Life (or something like it....)

the legacy continues….

2009-11-10T18:43:00.001-05:00

that would be the legacy of inexpensive mass-produced burgers. Whilst in Chile i enjoyed my typical once per country trip to Mcdonalds. I enjoyed some chcken mcnuggets and a quarter pounder with a delicious ice cold (And a touch small) coca-cola classic. mmmm. I also took the other picture which i titled “An American View of the world”

Please stay tuned....

2009-02-03T06:32:00.001-05:00

I've got an update and more pictures from dubai, as well as a lot of awesome pictures from faro portugal cominbg soon. It seems in europe this whole internet thing hasn't yet caught on!!! As soon as I found the on-ramp to the information super highway ill make some posts!

-c
via blackberry

You say dubai, and i say hello

2009-01-26T07:23:00.001-05:00

hello hello, i dont know why you say dubai, i say hello!

I’ve been in dubai since friday evening. We flew in on Cathay Pacific airlines - “We suck more than the bastard child of southwest and greyhoud bus” is their motto.

the hotel on the other hand is great, its a 5 star joint part of a chain called Rotana.:

Its swanky, expensive but most importantly the beds are comfy. real comfy. i’ve slept through the night here more in the last 3 days then the last 3 years… maybe the exhaustion and excessive jetlag helps as well…

things have gotten off to a rolling start with work, but we’ve also had more opportunity to actually see some things (from the window of the car as we are driven prison bus style to see customers) like the burj dubai, the worlds tallest building (and its not even done yet):

Holding down the tower at night:

or the worlds first indoor ski slope:

the State bird is construction cranes (they have more than anywhere else in the world…)

we’ve gotten to see a poo load of cool buildings and architecture as well. Last night we went to see the Al Arab hotel (the worlds first 7 star hotel, freakin cool):

they even have an outdoor tennis court:

Some other anonymous cool buildings and stuff we saw:

Ace Hardware (really, look on the bottom right):

Preparing to Visit Customers:

We also drove out on palm jumeirah (jew mare uh). one of the two palm islands, the largest construction project in the world:

here they are viewed from space: (we went to the one on the right)

its hard for me to describe the enormity of these. so let me put it into simpler terms: we drove up the "trunk” of the tree to the tip, under the water to the outer ring where there is an Atlantis resort and parked dead and the end. This drive was 20 minutes. TWENTY…. at highway speeds.

its big.

We even went for a traditionally arabic dinner of grilled meats, hummus etc. oh so tasty. after dinner we enjoyed a traditional tobacco smoking thing called a shisha. Its essentially a water hookah, with coals on top and strongly flavored tobacco (like cherry, grape etc, real tough guy stuff). they even hook you up with a sexy little jacket, this is my impression of the caterpillar from alice in wonderland: (i tried it but i didnt inhale)

action shot:

The Shisha:

And lastly Camel Racing (for clayton):

So far i’ve really enjoyed the trip to Dubai, its a neat place, and the people are friendly, outgoing, they like Americans, they are very proud of their culture. All in all its really an amazing place to visit. Plus with only 6% of their income coming from Oil you don't feel so dirty coming for a visit and enjoying these amazing spectacles.

We are going on a boat trip around the palm islands this evening, so be sure to check back for lots of pictures from that!

word.

Live from the world

2009-01-22T07:00:00.001-05:00

for those of you not in the know (because im too lazy a friend to tell you) I am fresh at the start of a 22 day world tour for work. We will be visiting customers and dealers all around the world during this period with stops in 3 major ports.

A brief itinerary:

This week: Macau China. (with stops in hong kong)

week of the 19th: Dubai UAE (with stops in abu dhabi)

week of feb 2nd: Faro Portugal (in the algarve)

Unfortunately there isnt much scenery in macau (imagine las vegas with SO MUCH SMOG that you can’t see a street sign from across the street). I have a few nice indoor shots but nothing worth sharing really. I did get violently ill in the middle of the night last night, so i got that going for me.

