2 Seat Chatter

Go State!

2012-01-19T17:01:00.002-05:00

While visiting the skating rink the other night, I spotted a guy standing along wall on the ice a couple of yards from me wearing an NC State sweatshirt. Unlike the other universities in the Triangle, people usually don't wear NC State gear unless they actually went there. So I flashed the Wolfpack sign and shouted "Go State!"

He turned my way and gave me a rude look. His expression changed though when he saw my Wolfpack sign. He laughed, and said to me, "Sorry, I thought you yelled at me to 'Go Skate!'".

Go State, Go Skate!

Art Loeb Trail up Black Balsam Knob

2012-01-02T15:44:00.004-05:00

In December, I took a short hike up Black Balsam Knob along the Art Loeb Trail. Black Balsam Knob is accessible off the Blue Ridge Parkway, 37 miles southwest of Asheville. Coming from Asheville along the Parkway, you turn right onto Black Balsam Knob Road. Drive 3/4 mile up the road. Trail heads off on the right. The map (from this site on the entire Art Loeb hike), shown below has the Black Balsam portion shown at the bottom. It's a quick hike, but you break the tree line halfway up, and can see for miles around at the top. Without trees at the peak, it can get very windy.

In the pictures below, shows the terrain at the base of the trail when it's still in the forest and the black balsam trees as you start your climb. Further down is the rocky trail as you start reaching the tree-less portion of the bald, and the view around.

Jughandles in Asheville

2012-01-02T15:22:00.003-05:00

Visited Asheville a couple of weeks ago, and came across a couple of jughandles of interest. First, at the base of Black Balsam Knob on the Art Loeb Trail, I came across a jug of water with my name on it. A bit creepy actually.

Asheville also has a Jersey jughandle in the westbound direction on Patton Avenue at the intersection with southbound Clingman Avenue. Excited to see this intersection type outside of the Garden State.

One does not simply...

2011-12-29T14:04:00.004-05:00

One does not simply walk into Mordor either.

Hiking on Ramanessin Brook Greenway

2011-12-20T23:07:00.011-05:00

My friend from nursery school told me about this hike he really likes to take in Holmdel, NJ. It's mostly on the Ramanessin Brook Greenway Nature Trail, which on the maps appears to be part of Holmdel Park (but far from the spot where the State Cross Country course is). It was a 4 mile hike that went from the trailhead on Holmdel-Middletown Road across from the elementary school. You can park along the west side of the road. The trailhead is marked with a giant sign with the greenway's name.

The greenway along the river for the first 3/4 mile is inside the forest. It follows the river over a few footbridges, before breaking out into the open on a farm road. Follow the farm road around the field. There are some side hikes down to the river along the way, as well as an old red farmhouse. The road will turn north, cross the river, and head around a farm growing shrubbery.

After rounding the shurbbery farm, head north on the farm road for another 1/2 mile until you reach the turnaround spot, an old fallen down farmhouse. You can walk around it and check out where its kitchen, stables, and bedrooms were. There's an old chicken coop about 30 yards to the south. Walking back along the same route to the trailhead gave the total of 4 miles for the hike.

Light and Eye Experiment

2011-12-15T12:19:00.004-05:00

My junior year of college, I took a class called Color and Light. This class was talked up to me by friends of mine on the rowing team, and I took it mostly because I heard about this experiment the teacher runs with the class. Although I could've done the experiment on my own (and I suggest you should try it), I took the class anyway.

THE EXPERIMENT

We walked into class one day and the teacher handed us each a bunch of cotton balls and bandanas. The windows were covered with blankets. He tells us to hold the cotton balls over one eye, and strap them to your head with the bandana. The other eye is left open and able to see. He then lectured as normal for 30 minutes. With about 10 minutes left in class, he turned off the lights in the room and had us remove the blindfolds. The eye that had been left open was struggling to see, while the other eye, now dark-adjusted, saw everything. It was a crazy feeling.

Try it yourself!

Calendar Year Movie Watching

2011-12-08T17:08:00.006-05:00

I had never seen the movie Pearl Harbor. My fiancee had it on her movie shelf, so we put it in to watch on Tuesday night. Finished watching yesterday. Realized only halfway through that we were watching it on the 70th anniversary of the attack.

I wonder what a movie marathon would look like for the calendar year, such that the day you watch it is the date in which the movie takes place. There are easy ones to take care of such as Independence Day or any Christmas movie. But is there a movie out there for every date of the year? Nothing I can find on google.

Surprise from a Rain Storm

2011-11-23T11:07:00.003-05:00

There was a surprise rainstorm yesterday. To add to my surprise experience, I was surprised to find out that a black hat I bought in Bangladesh wasn't water protected. That is to say the black hat dyed my forehead, neck, and shirt black. Hat is now in garbage.

Good thing I'm not blonde.

Radiohead Tickets

2011-11-12T10:19:00.002-05:00

I had three computers all refreshing constantly when Radiohead tickets went on sale at 10 AM. Not one was successful. In 2006, for the show I actually got tickets to, we had four computers running and two made it through before tickets sold out in three minutes.

Radiohead could play at the Atlanta Motor Speedway and it would sell out in minutes.

Books FAIL

2011-10-24T18:58:00.002-04:00

The Better Long Weekend

2011-09-10T11:51:00.003-04:00

Getting an extra day or two on a weekend is a great feeling. Having the extra time off from work is relaxing and allows for longer trips and more fun to be had. But which is better? Getting off on Friday for a long weekend, or having Monday off? The answer is Monday, due primarily to when the resultant shortened week occurs.

Shortened weeks at work are incredible, because they fly by so quickly. They seem a lot shorter than the 80% of the normal week they actually are. There's an excitement about a shortened week, that could stand alone apart from a long weekend and still be enjoyable. The position of a shortened week in relation to a long weekend, thus, is the difference maker between having Friday off or having Monday off.

If you have a long weekend where Friday is the day off, you have a shortened week before the long weekend. You are excited simultaneously about the shortened week, and about the upcoming long weekend. You have four days of happiness, followed by a great three-day vacation. Overall, you get seven days of enjoyment out of the long weekend.

If you have Monday off, however, you have a regular week, where you spend the whole week looking forward to your long weekend ahead. Then you get the long enjoyable three-day vacation. But when you return to work, you have a shortened week, which is enjoyable in itself! So in all, you get twelve days of enjoyment out of one long weekend! You are being efficient in your enjoyment of your weekend, spreading out the upcoming excitement of a vacation, the vacation itself, and then the excitement of a shortened week.

Thus I praise President's Day, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Labor Day, and Memorial Day. Thank you for giving Monday off!

