Author Archives: Carson

Are You a Jackass?

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Maybe it’s just because I’m not in school anymore, but I notice people doing stupid stuff in public a lot more than I ever used to (and I always have to a certain extent).

Look, the world is not your personal playground. Do not share with us your musical tastes; do not share with us your latest wheelings and dealings. In public places, you have an obligation to hold up your end of the implied social contract by not imposing yourself on those around you. This is crucial to a civilized society and just because technology allows you to act like a braying ass in public doesn’t mean you should do it.

Just today I was in Arby’s for lunch and someone behind the counter started singing along with the song playing in the restaurant. Was she in tune? Was she in synch? No. Did anyone want to hear it? No. I’m sick of going bowling (non-league) and having the alley overrun by stupid kids with no parents around doing whatever they want. So read this article on how to squelch your inner jackass and pay attention. And the next time you’re in a public place, ask yourself, “Does someone else think I’m a jackass?”

Getting Carried Away

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From CNN:

Rounding a corner on his motorcycle to finish rigging his cache, he was greeted by a barricade of police cars and a bomb squad. He struggled to explain the misunderstanding.

“I got off my bike and three officers approached me very cautiously, hands on their holsters,” he said. “I was trying to turn off my MP3 player and I think they were worried I was going for a detonator.”

I’m not sure which is worse: people automatically assuming a hidden container is the work of terrorists, or people dumb enough to put their geocaches in a place that could be considered terrorist targets. I thought this article was pretty interesting considering we’re just starting to get into Geocaching. I just hope places don’t start banning it – at least not in large areas. I guess that’s why you should always ask for permission before hiding one.

No More Boring Saturday Nights

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Shoe rental: $1. Bowling: $1/game. Beer/Mixed drinks: $1. Food: $1. That’s the story at Wildcat Lanes in Verona on Saturday nights. If you can stand the slow service from the bar, it’s a pretty sweet deal. Needless to say, Chris, Amber, and I bowled a total of 13 games, plus 8 drinks for around 30 bucks (including a decent tip). I know where we’ll be the next time we can’t find anything to do on the weekend.

On a totally unrelated note, I’ve been readin these delivery driver stories. It reminds me of when I worked at a pizza place in high school. Even though I didn’t actually do any driving because I wasn’t old enough at the time, I was pretty good friends with our regular drivers. I can recall a few times where weather became a major factor and at least one awesome tip (something like 50 bucks). A lot of these stores are somewhat predictable like getting stiffed and drunks who can’t figure out how to pay, but a few of them are pretty unique. My favorites are the military drill and the slippery slope.

Nikon Really Likes the Future of Digital Photography

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I understand that Nikon wants to capitalize on the success of digital photography. I love using my digital camera and being able to save just the pictures I want. The flexibility it gives you is amazing. But I don’t think they should stop making film cameras altogether. There are still certain things to be said about the quality of images you can get on film, and remembering where photography has come from. This is a sad day.

read more | digg story

SED TVs are Here

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All I have to say is wow. I was at CES last year and maybe I just wasn’t in the right places, but I’ve heard about more cool things this year than anything I saw when I was there. Toshiba has released a new TV using SED Technology which sounds incredible. The coolest thing I saw last year was probably the biggest (at the time) TV ever – nothing like the stuff I’ve been hearing about this year.

People Remember Revolution

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Even if they’re skeptical or downright pissed off about it, lots of people mark the unveiling of the Revolution controller as the most memorable gaming moment of 2005 – even more than the Xbox 360 launch. The only thing with more votes was “Just playing great games and having fun.” This is definitely good news for Nintendo, and with recent rumblings about new graphics technology, Twilight Princess with the new controller (despite being a GameCube game), and a possible May launch (this would be sweet but seems least likely), Nintendo seems to be in a pretty good position to kick of 2006.

Trade in Your CDs for an iPod

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An independent music store in Charleston, SC is allowing customers to trade in their old CDs for an iPod. How sweet a deal is this? What’s to stop the customer from ripping all their CDs into iTunes and then trading in for a new iPod?

Millennium’s CD to iPod converstion table:
45 CDs = 512MB iPod shuffle
65 CDs = 1GB iPod shuffle
85 CDs = 2GB iPod nano
110 CDs = 4GB iPod nano
130 CDs = 30GB video iPod
175 CDs = 60GB video iPod

I’m pretty sure I could get at least a 4GB nano if not a 30 GB video or more. Too bad I’m a little far from Charleston. Maybe Amber should tell her brother about it…

Flipped

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I almost forgot…when we got back into Madison on Monday night, we got in the car to go to dinner and I flipped to my favorite radio station, Mad Radio WMAD. I didn’t really pay much attention at first, but then I realized it was a country song. Now their slogan is “new rock, no rules” but that would be a bit of a stretch. When the song ended they announced that it was the New Star Country.

!@#$%^!@#

Not only did they flip the station to country, they killed the station completely along with the morning show they carried (at least killed it for Madison). It was the only station I could really listen to for more than 5 or 10 minutes before I wanted to flip and it’s the only station that played a decent mix of Alternative. It was one of the only stations that played almost entirely new music. Madison radio has sucked since we got here, but this is just one more reason for me to consider XM or Sirius.