I thought i’d show a couple pictures of work this time, and save the beauty shots for dubai (you know where there’s actually nice stuff to look at)

here are a couple work shots:

a room full of asians:

All of our gear:

A moment of peace for tiny (thats not his nickname, he’s just very very short):

no rest for the wicked:

and lastly whenever we travel between macau (an island) and Hong Kong we have to take a ferry. Its this crazy high speed hydrofoil (there was a special on these things on discovery channel…). You can pay an extra 100 MOPs (about 15 bucks) for “superclass” which nets you a bigger seat, less coughing asians (its a frigging national pastime here) and a delightful meal. breakfast was a hot with dried ketchup on a wierd flat bun, bubble tea gelatin and some sort of cream cheese type stuff with green and brown dots (mmmm green and brown dots). Strangely enough the coffee was excellent.

please to enjoy a picture of the delightful meal:

That’s all from macau, we head out through hong kong to dubai tomorrow. we get a precious few hours of free time in the morning and then a 9 hour flight direct to dubai.

PS here are some maps to find macau and dubai:

macau:

dubai:

Its about F@#*ing time

2008-09-17T17:23:00.001-04:00

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26759554/

still no cure for cancer.

-c

Places

2008-09-17T09:00:00.001-04:00

I am in new york city today (for the day) and had a few minutes to wander around the block waiting for someone. I went up central park west, recognized where I was (67th) and headed uptown to 72nd and central park west. This is the location of the dakota...... Where john lennon was shot and killed.

Whenever I happen to be on the upper west side with a spare moment I always at least walk past. Its funny that in some ways its a lot like a church. Not in some "john lennon was a god" way, just that at all times of the day and night people are walking past and you can tell the ones that are there for john. They all walk slowly, talk in a hushed whisper, and they all have the air of looking for something...

I stop by and have different feelings each time, sometimes sadness at the loss. Sometimes joy at what he left us, sometimes just a strange feeling of being able to point to a spot and know that someone died there. That's a strange feeling... As far as I know that's the only place I know with that particular distinction.

An interesting story about yoko ono told to me by a new yorker.... She and john privately owned a chunk of central park and after his death she sold it back for a dollar on the condition that the plant and name it "strawberry fields".

Cheers.
-Charles Adkinson
via blackberry

The largest ribfest in canada, eh.

2008-09-01T12:02:00.001-04:00

So we are at the largest rib fest in canada eh. Its not huge but its pretty damn big. The ribs have been good, the sauce tangy the beer ice cold and the company top notch. These are the sorts of events mrs lifeorsomething and I truly enjoy. We will go to any sort of outdoor event where there might be "fair food". Like many a famous quote about love its hard to define fair food but you know it when you see it. Served from some sort of mobile cookery, lots of neon. Deep fried.

Like super way a lot deep fried.

Elephant ears, beer in plastic cups, fried donuts and candy bars, corn on the cob fancy soda pop. You know the stuff.

Mmmm fair food!
-Charles Adkinson
via blackberry

Aussie Wrap up....

2008-08-07T21:53:00.001-04:00

so I'm "home" from Australia. (the quotes denoting the fact that I have carried right on to detroit after being home for one day...) but I wanted to share a few quick stories of Australia over the coming days....

1. my obsession with international McDonalds.

in the movie pulp fiction Sam Jackson asks some person he was about to kill if they knew what a quarter pounder with cheese is called in france... when they shook their heads no he said "Royale with cheese... now ain't that some shit!" fast forward awhile... I was traveling for work and in shipyards in western france. I happened upon a McDonalds and decided I wanted to see if that's really what is was called.. "welli'llbegoddamned it IS!!!" i think was my precise thought... Royale avec fromage. so i ordered one sans fromage and a glass of mcwine, and a hobby was born. I eat at McDonalds in every country I travel to. So far the list includes:

Mexico (acapulco, mexico city)

