Secret country music fan Jul 14, 2009
I don't like country music.  It's stupid, predictable, and too shotgun-centric.  I don't watch the country music channel, and I don't know who's who or what's what.  I'm completely uninterested. 

But when I leave the state, I suddenly change my tune.  For some reason, traveling turns me into a country music fan.  It could be because country stations are easy to find on the radio.  It could also be because a large percentage of the population of our country likes country music.  Either way, I'm always eager to find me some Toby Keith and Brooks & Dunn. #entertainment
Mountain ownership (3) Jul 14, 2009
Whenever I travel to places that are fairly mountainous, I think about how cool it would be to own my own mountain.  Here's why: 
  1. When people asked how to get to my house, I would tell them to look up.
  2. Flooding wouldn't be an issue.
  3. The view.
  4. Hostile takeovers would be easy to defend against.
  5. My house would probably show up nicely on Google Maps.
I can only think of two downsides to owning and living atop a mountain: 
  1. It's on top of a mountain.
  2. I'd be the first to die (chronologically) if the sun exploded.
#nature
Palm Pre packaging Jul 14, 2009
Ok it's been a while since I bought my Palm Pre, and I've been meaning to write about a few interesting observations about its packaging.  For most people, this topic couldn't be less interesting, but for me it's at least worth a mention.  I heard that Palm hired a few people from Apple to design the Pre, and I wouldn't be surprised if these same people had something to do with the packaging, which, while it mostly performs the function of "containing" the device, it also adds some sort of aesthetic value that's hard to quantify.  Here's what I noticed: 

[gallery /img/2009/07/p0712172611.jpg:::/img/2009/07/p0712172611-150x150.jpg:::The box itself is sturdy and simple, and it's angled on one corner so it can double as a display case.:::/img/2009/07/p0712172538.jpg:::/img/2009/07/p0712172538-150x150.jpg:::The inside of the box was bright orange, which was a nice touch.:::/img/2009/07/p0712172641.jpg:::/img/2009/07/p0712172641-150x150.jpg:::A curled piece of orange corrugated cardboard had the statement "NO DETAIL IS SMALL" which was kind of self-referential and pretty cool.:::/img/2009/07/p0712172724.jpg:::/img/2009/07/p0712172724-150x150.jpg:::There was a thick piece of clear plastic that cradled the phone when it was in the box, and it was made from #1 recyclable plastic, which was encouraging.:::/img/2009/07/p0712172840.jpg:::/img/2009/07/p0712172840-150x150.jpg:::There was another piece of plastic (this time non-recyclable) with the odd statement "Inspired by and designed in California" which made me question what inspiration a state can actually provide.:::/img/2009/07/p0712173058.jpg:::/img/2009/07/p0712173058-150x150.jpg:::Several of the small instructional booklets included in the box had the top right corner of their first page neatly folded down, probably as some sort of indicator or accessibility trick.:::]

All in all the packaging was pretty cool and even though it was heavily copied from Apple, it conveyed the idea that if they spent this much time with the packaging, surely the product received at least equal attention.  Yeah, I think it did. #technology