Tuesday, December 30, 2003
FedEx buys Kinko's
So now I know where to put the apostrophe. I wonder if they'll rename them to compete with The UPS Store... like The FedEx Copy Center or something. Anyhow, this seems like a good deal to me. Not sure why. Compelled me to finally buy some FedEx stock, like I've been contemplating for several years. Next, they need to add Starbucks and Wells Fargo counters inside the Kinko's. And you could nearly live there. My friend would hate that, though, I suppose.
More of the same
My friend, who works at a Kinko's, refused to help someone yesterday trying to photocopy information from an almanac on the U.S. Virgin Isles. He said he didn't think it was a big deal but that I could mention it on here if I wanted to, since everyone seems to think the government is reading my website.
(It is Kinkos' policy to prohibit photocopying of copyrighted materials... I knew that yesterday when I used Kinkos as an example just because no one would know that BJ's is a stupidly named copy-shop in Glendale. A block away from Kinkos, in fact.)
Doesn't the rest of the world hate us? Then shouldn't we be saying that we're the only ones allowed to carry guns on flights? Here's an idea... why don't we just hand each passenger a gun instead of a pack of peanuts?
I had a dream the other night that arsonists stole the door off my car. They tied a rope to it and dragged it around a park terrorizing people having picnics. Then they lit some forests on fire and the firemen came, put out the fires, and killed the arsonists. Someone gave me a videotape of my door being dragged around unceremoniously but fortunately I woke up before I had a chance to call the insurance company. (If I had stayed asleep, that would have been unpleasant.)
(It is Kinkos' policy to prohibit photocopying of copyrighted materials... I knew that yesterday when I used Kinkos as an example just because no one would know that BJ's is a stupidly named copy-shop in Glendale. A block away from Kinkos, in fact.)
Doesn't the rest of the world hate us? Then shouldn't we be saying that we're the only ones allowed to carry guns on flights? Here's an idea... why don't we just hand each passenger a gun instead of a pack of peanuts?
I had a dream the other night that arsonists stole the door off my car. They tied a rope to it and dragged it around a park terrorizing people having picnics. Then they lit some forests on fire and the firemen came, put out the fires, and killed the arsonists. Someone gave me a videotape of my door being dragged around unceremoniously but fortunately I woke up before I had a chance to call the insurance company. (If I had stayed asleep, that would have been unpleasant.)
Monday, December 29, 2003
Don't be caught in public with an almanac
The government is warning police agencies to be on the lookout for people with almanacs... they could be terrorists! (nbc4.tv) Of course, after this news report, maybe they should be on the lookout for people at Kinkos making photocopies of pages from almanacs or people at Barnes and Noble furiously scribbling onto paper while reading an almanac. Or anyone at Starbucks with a laptop and a wireless connection. Or anyone who calls 411 on their cell phone and asks for directions to Sacramento. *sigh*
Thursday, December 25, 2003
Tuesday, December 23, 2003
Who the hell cares?
Mini-rant: A-Rod is a dumbass name. If you want to trade him/her/it, do it already. But stop telling me that a trade might be possible. If it was a good idea, it would be done by now. Or we would have found out about it after it happened. But it doesn't need to continue being news.
In other news, my wife thinks I'm about to be added to a Government Watch List and labelled a subversive. I don't care enough to be a subversive. Originally I was going to say that I didn't even care enough to look up what the word meant. But it turns out I did. I am not a subversive (why do I keep typing subversize?) nor do I want our government overthrown. Yeah, there's several thousand years of history on how not to run countries (and some persist even today in their wrong way to run a country), but USA rules. I'm not a subversive. If the government doesn't even care enough to take my simple suggestion on their website, then I doubt they will care enough to watch me, or watch out for me. Unless I said those magic words that brought the Secret Service to my door. But I'm not as dumb as Eminem.
P.S. France sucks.
In other news, my wife thinks I'm about to be added to a Government Watch List and labelled a subversive. I don't care enough to be a subversive. Originally I was going to say that I didn't even care enough to look up what the word meant. But it turns out I did. I am not a subversive (why do I keep typing subversize?) nor do I want our government overthrown. Yeah, there's several thousand years of history on how not to run countries (and some persist even today in their wrong way to run a country), but USA rules. I'm not a subversive. If the government doesn't even care enough to take my simple suggestion on their website, then I doubt they will care enough to watch me, or watch out for me. Unless I said those magic words that brought the Secret Service to my door. But I'm not as dumb as Eminem.
P.S. France sucks.
Monday, December 22, 2003
ORANGE, BABY
We're now at terror level orange.
It's been at least two months since I had my last dream involving terrorists. Having been the most realistic one yet, in terms of how it was carried out, I went to the DHS website and wrote in, asking if there was a way for ordinary citizens to submit possible scenarios. I have heard nothing back. Nothing. I guess they're not interested in our safety.