*********************

Also...if it's a personal three-day weekend, and thus you are flying not on a peak travel weekend, airfares are cheaper if you fly out Saturday morning and come back Monday night, than if you have fly out Friday morning, and come back Sunday night. So always take Mondays off.

Hiking in Oconee National Forest

2011-08-30T16:41:00.011-04:00

A couple weekends ago I went hiking in Oconee National Forest, in Central Georgia. The forest, halfway between Atlanta and Augusta is split in two, with a large part of it south of Interstate 20, and another sizable portion to the north. We had planned to go hiking in this northern part, but had trouble finding resources on where to go hiking there, apart from the short walk to Scull Shoals historic village. Due to the difficulty in finding a place to hike here, I decided to post some information on the trail we took, under the park ranger's suggestion, so that others can find it with less issues in the future.

The part of the park we hiked in is called Scull Shoals Experimental Forest. A map of the forest can be found here in PDF form, and the portion we hiked is in the most northern tip. We hiked the trail highlighted pink in the map below. It was approximately 4 miles long.

The trailhead is circled on the map above where it comes close to Forest Road 1231. It is just north of the intersection with Forest Road 1231D. The sign below, on the west side of 1231, indicates you have found the trailhead.

The trail is lightly used, but is marked the whole way with plastic orange diamond trail blazes, and plastic green diamong trail blazes with an orange horse. On the western portions of the trail, there are many trees down across the trail, and new paths have circle around them. Be careful to find the blazes again!

Vulcan Hand Sign Achieved

2011-08-05T15:26:00.011-04:00

I've never been able to make the Vulcan hand salute, that which Spock makes in the Star Trek movies.

This was always distressing to me, especially because my last name in Judaism indicates that I am a Kohen. The sign of the Kohen when they do their priestly blessing is the same.

However, just today I was reading about the rock-paper-scissor game variant rock-paper-scissor-lizard-Spock and while going through the hand motions, I just happened to do it. I've never been able to do it before, and I don't know what caused me to suddenly be able to achieve it. I am extremely happy at the moment though.

Fluffy Catepillars

2011-07-06T18:36:00.002-04:00

Went camping last year in Panthertown Valley and spotted these interesting caterpillars. Excited to be going back next weekend!

Parking Meter Overload FAIL

2011-06-27T22:01:00.003-04:00

Our parking meter liked the first 5 coins we fed it, but FAILed at #6. And out of coins to feed another meter. Nearby cop said he'd move the car if he were us, Atlanta Parking Authority is vicious. (Photo by Amy)

Ducks in a Basket

2011-06-23T17:00:00.003-04:00

I visited Rangpur, Bangladesh in summer 2008 with my friend Turzo. We visited a nearby market to pick up a duck for dinner. While there, we spotted a basket of ducklings that were for sale. My fiancée found them to be irresistibly cute.

The Alphabet Song

2011-06-03T13:19:00.002-04:00

It is stuck in my head today. Good thing I know all the lyrics.

Where are the bills?

2011-05-04T15:21:00.003-04:00

I recently performed a study to determine where most of the U.S. currency is located. Using a large sample (n=0), I determined where the majority of the given currency type is currently located:

$1 bills = in snack machines

$2 bills = in frames

$5 bills = in coffee shop cash registers

$10 bills = in pants pockets in your closet, waiting to be found next time you put them on

$20 bills = actually in wallets, it's what the ATM gives out

$50 bills = in the wallets of grandfathers

$100 bills = in banks

pennies = in your car's change drawer

nickels = in your car seat cushions

dimes = further down in your car seat cushions

quarters = gumball machines

half dollars = coin collections

dollar coin = NJ Transit ticket machines

I swear, every time I find a bill in pair of pants, it's a 10!

Water Heater Ant Colony

2011-04-06T15:44:00.004-04:00

A colony of ants has chosen the top of my water heater to settle their colony. I see them walking on top of the water heater all the time, going in and out of the holes they've chewed through the metal lid. I'm not quite sure how deep the colony goes, or how a water heater's inner structure is good for making a colony.

There is one major detrimental factor to locating an ant colony in a water heater...it's a water heater. Every time the water heater turns on to refill up its tank, the colony pours out of the water heater running for their lives in fear. Not sure if it's the heat or if their homes are getting filled with water. They carry their precious larva in their teeth, and hide wherever they can for a couple of hours. Then they return. This happens every time the water heater turns on. I'm wondering how long it will be until they decide to abandon this foolish idea. How can one have a successful ant colony if several times a day you have to abandon it?!?

A Terminal's Demise at RDU

2011-03-28T19:25:00.006-04:00

I flew through Raleigh-Durham International Airport (RDU) last week. I've flown through the airport since 2002, using Terminal 1 on the majority of my flights. Terminal 2 used to be the secondary terminal at RDU, but recent renovations have made it the much better looking terminal. Terminal 2, with its sweeping wooden arch roof and glass exterior is now the home to the legacy airlines at RDU. Delta, Continental, United, U.S. Airways, etc. used to be housed in Terminal 1, but now call Terminal 2 home.

Left behind at Terminal 1 are all the low-cost carriers (LCCs): Southwest, AirTran, and JetBlue. As low-cost carriers, their business model doesn't necessitate having a flashy new terminal, and the cramped corridors of Terminal 1 which once housed legacy airlines, is perfectly suitable for the LCCs. The three LCCs can't possibly fill up all the gates which once bustled before, so Terminal 1 is now being operated below capacity. As seen in the photos below, Terminal 1 is a haunting shell of what it once was. The check-in counters are almost all boarded up, the gate areas are almost all boarded up, and the hallways are mostly void of life. The airside departure hallway is lined with potted plants, a last ditch attempt to make the terminal seem cared for. The gate areas have art which looks like it was bought at a garage sale, not the interesting posters advertising foreign destinations that the legacy airlines used to hang. Only one restaurant and a couple of shops seemed to be in business. It was incredible to see such a change to the terminal which one was RDU's main building.

LCC terminal buildings have been built in foreign cities to cater solely to the LCCs which have seen strong growth in their respective regions, such as in Singapore and Kuala Lumpur. These terminals were purposely built as giant simple structures, with minimal amenities for passengers, but look decent and well-kept because their design was purposeful. Outdated U.S. terminals will likely become similar structures for American LCCs, a good re-purposing of the less attractive terminal space, such as at RDU. One can imagine unused terminal space at U.S. airports which have lost hub status over time (Pittsburgh due to U.S. Airways, St. Louis due to American Airlines), can evolve their older terminal space for their LCC traffic, and reserve the newer gates for the legacy airlines. In doing so, non-hub airports will redefine their position in the U.S. air network.