France (Saint Nazairre, Nantes)

UK (London)

China (Beijing, Hong Kong, Macau)

Brazil (sao paolo, rio de janeiro)

Canada (toronto area, Vancouver)

Australia (Sydney, Manly)

The things i have noticed (in no particular order) about foreign McDonalds

there are always local specialities (china had golden squash soup, france mcwine, london mcbeer, australia had kangaroo burgers.... just kidding but they did have a mcvegemite sandwich...)
the food is always fresh and hot
the food is always tastier than american (i think this has more to do with things like still using salt and lard.... just guessing)
the clientele are just as varied.... in China i sat with 2 japanese girls who knew all the words to the bravery song on the PA perfectly but spoke ZERO english. In france I saw a guy dressed like a mime.... black striped shirt and beret etc. In Hong Kong there were a table of businessmen working on their Quanxi (business relationships) but i have also seen heroin addicts, guys smoking pot, cops, US army etc.... all walks of life.
the people working the counter ALWAYS speak perfect flawless english.
it is always a GOOD value... never overpriced.
no one ever gives me grief for ordering something without cheese.

I know its a weird habit and I often get shit from my traveling companions. However I have come to really enjoy my short sojourns into the true nature of a place by stopping at the arches for a double burger (no cheese) fries and a coke.

Check out pics from australia:

(the government sanctioned smack addicts are in the middle... white hat across from gray sleeves)

Double ham (no cheese) coke and fries.... oh so delicious fries!

-c

Live from down under part deux

2008-07-27T08:45:00.001-04:00

ahhhh, life down under. its so calm, relaxing, far away....

the biggest challenge thus far has been how to call home and trying to do my real job whilst 12268 miles away. The days have been ok. not too long. its interesting to wake up, get my 150 emails from the previous work day in Canada, answer them (its great to do a whole days work in an hour), run a mile... (no really... every day. I've lost 6lbs this week) I've seen some neat stuff, (the sydney opera house, Harbour bridge), taken a ferry as a regular commute, continued to enjoy the simple pleasure of a flat white (coffee) and generally found that Manly Australia is a place i can feel very content. (yet again reinforcing the fact that at some molecular level I seem to just feel better near a beach).

but you didn't come here for the blathering, you cam for the stunning high quality photography skills. (And you also came for my famous wit.... I nicknamed my traveling partner an arboreal philosopher, the "tree whisperer"... its a long story)

stay tuned for the surf report (lots of water in my nose), stories of McDonalds (and crack heads), and more fabulouse pictures of down under....

peace and love!

-c

the following pix can all be downloaded from here: (click here to download)

onto the pix:

The sydney opera house, one of the most iconic buildings in the world. I take the ferry twice a day and also walk past it on the way into sydney. Here are a variety of pictures from the day ferry, night ferry, a special (and hidden) viewing platform above it, and the main walkway to it:

Another (slightly less) iconic view here is the sydney bridge. Its VERY big (VERY). from the BOTTOM of the bridge to the water is 125 meters. The high top most arch is actually a visitors walkway. Its uh... a little expensive though (about $170 USD) to experience it, but it looks pretty thrilling. I think i'll wait until a real vacation with my wife before I shell out that ridiculous sum of money just to excercise.

Onto the bridge pix, day time ferry, night time from the wharf, underneath, from "the rocks" (a neighborhood nearby)... etc.

The Sydney skyline:

Some various pictures from our small amounts of downtime.

(its not a police station anymore.... its a mall)

Thin guy in a little hat (that's mark, one of my traveling companions)

We are in Manly beach. A bedroom (and backpacker) community between the massive pacific and the prestigious and affluent sydney harbor. The main pedestrian street between the wharf in the harbor and the head of the beach is called the corso. Lots of restaurants, shops etc and lots of really interesting public spaces including these cool glowing benches.

I have been surfing (ok body boarding) this week and finally broke down to buy a wet suit (first new one I've ever owned...) I look dead sexy eh? (I ATE THE BABY!)

