May 29, 2006
Take THAT, daylight!
Actually, this post is more or less just to prove that I am actually awake BEFORE 1:00pm cdt. We got up at 9am so we'd be all ready to check out before their disgustingly early check out time of 11:00 AND to capitalize on the free breakfast. Unfortunately, in this case, with free breakfast, you get what you pay for. The bagels were alright (seriously though, how hard is it to open the bag and put them on the buffet? It ain't like Holiday Inn Express is actually making them). But their main draw, the cinnamon rolls, were, as Aimee put it, reminiscent of "plastic bags". Not exactly the flavor I'm looking for in a cinnamon roll. However, this did not stop me from eating 3/4 of the stupid thing.
Well I've got to finish making myself presentable, which can take quite some time, so I'm going to leave now, but not before saying to Kelly that he really should ask his city council who stole all the light bulbs. You weren't kidding, man, it is DARK in your hood!
I'll try to put up some silly pics tonight, but don't hold me to it. I will probably be wiped out from the shopping and driving and GETTING UP AT 09:00 CDT! Seriously--why do you people do this to yourselves?
Well I've got to finish making myself presentable, which can take quite some time, so I'm going to leave now, but not before saying to Kelly that he really should ask his city council who stole all the light bulbs. You weren't kidding, man, it is DARK in your hood!
I'll try to put up some silly pics tonight, but don't hold me to it. I will probably be wiped out from the shopping and driving and GETTING UP AT 09:00 CDT! Seriously--why do you people do this to yourselves?
// posted by wayne @ 5/29/2006 10:21:00 AM 
Deep in the heart...
Not DEEP in the heart, mind you, but far enough south that we ain't in Oklahoma any more.
I'm writing this from the bustling boomtown of Frisco, Texas. Which, I have on good authority, is where all the people working hard in Dallas and Ft. Worth, come to spend all that hard-earned cash. Just a stone's throw down the street are more shopping centers and parking lots than I have ever seen. Ever. And that includes all of my travels overseas--and let me tell you, the Middle East has some markets that go on for days.
What brings us across the Red River, you ask? Simple: IKEA. Yep, that mecca of flat-pack that calls to all lovers of crisp, clean design has once again voiced its siren song, so here we are. But wait, there's more. Turns out we are in Kelly's neck of the woods, and he and his better half were kind enough to invite us into their home to catch up on old times. Good stuff, I tell you.
We'll spend almost all of tomorrow at the many shops and I'll be dead beat by the time we get home, which is why I wanted to throw up a post now to let you all know (those of you still checking on me) that I am indeed still numbered among the living.
I'm writing this from the bustling boomtown of Frisco, Texas. Which, I have on good authority, is where all the people working hard in Dallas and Ft. Worth, come to spend all that hard-earned cash. Just a stone's throw down the street are more shopping centers and parking lots than I have ever seen. Ever. And that includes all of my travels overseas--and let me tell you, the Middle East has some markets that go on for days.
What brings us across the Red River, you ask? Simple: IKEA. Yep, that mecca of flat-pack that calls to all lovers of crisp, clean design has once again voiced its siren song, so here we are. But wait, there's more. Turns out we are in Kelly's neck of the woods, and he and his better half were kind enough to invite us into their home to catch up on old times. Good stuff, I tell you.
We'll spend almost all of tomorrow at the many shops and I'll be dead beat by the time we get home, which is why I wanted to throw up a post now to let you all know (those of you still checking on me) that I am indeed still numbered among the living.
// posted by wayne @ 5/29/2006 12:47:00 AM
May 22, 2006
Personal data on millions of US veterans stolen - Yahoo! News
Personal data on millions of US veterans stolen - Yahoo! News
Lovely.
Now I have to pull credit reports every six months for the next 20 years to make sure someone hasn't decided to assume my top-secret superhero identity.
The more I think about this, the more I want to fly out to DC and smack someone right square on the mouth. Aimee and I take every precaution we can think of to protect our SSNs, account numers and credit card information, including the shredding of every bill we get. Now my stuff is at risk because this jerk takes my, and 26.5f of my buddies, information home so he can read it over his morning coffee.
Lovely.
Thanks to The Heckard for the link.
Lovely.
Now I have to pull credit reports every six months for the next 20 years to make sure someone hasn't decided to assume my top-secret superhero identity.
The more I think about this, the more I want to fly out to DC and smack someone right square on the mouth. Aimee and I take every precaution we can think of to protect our SSNs, account numers and credit card information, including the shredding of every bill we get. Now my stuff is at risk because this jerk takes my, and 26.5f of my buddies, information home so he can read it over his morning coffee.
Lovely.