Delicious Subway Breakfast

2011-03-05T12:32:00.002-05:00

Went to Subway to get a breakfast sub yesterday. Egg and cheese, onion, green pepper, tomato, and chipotle sauce. Reminds me of the western sandwich I used to eat at Bruegger's Bagels. My friend O.C. used to eat those three at a time or something like that. I haven't had a sandwich like this in so long, and was so excited to get it.

I left it on top of my car when I got in, and drove off. It is now sitting on 14th Street, all mushed and run over.

Donkey for breakfast?

2010-12-13T21:34:00.001-05:00

Doesn't sound very appetizing.

Returning my book to the library

2010-12-08T21:04:00.002-05:00

Went to the library to return three books. One of the books I had checked out never had registered on my online library account, so I went to the circulation desk to let them know the issue. Two of the librarians went to scan it back in, and found no library barcode. They looked at me and remarked, "This book isn't ours."

I stared at them, and then down at the book, and then said confused, "Huh...I must've bought this one then."

They laughed hard at me,"Sounds like you've been studying too hard!"

I chuckled a little too, and said,"I really don't remember buying this book."

"Well it was nice of you to try and give it to us!", and they continued laughing.

I put the book back in my bag.

They were still laughing as I walked out of the library.

Growth spurt and jeans

2010-11-15T17:50:00.002-05:00

At the beginning of seventh grade, my mom took me to buy clothes for the new school year. We bought three pairs of jeans, the typical amount we would purchase year-to-year. By January, though, my growth spurt had hit, and I no longer fit in any of the jeans purchased in September. So back to the mall we went, and bought three more pairs of jeans that I could wear until the spring. By March I had outgrown two of these pairs. I was left with only pair of jeans that fit, and my mother surely was not going to buy more jeans at this point. So I wore that same pair of jeans everyday until mid-April when it got warm enough for shorts.

Everyday going to school, I was certain that everyone who saw me snickered amongst one another, "There goes the boy who never changes his clothes. He wears the same jeans every day! Poor guy got hit by puberty at the wrong time of year."

Rationing Halloween Candy

2010-11-10T11:51:00.002-05:00

Throughout my childhood, I ate candy very methodically after Halloween. Upon arriving home from trick-or-treating around the neighborhood for 3-4 hours, I would dump my pillow sack of candy onto the living room floor and begin to sort it. I would pile the candy by type together, and group them based on how delicious they were. I then filled a large metal bowl with the candy, starting with the my favorite candy (Snickers, Milky Way, Baby Ruth) on the bottom and progressing to my least favorite candy on top (Smarties, Skittles).

With the bowl prepared, I would leave it in the dining room on one of the unused chairs. Every morning when making my school lunch, I would grab precisely two pieces of candy from the bowl and put it in my bag. No more, no less. On days I did not have school, I would only eat two pieces of candy. Through this process, my candy lasted typically until early April. Throughout the cold winter, I would live through the least favorite candies and progress onto the better ones. By the time spring was poking its head, I was on to the best candies of all. Every day was a better candy day than the last.

I felt, and still feel, this fully maximizes the potential of Halloween.

My thesis length

2010-11-09T11:29:00.003-05:00

The first draft of my Master's thesis was 314 pages. It was unintentional, but I was real glad that it was 100*π

Where to sit in the back of a car

2010-09-08T18:47:00.003-04:00

When three people are riding in a passenger car together, one person is forced to sit in back. Here, they struggle to hear what the two others are saying up front, or just sit quietly for the duration of the ride.

Often, people like to sit behind the passenger seat because it allows them to have more legroom. The driver often sits farther back to be in a comfortable position to use the pedals, while the rider in the passenger seat is able to move their seat forward to provide legroom for a backseat rider.

If one desires to be heavily involved in the front seat conversation, sitting behind the passenger is a bad idea. To have the best chance to be involved, one should sit behind the driver. Although less legroom, this seat provides the best opportunity to not be excluded from conversation. The reasoning is as follows:

*The driver must focus on the road. Thus, when conversing with other passengers, he or she must keep their head pointed forward and thus has a limited ability to engage in conversation. As well, they are focused on driving and may not always be available to chat with.

*The rider in the passenger seat does not have to focus on the road. When conversing with other passengers, this rider can turn their head to look at who they are talking to. When the driver is focused on driving, they can engage in conversation with all others in the car.

Under these assumptions, one should want to locate themselves so that they can easily talk to the rider in the passenger seat so they can have eye contact when necessary. If one sits behind the passenger seat, the rider up there will unlikely turn around to talk to the backseat. If, however, one sits behind the driver, the rider in the passenger seat can turn around to talk with you, and thus including you more in the conversation.

Summary: Sitting behind the driver keeps you engaged in the conversation because the passenger seat rider can turn their head to talk to you. Sitting behind the passenger seat means you get no eye contact and are more frequently forgotten by those in the front seat.

Protege breaks 100k

2010-07-17T13:24:00.006-04:00

My 2001 Mazda Protege hit 100,000 miles last night. I've been anticipating this for weeks. I bought the car in 2004 with just over 40,000 miles.

The last time I drove a car past 100,000 miles it was my dad's old Mazda 626 which was passed on to me when I was 18. That car I hit 100,000 miles in front of Molly Pitcher's Well in Manalapan, NJ.

Last night, I was at the corner of Jett Road and Tanglewood Trail in Atlanta when I hit the goal. My girlfriend and I visited Dunkin' Donuts 8 miles prior and then drove as the odometer ticked away. Below are the pictures of the odometer and the location. (photos by Amy)

There for the news story

2010-06-04T13:43:00.003-04:00

Police Investigate Reports of Gunfire at Screen on the Green

Last night a bunch of friends and I went to see the Screen on the Green movie festival at Piedmont Park in Atlanta. They were showing Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, and we got there just after the movie started. We couldn't hear much because the place was packed and people were yelling and walking around the entire time. Still, it was the first time I was seeing the film so I did my best to assume the storyline.

I went to the porto potties with my friend at one point, and on our way back, we saw a huge crowd running toward our direction screaming. The first thing both of us thought was that someone had gotten shot. We went back to our seats though and sat down. We could see over the whole crowd and saw people getting up to leave. Soon after, the screen flickered as the organizers feigned technical difficulties. They announced the event was over because the projector was having issues. The article above describes how it was because of the perceived unsafe situation at hand.

We hung out for a bit after, not knowing it was unsafe, before heading to leave. On our way out we passed through numerous large groups of teens. At one point our group of friends were approached by a young man who asked if any of us had an iPhone. He jammed his hand into my pocket, and finding nothing, went to my next friend's pocket, where he found his iPhone. Yelling ensued, as the young man grasped onto my friend. My other friends and I tried to break everything up, while the rest of the crowd around us circled around yelling. Finally, we got our friend free and in the resulting standoff one of my other friends got hit. The young man bolted when the police poured in, and we saw the young man fall flat on his face; he had been tasered by a police officer.