(and I'm NOT sucking it in)

We went to an Australian Rules Football game. Its a wacky game I have been watching for years and years. (its perfect insomniac's fodder - obscure, late night, hard to understand, funny, brutal etc etc) Interestingly it was formalized and organized into the AFL prior to the popularization of American football.... are you ready for this: 150 years ago. (thats right 1858). The field (and the ball) are a very large strange oblong shape. you can soccer kick or punt the ball to your teammates, handball it (kind of a volleyball punch) or run but you have to occasionally (ok rarely) bounce the ball. so its a combination of rugby, soccer, football, basketball and volleyball. we were there to support the royal and ancient sydney swans (they're 8th on the ladder whatever the hell that means)

the field is HUGE! (its 225 meters by 240 meters DOUBLE the length of an american football field in EACH direction) This is the Syndey Cricket Grounds:

complete with the bill o'reily memorial stand.

GO SWANS!! (we lost like 75 to 39 which i gather is quite the drubbing)

We had fish and chips (crikey, it was good!)

including some of that there delightful american mustard: (fresh from australia)... notice the service suggestion... i think we are going to need more than one tub to make a hot dog look like that!

that's all for now, come back soon!

Live from australia...

2008-07-22T02:35:00.001-04:00

This is the view from my hotel room (no really!)

The first day was an adventure. My traveling companion had a little issue involving no luggage whatsoever showing up for him at the airport. luckily he was able to take his mind off of it for a moment:

we landed at 5:45 am here (note, I am moving here partly because it's glorious and partly because I will under ZERO circumstances be getting back on that plane!) and were at the hotel by 7:30am. We grabbed a bite on a sidewalk cafe that served a proper english breakfast (this being a colony and all...) with BIG bacon sausage etc.... Australians do coffee a little differently though, its not made with brewed grounds but instead its more like an espresso with steamed milk. It doesn't TASTE like espresso with steamed milk though... just like the 3rd best cup of coffee i have ever had. (the other two were both from tim hortons) For some inexplicable reason you order it by asking for a "flat white". I have learned that some things are best left unknown and so i simply have taken to asking for it by name and pretending like I'm in the know.

Something that has always interested me when i travel is the variations of the english language when spoken (or in the case of the british murdered) by other folks. You listen for the stereotypes: when I first traveled to canada I waited with heavy breath for my first "Eh?" (still makes me laugh, just like "beaver"). When we lived in pittsburgh I couldn't wait to meet my first "Yinzer" (yinz know what I'm talk about don't yinz?). So of course I was hoping everything here would be all "Dingo ate your baby!" and "that's not a knife!" or at least a "G'day". This morning I finally got a "No worries" but that's it so far. I rather disappointed to find out TV lied to me. I thought for sure i'd be ducking wallabies and boxing with kangaroos and that every other person I met would be on a walkabout. Oh well in the words of mark twain I guess I have learned my lesson:

Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness...

then again he also said:

Travel has no longer any charm for me. I have seen all the foreign countries I want to except heaven & hell & I have only a vague curiosity about one of those.

and i certainly can relate to that (only I usually only have that black thought while actually AT the airport).

a few more pictures to brighten your day:

Download them all here: aussie pix #1 zip

This is Manly Harbour, a 3 minute walk to the OTHER side of the peninsula (isthmus whatever):

a Panorama of the same:

Whilst there I got a craving for a plate of milk and cookie:

(yes thats whole milk, first time in 31 years i drank an entire glass of whole milk)

Today I awoke after 11 glorious consecutive hours of sleep-deprived jet-lag induced sleep and jogged (yes I actually jogged) BEFORE sunrise. This was the spectacular view of the sun returning to me from your side of the planet waiting for me post-run:

And now finally a question:

Should I buy this hat? (vote below)

The Venture brothers….