So here's my scenario. A terrorist gets a job working at a airport. If possible, with a fire-fighting crew. Then, when there's no one around, they fuel up a fire-fighting "supertanker" helicopter. But they don't just fill the gas tank, they also fill the part where the water's supposed to go. Then they lift off, heading for some large outdoor gathering, like a stadium and dump the load of fuel on the crowd below. (No one would dare shoot them down over restricted airspace if they were full of fuel.) Then a terrorist on the ground (or a bunch of them, to really add to the confusion and pandemonium) lights themselves on fire and runs into the middle of the crowd. Can you imagine the impact that would have? TV crews panning over a section of a stadium with a bunch of charred bodies, in seats, crowded into stairways and probably even on the field itself?
It's been at least two months since I had my last dream involving terrorists. Having been the most realistic one yet, in terms of how it was carried out, I went to the DHS website and wrote in, asking if there was a way for ordinary citizens to submit possible scenarios. I have heard nothing back. Nothing. I guess they're not interested in our safety.
So here's my scenario. A terrorist gets a job working at a airport. If possible, with a fire-fighting crew. Then, when there's no one around, they fuel up a fire-fighting "supertanker" helicopter. But they don't just fill the gas tank, they also fill the part where the water's supposed to go. Then they lift off, heading for some large outdoor gathering, like a stadium and dump the load of fuel on the crowd below. (No one would dare shoot them down over restricted airspace if they were full of fuel.) Then a terrorist on the ground (or a bunch of them, to really add to the confusion and pandemonium) lights themselves on fire and runs into the middle of the crowd. Can you imagine the impact that would have? TV crews panning over a section of a stadium with a bunch of charred bodies, in seats, crowded into stairways and probably even on the field itself?
Saturday, December 20, 2003
Thursday, December 18, 2003
Thin-air display is promising but thin on details
Hey... blogger is working today. Cool. Anyhow, this article details a cool sounding project... it projects images apparently into thin air. And it's "touch sensitive" so that you can interact with the "screen". (news.com)
Friday, December 12, 2003
Gene map reveals uranium-gobbling microbe’s secrets
Ok, this might sound boring. But 10-second version... scientists are developing bacteria that can be poured into contaminated ground-water. The baterica eats any uranium it finds, cleaning up the water. If necessary, it can also produce electricity. (msnbc.com)
Thursday, December 11, 2003
Light Faster Than Light?
I don't understand all of this, but I find it quite interesting. It has to do with slowing down or stopping light and speeding light up so much that in one study it seems that the light reaches one end of a chamber before it's turned on at the other end. (msnbc.com)
Monday, December 08, 2003
Toyota boosts Prius production
This is nice... people are buying 31% more of the gasoline-electric hybrid cars than Toyota had forecast. I still think they're a little too ugly, but attaway! to those who are taking fuel economy and environmentally friendly approaches to transportation over style.
Tuesday, December 02, 2003
Viewer Mail
hi tvjames,
just wanted to take a moment thanking you for saving me from Sprint! I live in chatsworth and have cingular at the moment. cingular has been ok with quite a few blackout spots. the customer service has been suprisingly decent-at least not problems yet. I have heard from quite a few people, who probably heard from someone else, that sprint has the best networks but are pricier. like a fool, I was actually considering going with sprint without doing my research on them. I had only researched phones and compared plans. what saved me from jumping ship immediately was that sprint does not have any great start-up deals like cingular or t-mobile so I waited--good thing. I went to epinions, reviewed a bunch of phones and then saw in the corner reviews for service providers. sprint started off with many people actually proclaiming their customer service, as I read on I found the opposite. I found quite a few like yours. your title caught my attention so I read the whole review (like others) and was amazed you took the time to put such great detail into it. it has inspired me to do a review of compaq after my horrible dealings with their "customer care" located in INDIA!! do you know what time you have to get up to call these people?? to get through?? anyway, it should be posted shortly. I was even inspired by your review title "sprint-satan" so I called joined epinions as Compaqis666. hopefully Ill get it in there soon and save a few souls myself!
thanks for saving mine.
steve
just wanted to take a moment thanking you for saving me from Sprint! I live in chatsworth and have cingular at the moment. cingular has been ok with quite a few blackout spots. the customer service has been suprisingly decent-at least not problems yet. I have heard from quite a few people, who probably heard from someone else, that sprint has the best networks but are pricier. like a fool, I was actually considering going with sprint without doing my research on them. I had only researched phones and compared plans. what saved me from jumping ship immediately was that sprint does not have any great start-up deals like cingular or t-mobile so I waited--good thing. I went to epinions, reviewed a bunch of phones and then saw in the corner reviews for service providers. sprint started off with many people actually proclaiming their customer service, as I read on I found the opposite. I found quite a few like yours. your title caught my attention so I read the whole review (like others) and was amazed you took the time to put such great detail into it. it has inspired me to do a review of compaq after my horrible dealings with their "customer care" located in INDIA!! do you know what time you have to get up to call these people?? to get through?? anyway, it should be posted shortly. I was even inspired by your review title "sprint-satan" so I called joined epinions as Compaqis666. hopefully Ill get it in there soon and save a few souls myself!
thanks for saving mine.
steve
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)