This was my first time experiencing anything like this in Atlanta or anywhere. I felt bad since one of my friends who I went to undergrad with was visiting from North Carolina, and this was to be his one memory of Atlanta. I haven't had any issues like this before. I hope Screen on the Green continues, just under safer conditions.

Accidental Optical Illusion

2010-06-03T14:33:00.006-04:00

My office mate accidentally made an optical illusion with some of the data output for his thesis. I always wished I could create, on purpose, my own optical illusion. Lucky guy stumbled right onto it! Check it out! It looks like the x-axis is sloping down and to the right, but it most certainly is flat.

Cold Egg

2010-05-25T19:20:00.003-04:00

Back last summer, my carton of eggs was left too close to the point where the cold air enters the refrigerator. It froze my eggs. I took the shell off anyway, and this was the result.

New Bed

2010-05-21T12:23:00.002-04:00

I moved in to my new house last August. I needed a new full size bed; I already had the sheets from my undergrad days. I searched craigslist and found a guy selling a full size bed and I purchased it on my second day here in my new city. Little by little my sheets seemed to shrink. I couldn't understand why they seemed just out of reach. Every time I made my bed I had to rip them a little more to make them fit. I'd been debating buying new sheets.

I measured my bed last week. It turns out it was a queen size the whole time.

Staying home sick

2010-04-11T21:57:00.004-04:00

I always found it to be a very weird feeling when I had to stay home from school sick. All day I'd spend at home, but it was surreal since I knew I was supposed to be somewhere else. I'd look at my clock, and say to myself, "You'd be in [insert class] right now." I hated the feeling, that life was happening where you should be, and yet you weren't there. I guess I just hated skipping school.

Winter Hat

2010-04-10T11:46:00.002-04:00

In Montreal.

Dining Hall Scam

2010-02-26T14:49:00.004-05:00

Back in my freshman days, my dining hall provided delicious food 19 times a week. I had a 16 meals/week dining plan that I went over on every week. I loved eating at the dining hall and the student center. It was a rare day when I ate off campus since I didn't have a car.

But there was a certain meal that just didn't fly with me, and I would avoid at all costs. BREAKFAST FOR DINNER.

Let me explain. Our dining hall charged us $3.75 for breakfast, $4.25 for lunch, and $5.25 for dinner. It was a total scam for them to charge us $1.50 more for breakfast, just by being cutesy and serving it for dinner. Why would I pay extra for the same food I ate that morning, and the same food I'm going to eat when I wake up the next day? Preposterous.

(Anyone who rationalizes it by saying the sandwich station, pasta station, and soup and salad bar were open during dinner as compared to breakfast is lying to themselves. Those are not why you paid $5.25 to eat there.)

Waste of knife

2010-02-10T09:41:00.001-05:00

I make several sandwiches every morning. This requires spreading of many items (mayo, peanut butter, jelly, hummus). Often times, I will make one peanut butter and jelly sandwich, and subconsciously knowing I'm finished, I will toss the knife in the dishwasher. I then turn to make my next sandwich, perhaps a turkey one needing mayonnaise, and I realize I've tossed my knife away and need a new one. I scold myself for being so wasteful.

This morning I sunk to a new discouraging low. I made my first peanut butter and jelly sandwich, and as usual, I idiotically threw the knife in the dishwasher. I turned to make my next peanut butter and jelly sandwich and realized I was knife-less. Danggit. So I got another knife. I spread on my peanut butter and tossed the knife into the dishwasher. Turned to spread my jelly, and "gosh darnnit again"! Had to go get a THIRD knife just to spread the jelly.

Mexican food and graduation

2010-02-08T22:38:00.002-05:00

The dinner before my middle school graduation my family went out for Mexican food.
The dinner after my high school graduation my family went out for Mexican food.
The lunch before my undergraduate graduation my family went out for Mexican food.

I know it's not time yet, but I look forward to keeping this tradition up for my M.S. and Ph.D graduations.

My favorite song ever LIVE

2010-02-07T11:11:00.004-05:00

My favorite song of all time (since about 2001) is Saves The Day's "Sell My Old Clothes I'm Off to Heaven". I listened to this song everyday in high school and sang it aloud, and it makes almost all my playlists.

I've seen Saves The Day twice in concert before last night, and neither time did it get played. I had given up hope that I'd ever see this song performed live. It's not on any of the major releases, and only made it onto a compilation of B-sides.

But last night I finally got to see it. I think I'll be happy all week from that alone. It was everything I'd dreamed of. (and I don't know why the youtube video continues for 2 minutes past the end of the song...)

Selling my car in Argentina

2010-02-04T19:49:00.006-05:00

This has been in my head for two years now. When it is nearing the time to sell my car one day down the road, I have a plan of how I'm going to do it.

1. Post my car on craigslist in Argentina for something ridiculously cheap. Let's say $10. The only thing I ask is that the person arrange all the import paperwork (or I'll do it...just because.)
2. Drive my car to them from the U.S.
3. Deliver car to Argentina.
4. Fly home.

Somewhere in there is an incredible road trip through Mexico, Central America, Ecuador, Peru, Chile and into Argentina! I've done a bit of research on it, such as where I can take a ferry to avoid undesirable countries (Colombia.) As well, I've learned that there is not even one road that goes straight through because of the Darien Gap, a huge expanse of rainforest that no road crosses through.

A cool add-on to the trip would be to go to Chile and then take a real expensive boat cruise to Antarctica. South American would be my 6th continent I'd visited, so I figure I should tack on the 7th while I'm down that way.

Biggest worry, besides safety, is whether my car can make it those several thousand miles. But yeah, safety is a huge concern.

Darien gap below:

Bloom's Taxonomy

2010-01-25T11:34:00.003-05:00

I have always enjoyed considering my work in the context of Bloom's Taxonomy.

I was first introduced to the concept in the third grade through the school district's gifted program, called Shared Time. Our teacher, Jill Dembsky (who runs KEWL), had the six words of Bloom's Taxonomy pasted on the wall next to the chalkboard for us to always ponder them. Still today, I frequently consider what type of thinking I am doing on an assignment in reference to the taxonomy.

Back in third grade we were challenged to think beyond Knowledge and Comprehension, the skills needed for elementary school, and reach the four highest levels. Now as a graduate student, we usually operate at Application and Analysis, and need to push ourselves to work more frequently at Synthesis and Evaluation.

I always felt seeing the thinking skills presented in a hierarchy made it easier to recognize where one was working at the time. Thus making it easier to consider what is necessary to reach the next level.

$36.41 in change

2010-01-15T12:56:00.003-05:00

To all the cashiers out there.