2008-06-04T22:21:00.001-04:00

The best show on television. Season 3 has just started after 2 years off and boy is good to have it back!!

-c

2008-01-09T16:09:00.000-05:00

banking: it gets even better....

so it turns out that the banks take holidays... all the time! i desposit cash quite regulary into my account, and one one such occasion the bank held my "cheque" (love the arcane spelling) for an additional 5 busines days....

enter the bad news: all the payments i had made against that cash deposit began bouncing.

it turns out that the bank had a strange coinicedence of holidays and as a result didn't get to empty the ATM until quite some time after my deposit. I called them on it, and the (hold steady now)

admitted blame.

they went so far as to MAIL me (as in stamp, signature etc) a letter. of apology.

really. seriously.

to good right? I am on a friggin roll with the US banking system!

2007-06-03T18:22:00.000-04:00

How to get what you want after your bank hoses you.

i travel across the US/Canada borer regularly. I have used my debit card for 3 years without incurring any additional fees for using it in Canada. Through my own mistake i overdrew my account by $7.00. "coincidentally" they decided to start charging me a 1% international service fee.... on every transaction for the 2 weeks leading up to eh overdraft.... because i was -$7.00 they charged me for example a fee of .$01 but then charged a $35 overdraft fee on i penny. When it was all said and done they charged me:

$975

wow. so i called the bank. they gave me a "its your fault but we like you" courtesy write off of $400. Then i went to a branch and calmly explained myself to the account manager (glorified teller) who accused me of mismanaging my money and racking up international fees. So i calmly left, came back and talk to a real manager. It took me 2 (yes TWO) hours to get her to realize my complaint wasn't with the international fee but with the overdraft fee they charged on their own bank fee. She finally saw the light of day and offered me another courtesy write off which would have brought the total to $600... still costing me $300. I was prepared for this so I (again, calmly) explained that i was prepared to exit the bank with the negative balance and let them attempt to collect it. I however had one card to play. I actually had my paycheck and 2 reimbursement checks in my hand. I asked her to decide on my future as a customer personally. I said "in this hand i have $5K of checks to deposit and in this hand i have the form to close the account. The only way I am giving you these checks is if you bring my account back to the -$7.00 plus the ONE $35.00 fee. Otherwise i appreciate your offer but i must politely decline." I encouraged her to take her time and call whomever necessary to attempt resolution. After another hour of phone calls she pulled it all together and gave me my resolution.

bottom line: 1) be SUPER nice. 2) dress nice. 3) stay CALM. 4) tell them exactly what the resolution you are looking for is and DO NOT bargain. 5) idle threats mean nothing, if you say you will take your business elsewhere be prepared to do that on the spot. 6) most importantly have A LOT of time available. you might have to miss a half day of work, but rushing people has the same result as being rude. Giving them time to figure out a solution and and who to talk to will make them more at ease and as they explain the story to others they will become so familiar with your details that they will (by the end) become an advocate for you.

-c

2007-05-30T13:37:00.001-04:00

My food story.

