive-through operator in Nashua, NH.  (via Obscure Store) #food
Jesus' math (5) Nov 7, 2006
From the Thrilling Wonder Story,
One day, Jesus said to his disciples, "The Kingdom of Heaven is like 3x2 + 8x - 9."
A man who had just joined the disciples looked very confused and asked Peter, "What on Earth does he mean by that?"
Peter replied, "Don't worry, it's just another one of his parabolas."
(via Digg) #religion
Elections Nov 7, 2006
Some sort of stupid election is happening right now.  I'm so uninterested, I don't even know what it's for.  Attention politicians:  I'm your unreached demographic.  I know many people like myself who are completely turned off by politics because of the mudslinging and personal bashing that goes on among candidates.  No one knows what anyone stands for; everyone knows what everyone doesn't stand for.  I saw a commercial last night where candidate #1's sole message was that no one knew what candidate #2 stood for because all #2 did was make fun of #1.  What a bunch of idiots.  Filthy, disgusting human beings. 

Since the American political system is in total disarray, I have a few suggestions that could help bring the country back to its feet (or send it further down the hole it's falling into).  The ideal election would consist of the following:   
  1. Feats of strength.  How many push-ups can you do in a minute?  How fast can you climb up a 30-foot rope?  How far can you throw a football?  These things matter more to me than medicare and social security. 
  2. Chubby bunny.  How can I be expected to vote for a person that can only fit 2-3 marshmallows in their mouth while saying "chubby bunny" clearly?  I would need a candidate that could do at least 10. 
  3. Talent show.  Everybody's got a talent.  Can you chug a beer in one gulp?  Can you juggle flaming bowling pins?  Can you do skateboard tricks?  And sorry, Bill, playing the saxophone won't pass my test. 
  4. Swimsuit competition.  Actually, no.  I really don't want to see most political candidates in swimsuits.  Instead, I think they should compete in a fashion contest.  I'd be so much more willing to vote for someone in jeans and a t-shirt than a dork in a suit. 
  5. Hand-to-hand combat.  With UFC rules:  No headbutts, no groin strikes, no hair pulling, no kicks to a downed opponent.  Gloves and mouth guard required.  Everything else goes.  I'd put my full support behind a candidate that could (a) knock a guy out or (b) submit a person with an armbar or rear naked choke.  Plus, how can I be expected to respect a political candidate who can't take a punch? 
In conclusion, I feel that these 5 tests of moral and physical character would be a much more effective way of judging a political candidate's ability to lead his/her people.  Instead of taking shots at the other candidates while standing behind their staff of personal body guards, candidates would be forced to put it all out on the line.  Instead of depending on fancy law degrees from ivy league universities, candidates would be put through a series of unrelated, inconclusive tests that would essentially produce the same outcome as a normal election.  But it would be at least slightly more entertaining. #politics
Form filling Nov 6, 2006
I can't stand filling out forms, and here's why:  No form in the history of the world has ever asked me for any new information, except the first form I ever filled out.  Every form since then has been exactly the same:  Name, address, phone, email, age, DOB, SSN, educational level, household income, etc., with some slight variations.  Being the techie geek that I am, it seems like there should be a really easy way to avoid filling out forms all together:  A central information database (CIDTM).  It's really quite simple.  All important details would be stored in a secure but easily accessible online database.  The person asking you to fill out a form doesn't really want you to write things down; all information you write down will eventually need to be entered into someone else's database anyway.  So why not skip a step and give them permission to download your information from the CID?  Plus, this would make it easier to change things when you move or get new health insurance:  Just log into the database and change your details; these details would automatically be sent to anyone who has requested them in the past and is still on your "list of accepted people who can access my information".  If security is an issue, why not use fingerprints?  My laptop has a built-in fingerprint reader that I use instead of typing in my password.  It's remarkably easy to use, and I'd imagine it's error-proof. 

I think I just invented the most useful thing in the history of the universe. #technology
Police using force (2) Nov 6, 2006
I was watching one of those stupid "Wildest [insert uninteresting word] Videos" on Saturday, and one of the videos showed a standard police chase, complete with jumpy video of about 10 police cars chasing a 15-year-old 4-cylinder lawn mower Honda.  It showed police officers in the prime of their ineptitude, struggling to keep up with a stupid teenager speeding through traffic and evading capture.  The chased car didn't even stop when it hit the well-positioned road block that blew out its tires.  So the cops continued to chase it back and forth along some backcountry highways as the driver of the car had a blast keeping away from the cops.  Even when the cops finally cornered him, he simply rammed into their cars and kept on going. 

I've had my run-ins with The Man, and most have been unpleasant.  For some reason, cops don't seem to like being called "fat" or "short".  Kidding.  But for once, I'm gonna take the side of law enforcement.  I firmly believe that cops should have the right to use any force necessary to accomplish their objectives, assuming their objectives are legitimate and legal.  The cops in these videos should've used brute force to run this kid off the road.  They used a little force, but they were careful not to hurt him.  Why?  He was evading law enforcement.  And he was making a joke of it.  He knew the cops could only use a certain level of force on him, so he played their little game.  He bumped their cars.  He said he'd stop but then didn't.  After he finally stopped, he refused to get out of his car and/or show his hands.  Meanwhile, the bumbling cops could only point their (probably unloaded) guns at him and yell things in a threatening manner.  I'm sure my opinion on this matter is quite disagreeable to some, but I think they should've shot him.  As a mild humanitarian, I don't think people should be shot and/or killed for no reason.  But I think this kid should've been shot in order to force him to cooperate (not merely to kill him).  A shot to the arm or leg usually isn't life threatening, and it definitely would've gotten the message across.  Or for the more humanitarian out there, there's a magical weapon called a taser.  Police warn 3 times before using it.  After that, the perp gets 50,000 volts shot into his system.  It's effective and fair.  I don't know why these cops didn't use it. 