Back when I used to spend my time behind the checkout counter, I spent a lot of time handling money and thinking about coins and bills. Frequently, I got to dish out 41 cents worth of change, which in its easiest combination of coins is 1 quarter, 1 dime, 1 nickel, and 1 penny. I enjoyed pulling out one coin from each bin in the cash register. I looked forward to when an order was $XX.59, and I was handed cash, because I knew I was getting a chance to dish out one of each coin.

But I had bigger dreams. I always dreamed for the chance to hand out $36.41 in change. That would allow me to hand out one of each bill and one of each coin in my drawer (couldn't count the $50 and $100 bills that I had to slip into a locked box.) 1 $20 bill, 1 $10 bill, 1 $5 bill, 1 $1 bill, 1 quarter, 1 dime, 1 nickel, and 1 penny. Oh how I longed for the day I could give this in change. This would require someone to get an order of $13.59, and then pay with a $50 bill, or perhaps $63.59, and pay with a $100 bill (or two $50 bills).

This chance never came. Usually when these amounts came up and they paid with cash, they paid with multiples of $20 bills. During my years working at the cash register, I recall several occasions where I got to hand $16.41 in change, and it was those times where I felt so miserable. So close but so far. Just one more bill to hand out. I even had the chance once to hand back $35.41 in change, and that was the hardest transaction of my life. While I stood behind the counter on the quiet nights, I often calculated possible add-on items that could be added to certain transactions that could assist in getting to the magical change number (e.g. buy a Snickers bar [$1.05 after tax] to bump an order of $12.54 to $13.59), but I could never ask a customer to buy something like that just for my pleasure to hand back some certain change amount.

Maybe somewhere out there someone has gotten the chance to give back $36.41 in change. And if they have, I hope they relished their opportunity to hand out change in such wonderful fashion.

We overshot by how far?

2009-12-21T09:52:00.003-05:00

Bangladeshi airline GMG Airlines poster in Kolkata, India. Their worldwide destinations are listed below the image, which they apparently travel to by way of New York City.

Cats on desktops

2009-12-16T12:56:00.004-05:00

My dad took a picture of our cat Tigger. He then posted it on his Flickr account. Some guy found it, thought it was cool. Left it up one day by chance, and returned to see his cat staring at the image of my cat. Took a picture of that. Mailed it to my dad. My dad then made it his desktop.

Dulles mobile lounges circa 1970

2009-12-11T17:36:00.005-05:00

Sharing because I need to show friends this on Google Reader. Dulles used to have its mobile lounges serve the plane directly.

Source: Wells,T.W. and Young, S. B. Airport Planning & Management. Fifth Edition. 2004.

Bengali Haircut

2009-12-11T16:25:00.003-05:00

Recently was reminded about the haircuts I got in Bangladesh, and how they came with a complimentary head rub. Searched youtube for a video of a Bengali haircut/head rub and found this video from across the northern border in Guwahati. 30 seconds in the barber starts his work.

Drive the coastline

2009-12-10T10:07:00.005-05:00

An idea for a roadtrip:

Drive the perimeter of the United States, following the coastline to every extent possible. Take every road that borders the beach. (e.g. A1A in St. Augustine) Enter every subdivision if there is a full loop possible. No tracing back over on one way streets necessary.

I'm not sure if I'm more interested in driving it or just knowing now long this would be. It would be hard to map out on Google Maps. I'd have to drag a route onto every possible coastal street. Maybe someone who knew how to program could write a script to tell Google Maps to follow every street closest to the ocean.

Maybe make it easier, only take the closest state route to the ocean. With a day of work, I could probably could do that on my own with Google Maps.

Below is a sample of what I'm talking about. Here in a short stretch of coastline near Awendaw, South Carolina, I have found the route which follows the coastline to the extent possible.

Actually, there could be an easier way to do this without a computer script. One could take several samples of coastline followed like seen above, and then compare it to how long it would take to cover the same distance along the coastline on a nearby highway. By comparing the two, we could have a factor of the difference. In this case, the route that follows local roads close to the coastline is 12.4 miles long (above) and the one using a highway but covering the same space is 6.8 miles long (below).

The factor between them is 1.82. By sampling many portions of coastline around the country, and finding the difference between the nearest highway route and the coastline route, we could create an average factor for the country. Then, one would only need to find the closest highway route around the nation's perimeter, and factor it up to see how long a route along the coastline would take.

An even easier approximation would be just to see how long the interstate route is, and use the same factoring process described above. It would be faster, although less accurate.

Is this easier than a computer script? I don't know. I'm not a computer scientist. For me this would be easier. I like factors. It would be cool to do.

Nails jump on you

2009-11-24T18:41:00.002-05:00

When it's time to clip your fingernails, you don't get any notice. One morning you wake up, and all of a sudden your nails have grown to a length that they are bothersome. Never have I thought, "Wow, my nails might have to be cut tomorrow, or two days from now." They always all of a sudden just need it, like a trigger is switched in my body. Why is the difference between too long and just fine such a thin line?

They are not like other periodic grooming needs. When I need a haircut, I usually look at myself one to two weeks ahead of time ahead a time and realize I'm going to need a haircut coming up soon. When I need to shave my beard, I notice it begins to itch ever so slowly.

Is it that nails being too long is just too frustrating to deal with, while a slightly shaggy beard or lengthy hair are bearable?

Equivalent Signs

2009-11-16T11:12:00.004-05:00

Have spent a lot of time on I-40 the last six years. Always love the sign in Wilmington, NC that tells how far it is to Barstow, CA, the western termination point of I-40. Went to Google StreetView to see if they have an equivalent sign in Barstow, and they did. Also found out that you can't see the sign in the Wilmington StreetView because Google only drove one side of the highway. Had to find a picture of it elsewhere.

Good thing the distances are the same. Cool to see the different surround landscape.

The NC State Wolfline IS a wolf!

2009-11-01T20:31:00.003-05:00

A friend of mine recently shared this post with me, about how people spot animal shapes in geographic features. Examples include a T-rex head when combining South America and Africa and finding animal shapes in London's Underground maps. It spurred me to finally write up this post.

My college roommate pointed out to me once that the map of the NC State bus system, the Wolfline, looks peculiarly like the head of a wolf. Coincidence? Check it out below: ears, jaw, perfect head shape. Also, we've remarked many times before how clever it is that the night service of the Wolfline is called the Werewolf.

Kanye + registration LOL

2009-10-27T23:32:00.000-04:00

Written on my university's registration webpage:

"Yo, Fall 2009, I'm real happy for you. I'm ma let you finish, but Spring 2010 is the best semester of all time. OF ALL TIME!"

Class schedules to be released!