I vow, here and now, to raise my kids as i was raised (at least with regard to food). I was a fairly picky eater* and my parents would on the occasion that we were eating a fast food restaurant (not often mind you) order me chicken mc-parts or a plain hamburger. On Fridays during lent (for Catholics, a time when no meat other than fish is consumed) when the staple was Mac and Cheese my parents would make sure i had some option (whether it was pizza or what have you). However when my dad made smelt, or chili so hot the stainless spoons melted a little, or when we ate sauerkraut and kielbasa or potato pancakes or my dads infatuation and experimentation with grits, i ate what was put in front of me. (and i didn't leave the table until i did.... a challenge that only ever bested me and reduced me to tears when peas were involved... ok dad, you got me i do eat peas now...). When we went to restaurants, the only time i ordered off of a kids menu was when i had "ruined my dinner" by snacking too close to dinner and so smaller portions were in order. More clearly than these rare times, I recall eating calabash in south Carolina (a kind of southern comfort food involving deep frying and spicy) or crab legs in an all you can eat place (i, at 10ish and 60lbs, out ate a 50 year old Lebanese man who weighed 250
lbs at the table next to us). In fact my dad used to make spicy buffalo wings for the super bowl which I loved. I however was (mostly) used to my dad pulling my leg so i NEVER believed that they were really called buffalo wings, or more to the point that it wasn't just some food my dad invented (like the time he ground up peas into festive St Patrick's day mashed potatoes to trick me into eating them or the time he tricked our cousin in to eating the cute little "chicken drumsticks" which were actually rabbit). So when we went to Ground Round (kind of a brown derby sort of place, where you can eat peanuts and chuck the shells on the floor) near our home and they had buffalo wings on the menu i was flabbergasted. While everyone was chatting about dinner and preparing to order i quietly ordered. With no one paying special attention, the waitress asked me how i wanted them: mild, medium or hot i asked for hot (i still am not sure what i thought she meant). When our food was brought they delivered me a huge steaming pile of wings so spicy that everyone at the table stopped talking all at once and realized what i had done. They left me to eat them at my own risk, which i joyfully did, no realizing that not everyone loves SUPER spicy food. My parents raised me on a weird combination of comfort, soul, ethnic and Latino food, not to mention a huge range of fresh (from lake Erie) but less than classy fish like walleye and perch. All of which i greedily ate more than my portion of, not realizing that kids who are truly picky would never consider eating what I thought was completely the norm.

Thank God (and mom and dad) for that.

*(ironically 30 years later I still don't like raw tomatoes or cheese....
see dad!)

-c

2006-11-27T21:44:00.000-05:00

Last friday was my 30th birthday. My dear brother decided i should work for my present so he gave me a kit for a nixie clock. After working hard for a week, i found an hour or two this afternoon to take a peak at the kit, and ended up building the whole thing. Check out the short video of it ticking happily away!

edit

..yeah, i should have mentioned where my brother got the clock from: He bought the clock as a kit from Tube Clock.

-c

A Grass Roots Movement?

2006-09-14T00:28:00.000-04:00

I propose a movement like the ones that were popular when I was a kid. You might remember them from the 80's too: Boycotts, Bans, Letter writing campaigns Oh My! When I was a kid my church boycotted the local convenient food mart because they sold playboys. It was a big deal. We even had the priest lecturing from the pulpit about the convenient food mart. The movement I propose is a little more appropriate for people of all moral centers: I propose the "What's My Name?" movement. Let me explain....

A few years ago (ok, like 11 years ago), I got my first credit card, and my first debit card. I immediately followed some sage advice and after signing my name very tiny-like on the signature strip, i used a sharpie marker and wrote in big capital letters ASK FOR ID. This has resulted in about 1 in 20 clerks asking for my ID, even today. I am under the assumption that it is far more acceptable to ask and in fact I believe it is commonplace from my experience, that service personnel are trained to ask for ID and yet only 1 in 20. So when that random clerk asks for my ID (and this is usually with a perfunctory attitude and not one of vigilant security) I wait for them to mock-studiously read it and scrutinize my face and then after getting it back I ask "Ok, now What's My Name?" you would be alarmed at how many people never ever get even close. Occasionally I'll get a "......... Charles Akerston" which is (sort of) close... but usually I get a blank stare and a long pause; something like this: "..........................". VERY rarely does the clerk get it right (I mean, go-and-buy-a-lotto-ticket rare).