Thanks to The Heckard for the link.
// posted by wayne @ 5/22/2006 04:35:00 PM
May 19, 2006
TheWBALChannel.com - News - Couple Arrested For Asking For Directions
TheWBALChannel.com - News - Couple Arrested For Asking For Directions
Guess where I'm NOT going for vacation this year. Or next year, or the year after that, or the year after that...
Check out that video capture. After looking at these two obviously hardened criminals, I now understand that the two of them were most certainly posing a threat to the community in general and the ONLY logical course of action was to arrest them immediatley.
Un...frickin...(wait for it)...believable.
Thanks to The Heckard for the tip on the story.
Guess where I'm NOT going for vacation this year. Or next year, or the year after that, or the year after that...
Check out that video capture. After looking at these two obviously hardened criminals, I now understand that the two of them were most certainly posing a threat to the community in general and the ONLY logical course of action was to arrest them immediatley.
Un...frickin...(wait for it)...believable.
Thanks to The Heckard for the tip on the story.
// posted by wayne @ 5/19/2006 05:33:00 PM
May 18, 2006
Man, it's happy times if you're still shootin' film.
What with all this digital revolution going on, you can get some of the best film cameras in the world for a song if you know where to look. About 5 years ago, I think, I purchased a Nikon N90s new for $699 and that was a good price. I was able to sell it on the ebay 3 years after that for $500. Not bad depreciation, but the revolution was in its infancy at that point. At that time, the only Nikon-made bodies badder than the N90s were the F5, which was their top-o-the-line pro body, and the new kid on the block F100, which was for all intents a lightened F5 (and the replacement for the N90s, incidentally). A new F5 was gonna set you back about $1500 bucks and the F100 was around a grand, give or take a bill. Fast forward to today, er last night.
I bookmarked some auctions on the ebay last week to see how they'd go, and here's what we found: that same F5 couldn't even make a buy-it-now price of $565US. In fact, it didn't even make the reserve and stalled out at $355. The other auction I was watching was for an F100 and it topped out at $293.76US. Granted they are both used bodies, but they are both in great shape and both listed by sellers with at least 99.8% positive feedback. Unreal.
Thing is, we live in a time when 7, 8 and 9 mp dc's are all the rage and (when one considers the price tags put on the first dc's) very affordable. Now, to equate this explosive growth to the digital world, my current Nikon body is the D100. The D100 was Nikon's first serious attempt at a "prosumer" digital SLR body and it won many big awards and the world worshipped at the altar of Nikon. Until the Canon 20D came out, that is. But the D100 was "all that" with 6.1mp resolution, it accepted all Nikon AF lenses and was under 2 grand. Not by much, but under nonetheless. Now Nikon has busted out the D200 and once again, the world is in awe. And they are releasing it for about 3 bills UNDER what I paid for the D100. So let's recap: in 3 years, they've managed to make their entry DSLR more affordable, easier to use (or so I've read) boosted the mp's to 10.2, and improved the auto focus as well as metering. What all this really means is that they've dropped the resale value of my D100 from about $1100 down to around $700 on a good day. AND at the same time driven the prices on those amazing film bodies into the dirt. Deep into the dirt.
So the moral of this story is this: if you were waiting to get one of the best 35 mm film cameras in the world, and happen to have a few Nikon lenses laying around, now would seem to be your time.
I bookmarked some auctions on the ebay last week to see how they'd go, and here's what we found: that same F5 couldn't even make a buy-it-now price of $565US. In fact, it didn't even make the reserve and stalled out at $355. The other auction I was watching was for an F100 and it topped out at $293.76US. Granted they are both used bodies, but they are both in great shape and both listed by sellers with at least 99.8% positive feedback. Unreal.
Thing is, we live in a time when 7, 8 and 9 mp dc's are all the rage and (when one considers the price tags put on the first dc's) very affordable. Now, to equate this explosive growth to the digital world, my current Nikon body is the D100. The D100 was Nikon's first serious attempt at a "prosumer" digital SLR body and it won many big awards and the world worshipped at the altar of Nikon. Until the Canon 20D came out, that is. But the D100 was "all that" with 6.1mp resolution, it accepted all Nikon AF lenses and was under 2 grand. Not by much, but under nonetheless. Now Nikon has busted out the D200 and once again, the world is in awe. And they are releasing it for about 3 bills UNDER what I paid for the D100. So let's recap: in 3 years, they've managed to make their entry DSLR more affordable, easier to use (or so I've read) boosted the mp's to 10.2, and improved the auto focus as well as metering. What all this really means is that they've dropped the resale value of my D100 from about $1100 down to around $700 on a good day. AND at the same time driven the prices on those amazing film bodies into the dirt. Deep into the dirt.