2009-10-20T23:13:00.004-04:00

Tomorrow is my favorite day that comes once a semester: new class schedules for the following semester are released! I can't wait! I love browsing the courses that are available to take for the next year, seeing when they're offered, what rooms they'll be in, who's teaching them. I love reading the course descriptions. I love crafting my schedule for the next year and then admiring what it looks like on a calendar.

As a graduate student there are less options for courses that I should take, but it doesn't dampen the feeling. I've been waiting weeks for this day to come. I recall as an undergraduate student, I'd spend a few hours looking at the new courses and making mock schedules. I used to think it'd be cool to offer my love for this day as a service: I'd design other people's course schedules given their needs (since other people seemed to despise making schedules.)

Just hours away now!

Fountain Safety

2009-10-11T13:51:00.001-04:00

Really Bad Seats

2009-09-30T21:27:00.000-04:00

From a concert hall in State College, Pennsylvania.

Bomb Threat at my HS Graduation

2009-09-28T22:37:00.001-04:00

Our graduation was supposed to be held outside on the football field. But due to rain forecasted for the afternoon, they made the decision to move it inside to the gym. Each student had six tickets. All six were good for the football field, but if it was inside, only two were good for the gym, two were good for a simulcast in the auditorium, and two were worthless for indoors.

Our parents (or whoever had the two tickets) watched us march into the gymnasium, and we took our seats. Our principal then went to the microphone and alerted us that there had been a bomb threat made on the gym. Everyone was told to evacuate and the decision was made to hold the graduation on the football field. It turned out, the day was gorgeous, sun shining, no rain in sight.

We would find out later that the phone call had been made from the payphone in front of the school. So very likely it was an upset grandparent (or whoever didn’t have a ticket to the gym) angry that the didn’t get to watch! Solution: call in a bomb threat!

The graduation itself ended up being a mess. They didn’t have time to put us in the right seats, so they just told us to sit roughly were we were before. I’d say about 50% of us were in the right spot. Kids were all riled up, and were rowdy. 20+ beach balls were blown up and tossed up. Girls tossed their bras. The principal was booed on stage. People talked all through the speeches by the valedictorian and salutatorians (we had two.) Then, because the diplomas had been left inside because of the bomb threat, they had nothing to hand to us on stage when we walked. Due to the rowdy students, the stress of the bomb threat, and people sitting wherever they pleased, the names being called to cross the stage didn’t match up with who was exactly crossing. They started speeding us up to get across to end this mess of a graduation, so when it was my “turn” to cross, they were still on last names to letters before mine! I attempted to wait, and didn’t walk across until it was actually my turn. My two best friends on the other hand took the opportunity to walk up one after the other, since no one was paying attention to the names anyway. At the end, when we were supposed to process out in an orderly fashion, people just got up and walked away.

In the end, I didn’t mind, and my parents didn’t mind as long I was happy. My personality would typically prefer an organized event, but I was not upset. It was rowdy, unruly, and had a bomb threat, but graduation still meant a lot to me, and I still got what I wanted out of it: a good story and (an hour after the event) my diploma.

Nerds and girls

2009-09-13T19:57:00.004-04:00

I overheard the following at my university's football game last week from an undergraduate fan sitting in front of me:

"I just don't understand girls. Can I trade my girlfriend in for a helicopter?"

I knew coming in that my university is mostly a bunch of nerds...myself included.

Auto Lifting

2009-09-11T15:09:00.002-04:00

Pulled up to the top of a highway on-ramp the other evening. Looked over at the car to my left, and saw the driver doing bicep curls. He was using at least a 30 lb. weight. I suppose if you spend lots of time driving and thus waiting at red signals, you can multi-task and get in your workout too.

My friend and I tried to get a picture, but he finished his set before we could get our camera out.

Texline, TX and those other capitals

2009-09-08T11:31:00.003-04:00

My friend who reads my blog found another city which is closer to six capital cities than its own state capital: Texline, Texas! Located in the northwestern part of the Texas Panhandle, Texline is incredibly far from Austin, but a lot closer to the capitals of New Mexico, Colorado, Oklahoma, Wyoming, Kansas, and Nebraska! And unlike Robbinsville, NC, Texline is closer in both straight line distances and travel distances.

Capital City	As The Crow Flies (mi)	Road Travel (mi)
Santa Fe, NM	170	226
Denver, CO	255	313
Oklahoma City, OK	315	385
Cheyenne, WY	343	412
Topeka, KS	442	496
Lincoln, NE	460	590
Austin, TX	520	648

Robbinsville, NC and those other capitals

2009-08-27T15:49:00.004-04:00

The same friend from work who told me about the Tail of the Dragon also told us this interesting fact. Robbinsville, North Carolina is closer to six other state capitals than it is to Raleigh. We did a haphazard examination of that at work, and it appeared to be true. But we wondered if it was as the crow flies or driving distance. I just quickly rounded up those figures and Robbinsville is in fact closer to six other state capitals than Raleigh...as the shortest line between two places, but one capital falls out in driving distance. Due to the odd path one must take to cross the Appalachian Mountains, Charleston becomes just a tad further than Raleigh.

Pretty cool though! I wonder if there are other regions in the country that could possibly have such a fact be true. Maybe a city in western Massachusetts could be closer to three, maybe four , than it is to Boston, but SIX?! Really shows how long North Carolina really is.

Capital City	As the Crow Flies (mi)	Road Travel (mi)
Atlanta, GA	113	153
Nashville, TN	177	236
Columbia, SC	182	245
Frankfort, KY	207	272
Charleston, WV	241	382
Montgomery, AL	249	310
Raleigh	293	342

NJ Transit in GA (or actually AL)

2009-08-23T15:55:00.003-04:00

This post follows up on a previous post regarding the NJ Transit buses spotted twice driving along I-85.

A fellow student here in Georgia made an unsolicited comment about how he saw an NJ Transit bus driving around Atlanta recently. Likely I-85. He mentioned how he figured they were getting built somewhere west of Georgia and then driving to New Jersey.

So I sat down and worked out where they were coming from, and then driving down I-85 on their way to New Jersey. Looks like NJ Transit ordered their new buses from North American Bus Industries, Inc. which is located in Anniston, Alabama, along I-20. These buses likely drive west on I-20 to I-285 around Atlanta, before heading northeast along I-85 through SC, NC, and VA.

The news releases from both NABI are NJ Transit were tracked down.

Human Powered Transport FAIL

2009-08-16T11:41:00.002-04:00

Tail of the Dragon

2009-08-13T18:56:00.004-04:00

Recently found out about this famous North Carolina attraction: the Tail of the Dragon which is located on the NC/TN border northwest of Robbinsville, NC. My coworkers told me about it over lunch last week. It's claim to fame: 318 curves in 11 miles!