My opinions on this can be easily argued against.  "How could you legitimize shooting a human being?"  "You're a jerk."  And that's fine.  But what I don't understand is when people argue against cops being able to use force.  One person's argument said that cops shouldn't be allowed to use any force at all; it could cause too much collateral damage.  For example, if a person is evading pursuing cops while driving, the cops could inadvertently push the vehicle into oncoming traffic or innocent bystanders.  My argument against that is this:  What about the guy speeding away from the cops?  Doesn't he pose a threat to innocent bystanders?  I understand the opposing position, but I'd rather have power in the hands of law enforcement instead of in the hands of criminals. #travel
PayPerPost pays Nov 4, 2006
It's been about a month since I signed up for PayPerPost, and I've finally verified that it's legitimate:  I got paid $10 today for my first post.  Here's how it literally works: 
1.  You select a posting opportunity from the PPP website. 
2.  You write about it with the right number of words, include the proper links and/or pictures, and make sure you have the proper tone (that's the controversial part). 
3.  You wait about 3-4 days for your post to be approved or rejected (I haven't had any rejected yet). 
4.  After 30 days, the money ($2-$10 per post) is deposited into your PayPal account. 
Here are the terms and conditions for each post: 
All posts must remain up for at least 30 days.
You may post a maximum of 3 paid posts in any given day.
Paid posts may not be consecutive. Each paid post must be separated by at least one non-payperpost post.
All posts must be in English on an English Blog.
Your blog must be at least 90 days old with at least 20 pre-existing posts.
Your last regular post must have been within the past 7 days.
Content must be original. You may not post the same content on different blogs.
For me, it's a great way to make a few extra bucks to pay my webhosting costs.  It's certainly not enough to quit my day job, but it's nice to be able to make some money doing what I'd be doing for free anyway.  Some people at PPP have made upwards of $2000 over the course of several months.  I don't see that happening in my case.  And seeing that advertising still isn't making me any money, this is a great alternative. 

This is a sponsored post. #technology
Red leaves Nov 4, 2006
This picture was taken right around the corner from my house.  It's my favorite of the ones I've taken of fall colors this year.  The red is really vibrant, and the blue sky in the background makes everything look even brighter. 

#nature
Arithmetical symmetry Nov 3, 2006
See?  Math can be beautiful: 

1 x 8 + 1 = 9
12 x 8 + 2 = 98
123 x 8 + 3 = 987
1234 x 8 + 4 = 9876
12345 x 8 + 5 = 98765
123456 x 8 + 6 = 987654
1234567 x 8 + 7 = 9876543
12345678 x 8 + 8 = 98765432
123456789 x 8 + 9 = 987654321

1 x 9 + 2 = 11
12 x 9 + 3 = 111
123 x 9 + 4 = 1111
1234 x 9 + 5 = 11111
12345 x 9 + 6 = 111111
123456 x 9 + 7 = 1111111
1234567 x 9 + 8 = 11111111
12345678 x 9 + 9 = 111111111
123456789 x 9 + 10 = 1111111111

9 x 9 + 7 = 88
98 x 9 + 6 = 888
987 x 9 + 5 = 8888
9876 x 9 + 4 = 88888
98765 x 9 + 3 = 888888
987654 x 9 + 2 = 8888888
9876543 x 9 + 1 = 88888888
98765432 x 9 + 0 = 888888888
987654321 x 9 + -1 = 8888888888

1 x 1 = 1
11 x 11 = 121
111 x 111 = 12321
1111 x 1111 = 1234321
11111 x 11111 = 123454321
111111 x 111111 = 12345654321
1111111 x 1111111 = 1234567654321
11111111 x 11111111 = 123456787654321
111111111 x 111111111 = 12345678987654321
(via Neatorama) #math
Podcasting Nov 3, 2006
Podcasting (soon to be renamed "Netcasting" because of legal issues) is stupid.  I really don't see the point of it.  Why would I want to listen to some dorks talk about what's on their websites?  Maybe it's because I don't own an iPod or other easy-to-use portable audio player (my Treo plays music, but it's sort of annoying).  Maybe it's because I don't walk anywhere; I drive.  And when I drive, I listen to CDs (gasp!) and commercials on free public radio (God I love commercials).  People who live in cities tend to walk everywhere, and the best way to isolate yourself from the rest of the world while simultaneously being right in the center of it is to wear headphones at all times.  And maybe these walkers walk so much that they've exhausted their pitifully small music collections, so the next logical step is to listen to a bunch of dorks talk about their websites. 

Plus, podcasting lets people hear what bloggers sound like.  That's sometimes scary.  That's why these people are writers and not talkers.  Their voices often don't fit your mental image of them, and their spoken rendition of their written language can get real annoying real quick.  Also, the podcasts I've heard have been frighteningly poor in audio quality.  It sounds like someone speaking into the cheap microphone that came with their Gateway 2000.  And I wouldn't be surprised if that's what it was. 

I'm sorry, I just can't get into it.  Then again, I've been resistant to new technology in the past.  A few years ago, my dad was doing some research into this new thing called "blogging" and he asked me what I thought about it.  I said, "Meh, it's just stupid people writing their stupid opinions online." #technology