So the moral of this story is this: if you were waiting to get one of the best 35 mm film cameras in the world, and happen to have a few Nikon lenses laying around, now would seem to be your time.
// posted by wayne @ 5/18/2006 03:47:00 AM
May 16, 2006
They killed him, Gilbert.
After keeping us on the edge of our seats all frickin' season as to whether or not he'd get that heart, he finally gets it, but only after Izzie almost kills him to do so.
Then, when everything is coming up roses and he's all fixed up, they kill him.
Denny DuQuette died last night. I don't know which is worse--the fact that they killed his character or that I am this bothered about it!
Then, when everything is coming up roses and he's all fixed up, they kill him.
Denny DuQuette died last night. I don't know which is worse--the fact that they killed his character or that I am this bothered about it!
// posted by wayne @ 5/16/2006 02:31:00 PM
May 11, 2006
Worst Band Ever?
Note to Avenged Sevenfold: you are quite possibly, well, almost certainly the worst sounding band ever. Whenever I am unfortunate enough to hear the vile caterwauling you call “music” I have to choke back the bile while struggling to find the remote and immediately tune to my “safe channel”. After hearing two of the singles off your latest album, I have decided that even the most detestable screeching of Dimmu Borgir or Cradle of Filth can not compare to the kind of vomit-inducing, sonic nausea you people are spewing.
Anytime I hear even the first few bars of one of your songs, I have to fight to keep my bowel from emptying its contents in protest of what my ears are hearing. How you were signed is a mystery to me, as your style doesn’t seem to fit any of the recording industry’s pre-defined, neat, tidy little boxes. The unbelievably nasal vocal sound combined with straight-up 80’s guitar riffs is quite a combination, to say the least. In fact, I think the 80’s called our local radio station last night and they want their sound back. Seems Queensryche had misplaced it after their last tour, but that does not give you permission to just pick it up and walk off with it.
// posted by wayne @ 5/11/2006 05:05:00 PM
May 06, 2006
FOXNews.com - Parents Demand NYC Schools End Cell-Phone Ban - Local News | News Articles | National News | US News
FOXNews.com - Parents Demand NYC Schools End Cell-Phone Ban - Local News News Articles National News US News
Well boo-freaking-hoo.
Cell phones and school just don't mix in my book and I don't care how loudly they cry about it being a vital life line between children and their parents. Back in the day, if my folks had a 'vital' message, they just called the office.
As far as that argument that cell phones are important to confirm safety after a major catastrophy like September 11, I was there and I distinctly remember that I could NOT get a cell line at all, and I could only get a land line about half the time. So don't give me that one.
And the argument that it's just not fair because the teachers get to use their cells, well that's just tough noogans, isn't it you little entitlement mentality monkey boy.
Here's the answer and it's right in the article: if you want to use your cell phone in school, become a teacher!
Well boo-freaking-hoo.
Cell phones and school just don't mix in my book and I don't care how loudly they cry about it being a vital life line between children and their parents. Back in the day, if my folks had a 'vital' message, they just called the office.
As far as that argument that cell phones are important to confirm safety after a major catastrophy like September 11, I was there and I distinctly remember that I could NOT get a cell line at all, and I could only get a land line about half the time. So don't give me that one.
And the argument that it's just not fair because the teachers get to use their cells, well that's just tough noogans, isn't it you little entitlement mentality monkey boy.
Here's the answer and it's right in the article: if you want to use your cell phone in school, become a teacher!
// posted by wayne @ 5/06/2006 06:58:00 PM
May 05, 2006
The beginning of the end...
I just spent an hour over at myspace that I'll never get back.
Egad.
But on a completely unrelated topic, this could be the funniest thing I've read all day.
Maddox!
Egad.
But on a completely unrelated topic, this could be the funniest thing I've read all day.
Maddox!
// posted by wayne @ 5/05/2006 04:58:00 AM
May 03, 2006
Immigration Reform Debate on Yahoo! News Photos
Immigration Reform Debate on Yahoo! News Photos
I tell you what, if this is the best argument he can come up with for granting citizenship to millions of illegals, he better pack it up now.
I can make my own burritos, thank you very much. And if I don't feel like doing it myself, the zit-faced white-bread teenager at the Mayo can make it for me.
I tell you what, if this is the best argument he can come up with for granting citizenship to millions of illegals, he better pack it up now.
I can make my own burritos, thank you very much. And if I don't feel like doing it myself, the zit-faced white-bread teenager at the Mayo can make it for me.
// posted by wayne @ 5/03/2006 06:36:00 PM