The Google Maps snapshot below shows the section of the US 129 named the Tail of the Dragon. It's a right of passage of sorts for motorcyclists and sports cars. I'd vomit. I once had to go through 26 miles of a curvy road nearby to Cairns, Australia, and I clutched my stomach from about 5 minutes into it.

Thanks Ironhead

2009-08-08T09:56:00.004-04:00

(booo...video doesn't exist anymore, can't find another online)

Loofahs are clearly superior if you're going to use a body wash instead of a bar soap. They lather up better and allow you to less of the soap, meaning you save money having one. A washcloth can't even compare.

Growing up, the first time I heard about body wash, or loofahs, was in a commercial for Zest body wash. In it, a football player named Ironhead tells us to use the product, and does a great job convincing us men that we are wimpy puny humans compared to him unless we use Zest. The line that drove it home for me, and that I still love and repeat to this day is, "But Ironhead, what's with this thingy?"

I also see his name spelled "Ironhead" and "Iron Head", but I don't know which one the man signed his checks with.

Photographing Miles Across the USA

2009-08-05T08:21:00.005-04:00

I almost had to drive across country for graduate school. I am an east coast resident and got accepted to a west coast graduate program, but ultimately decided to stay near the Atlantic.

I had the idea though, that if I went there, and had to make the drive across country, I would take a photograph every mile from my steering wheel. Could be a bit dangerous, but maybe I could somehow set up a system that didn't involve holding the camera. With all those photos, I thought it'd be good to turn them into a movie slideshow that one could watch and see the country fly by.

Before I posted this I ran a Google search to see if it'd been done. My idea couldn't be original, could it? Sure enough, Matt Frondorf has done it, but not exactly what I had intended. His videos look out the side window, not the windshield. So although you can see America pass by, I had envisioned the camera pointed forwards, so you'd feel like you were actually driving.

Rocket Bike

2009-07-28T19:30:00.002-04:00

What do the model rocket engines do? I like the switchboard on the handlebars. Was outside the building I had my Calculus 3 class in my freshman year.

A Picture is worth...

2009-07-26T16:37:00.003-04:00

I'm currently writing a research paper. The total word count cannot exceed 7,500 words. My roommate walks in and inquires about my progress. I tell him I just deleted a photo and now I can add in another paragraph and still make the word count because each picture is worth 250 words.

He asks, "Not 1000?"

Also makes me wonder, could I just submit a 30 picture photo essay?

2k PB!

2009-07-15T09:59:00.001-04:00

Pulled a 6:49.9 this morning on the erg. Beats my previous 2k personal best by over 4 seconds (6:54.3)

Super excited.

Lady and a laptop

2009-07-14T20:43:00.002-04:00

Favorite Colors

2009-06-30T21:24:00.002-04:00

I always doubt whether most adults have favorite colors. Sure, if you ask any adult what their favorite color is they can give you a definitive response. But is this truly a color they favor over all others?

What I believe is that adults respond to the favorite color question simply with the same color they've been saying since childhood. Most kids seem to have actually have a favorite color: one that they'll proudly wear on all their clothing, have their room painted, and even want to have their food dyed ("Mom, I want BLUE mashed potatoes!) As adults, it is evident we no longer have a childish affection for a certain color, and enjoy many hues and shades in our clothing, cars, and foods. But when asked that favorite color question, we'll give the same answer we've been reciting off for years. Thus, I really don't think many adults really do have a favorite color. What we should be asking is, "What WAS your favorite color?"

My favorite color is/WAS GREEN.

Using a Dictionary FAIL

2009-06-21T12:54:00.002-04:00

Seeing QBs

2009-06-15T21:11:00.003-04:00

Last night I saw my college's backup quarterback at the grocery store. Pretty cool.

My freshman year of college I saw our starting quarterback on campus. To me, the guy was a superhero. I was riding my bike when it happened, and I took such a long look at him I almost crashed my bike into a tree.

Fantasy Rowing

2009-06-09T20:55:00.002-04:00

Two years ago, in the summer of 2007, a friend of mine started up a Fantasy Rowing league for a bunch of us who rowed together. We all had been playing Fantasy Football together for two years, and this just seemed the next logical step for us rowers. I happened to win that league that summer.

This summer I've brought it back to my friends I row with currently. Remembering most of the details of the league we had run two summers ago, I drafted out a set of rules for our league to run by. This is how it is working:

Each participant drafts a team with nine roster slots, and must field a lineup of seven slots for each of the big international summer regattas: World Cup 1 in Banyoles, Spain; World Cup 2 in Munich, Germany; World Cup 3 in Lucerne, Switzerland; and the World Championships in Poznan, Poland. Their lineup must consist of three singles, three team boats, and one National Team. Their full roster has two bench spots, and they may use those for one additional country and an additional boat, or two additional boats.

At each regatta the lineup a participant fields earns points depending on how the boats in that lineup fare at the regatta. 1st: 10, 2nd: 8, 3rd: 6, 4th: 4, 5th: 3, 6th: 2, 7th: 1
National Teams on a participant's roster earn 1.5 times those point values: 15, 12, 9, 6, 4.5, 3, 1.5
At the World Championships, all point values are doubled.

The participants could select singles from the following racing classes: M1x, W1x, LM1x, LW1x. They could select team boats from the following racing classes: M2x, W2x, LM2x, LM4-. Any National Team could be selected.

Participants drafted their rosters before the start of World Cup 1. Each participant compiled a list of at least 20 boats/National Teams they wanted. A random draft order was created, and snaking through the draft list, each team's rosters were filled. After each World Cup, a free agent list is generated, and particpants submit add/drop requests that are met in a rotating basis from last to first.

If a country sends a sculler to the regatta as the LM1x, and that sculler is not sent to the next regatta but another sculler races instead in their place as that country's LM1x, the participant with that sculler on their roster does not own the new sculler. For a team boat, if at least one member of a team boat is retained between regattas, the participant retains that crew; otherwise they do not own a fully new crew.

Target's See-through Wrapping Paper Trickery

2009-06-07T16:56:00.004-04:00

Went to Target two weeks ago to buy wrapping paper for a friend's wedding present. Purchased shiny silver wrapping paper. But I was tricked. It only looked silver when wrapped around the roll. When rolled out, it was CLEAR!

So I went back this week to purchase wrapping paper that would actually conceal what is wrapped. This time my friend assisted me in choosing a roll. We chose a shiny blue. When I got home to wrap it...it was see-through blue! I couldn't believe Target had tricked me a second time.

My friends and I cannot even imagine why one would want to buy clear wrapping paper. What purpose could it hold to have your gift be seen through the wrapping job. Perhaps a gift basket they give out at a raffle would want to be wrapped in clear wrapping, but how dare they mix this amongst other opaque wrapping paper options.

First time at Sonic

2009-06-04T19:17:00.001-04:00

Work didn't turn out like I wanted it to last night. And then Subway was closed. So I was stuck eating fast food. Figured I would try out Sonic, as it is always advertised on TV yet I never have eaten it. Ordered my food.

Then I saw hanging from the signboard that from 8pm-12am that night it was FREE ROOT BEER FLOATS. My night was redeemed. Sonic food was pretty good, but it would not have been nearly as cool if it wasn't for the free drink that I showed up in the right 4 hour window for.

Life Altering Knowledge

2009-05-31T18:53:00.010-04:00

Throughout life we gain lots of knowledge, but certain facts I feel resonated in me much more than others. These facts changed my perception of the world for one reason or another. To extents that I would never see the world the same ever again.

1. Learning indigo was a color in the rainbow. (pre-school)
This happened obviously when I was young, but this I always remembered as changing my perception of how I viewed the world. Up until this, I drew my rainbows with the colors that were available in my pack of eight Crayola crayons: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, violet. These were the colors we learned in preschool. But when I learned about ROYGBIV, it all changed. All of a sudden there was the magical other color which I had been ignoring for years, that I had not even been told about, and which Crayola had not even deemed important to be in the 8-pack, yet had been in rainbows all along! I had felt misled, and couldn't understand how such a critical color was lacking from crayon boxes, from people's general knowledge of colors. Additionally, I could not identify it in the common world. It seemed to have snuck secretly in there next to blue and purple, and was demanding mention.

2. Learning pineapples grow from the ground. (college)
On a hike in Swaziland, we walked through a pineapple patch. When I noticed that the plants on the ground had pineapples growing from their centers, I was in shock. Up until now, I had pictured pineapples growing from trees, like apples, oranges, and peaches. Seeing them grow upward, from plants which looked like pineapple tops was life-altering. I would not have pegged them as growing this way, a secondary belief being that they probably could grow underground like radishes and carrots. To picture something happening in one manner for a long time, and then it being completely wrong, was eye-opening. I believe others could have this feeling when they discover bananas grow upwards, not downwards like you purchase in stores.

3. Learning you only breathe through one nostril at a time (post-college)
Through the nasal cycle, only one nostril is used at any given time. The nostrils switch off every two to four hours. I couldn't believe that I could go so many years without realizing this was happening! Testing it out, by feeling air blow out of only one nostril during normal breathing, left me speechless. (image source)

Fake IDs for Senior Citizens

2009-05-28T19:06:00.002-04:00

Teenagers get fake IDs so they can buy cigarettes. Those below drinking age get fake IDs so they can buy alcohol. But I always wondered if adults in their late 50s and younger 60s get fake IDs that say they are 65. With such a fake ID, they could get into movies, museums, and many other places with a senior citizen discount! Seems like a good idea to me.

Song Request on 96Rock

2009-05-27T17:34:00.004-04:00

For the first time in my life yesterday, I called into a radio station and got through for a song request. It was 10 pm on May 26, and it was time for Mandatory Metallica on 96Rock, 96.1 WBBB in Raleigh. The disc jockey said he would play one Metallica song of his choosing, and then two requests.

I heard this and I immediately called in. I got through and was excited to request "Disposable Heroes" off of Metallica's Master of Puppets. The disc jockey said that was the exact song he wanted to put in himself! He asked for my name and location. I was psyched to hear my song play, and even more so to hear him announce who requested it after. After the song ended he started, "That was 'Disposable Heroes'. [my name] in Raleigh and I co-oping on that one there..."

He mispronounced my name though...

Number Within Parentheses Syndrome (2)

2009-05-25T16:44:00.003-04:00

Following up on the earlier post, I guess people who hate getting emails must not have NWP Syndrome. They must despise NWPs just as much as I seem to enjoy them.

Also some people leave their Inboxes filled all the time. Unless they are artificially creating a scenario where they get enjoyment from NWP, they probably don't care at all. I also don't understand how they can live like that. My goal every time I go to my email or blogroll is to read all new items and file them as necessary.

Drag Bingo in Durham

2009-05-24T14:57:00.004-04:00

Last night attended Drag Bingo in Durham, North Carolina with some friends. I have never been before to either a drag show or a Bingo night. I did not win at Bingo, but I did get pulled up on stage by the drag queen MC for being a cute guy in the audience, and was complimented on my eyes in front of the 300+ people there. Received two free tickets to a future Drag Bingo night, held monthly, so I guess I'll be heading back later this summer.

Drag Bingo has a $17 entry fee and proceeds go to Alliance of AIDS Services North Carolina.

Number Within Parentheses Syndrome (1)

2009-05-19T16:56:00.009-04:00

There must be a more technical term for this, but my internet searching has come up empty. I describe what I call Number Within Parentheses (NWP) Syndrome below:

I find it is it incredibly fulfilling when I see a NWP. Example: (1) or (4) or (17)

Perhaps one could call it obsessive compulsive disorder, but I believe more is involved with NWP Syndrome. The reason behind it is email, blogrolls, or any service that alerts you to new items by specifying how many there are by writing the NWP. e.g.

This obsession is enhanced when the NWP and preceding word are bolded. e.g.

Elaborating, typically the word "Inbox" sits alone for periods of time, but when it fills, and I see "Inbox (1)" I get a rush of excitement. No matter where my eyes are on the screen, I can sense the change, and I instantly feel happy. I can't resist checking right away, even just to see what the subject line is. Sometimes I will let the email message sit unopen though, just to see the NWP next to the word "Inbox". I feel satisfied knowing someone has contacted me.

I realized this was more than just simple excitement, and more like an obsession, when I noticed I could reproduce similar feelings, although to a lesser extent, when I emailed myself message. No, I have never done this just to produce such a stimulation, but the times I have emailed myself a reminder or a document, and I see the Inbox go bold with a NWP next to it, I get a quick surge of happiness, before my conscious mind steps in and reminds my subconscious that it is my own message.

This applies to most things that have an NWP. Google of course uses an NWP for many of their products. It does not apply to all things though, such as renaming several files in Windows Exploreer, and they become sequentially numbered with an NWP. e.g. School Photo, School Photo (1), School Photo (2), School Photo (3)

NJ Transit in NC?

2009-05-17T13:50:00.004-04:00

I spotted these two NJ Transit buses driving north on I-85 near Henderson, NC. I was driving through here around the same time a week later, and saw two more! I do not know why they would be driving down here. Perhaps manufactured somewhere down south?

Textbook Example Fail

2009-05-15T19:49:00.004-04:00

Googling Your Love Interest

2009-05-13T17:20:00.007-04:00

Turn-on: When you google your love interest's name and the first page of results has several results about them.

Turn-off: When one of those results is from a police blotter.

Fire Escape Fail

2009-05-12T18:04:00.004-04:00