"But Charles", you might say, "Whats the big deal?" Well dear readers, let me tell you about a little experiment I had this fine evening. I was checking in with the fine folks over at the government agency the TSA* when the following amusing/alarming incident occurred:

As a very frequent traveler I handed my boarding pass and passport (passport mind you, not strange foreign state drivers license) to the first clerk at the airport security line. She studied it and my face, going back and forth, for now less than 45 seconds. After returning my passport and ticket to me she resumed her conversation with the "guard" next to her. I had one of those flashes and thought to myself: "hmmm self, i wonder if my ploy at the local grocery store will get past this highly trained professional TSA security agent?" and so I said to the guard: "So, What's My Name?" She looked at me and laughed and then when she realized i was serious she reached for my ticket (which was firmly in my hand at this point) and when i wouldn't relinquish it and began to walk away (UN ADVISABLY SUSPICIOUS BEHAVIOUR IN RETROSPECT) she looked at me, shrugged and went back to her conversation. A few minutes later as the metal detector guy (at this point i no longer choose to use the term guard) took my (fully legal) 1oz bottle of contact solution away from under the guise of national security I felt far less safe in response to this obviously reactionary knee-jerk action considering what i had just witnessed. If we simply trained the people "guarding" our airways and stopped the foolish foot ware and liquids rules we would be both safer and more expediently moved through the various stages of security.

So I ask you, please, don't wait when you give any person of supposed authority your credentials. Whether at the bank, grocery store, airport, cruise ship etc, GIVE them your ID and then encourage them to actually check it by asking " What's My Name?" I know i'll feel safer and I hope you will too.

The following is a clip from a show called "Chaser's" and is whimsical but it really does show you how silly security rules are when no one seems to be just using their brain!

*don't even get me started on the TSA. I mean how is it possible to have a federal government agency, which should absolutely smack of bureaucracy (the good, same product no matter where you kind, just like at McDonald's kind of bureaucracy) have such different standards from one town and airport to the next.... I never feel less safe then when I am in line at the airport, but more on that later.

let me know what you think.

-Charles

I'm back

2006-09-13T03:19:00.000-04:00

I started a little venture that is going well. It's a food blog called fancyfork. I'll be posting quite a bit as i dump a lot of the thoughts that have been floating around my head for these last couple of months.

But i'll start with this:

(overheard in the very faint background of Family Guy): "Today George Bush was rushed to the hospital for sticking his finger in a light socket. When asked why he did this he explained that Dick Cheney told him that that is where leprechauns keep their gold."

brilliant

-c

Makers Mark Barrel

2006-05-02T09:46:00.000-04:00

Makers Mark Barrel
Originally uploaded by chasles22.

After 3 long years I finnally got a picture of my name on a barrel of Makers Mark. A few years ago, I came across a little slice of heaven called Maker's Mark which is a small batch hand crafted kentucky bourbon. It's really quite delicious. After joining their website I was invited to become an ambassador. I have business cards, invitation cards, even a passport. About 2 years ago I was given the oppurtunity to put my name on a barrel. Today was the real highlight for me as they finnally figured out how to let everyone see picutres of their barrel! w00t! In 3 more years I can go to kentucky and purchase bottles from my batch of bourbon!

great, now i'm thirsty.

Spanky New Location

2006-04-24T19:28:00.000-04:00

I have just moved my hosting etc over to 1and1 because those folks are SUPERGOOD. I apologize if there is any down time as I migrate!

life

2006-04-21T23:20:00.000-04:00

points to ponder:

My dad had major surgery this week. The kind where the recovery is so bad it makes you forget that the surgery was (generally speaking) elective. The recovery has been so bad in fact that it seems like the recovery is the very reason that he is in the hospital and not the process to go through after the bad stuff is fixed.

In the words of douglas coupland: all families are psychotic but this never seems to be more prevalent than when a tragedy (or as near so as we have experienced) is at hand. Suddenly ever triviality becomes the makings of the berlin wall. That is not to say that no one has been right or wrong through the various arguments, just that it seems like some are not as self aware of their own fears. But alas I can speak no further of my family, suffice it to say they might perchance walk through this portion of the intrenets one day.

I apparently like working on cars, and am somewhat handy. This comes as a shock to me. I (with quite a bit if help i might add) successfully replaced actual major components on a vehicle. After successfully diagnosing the problems i was able to use the correct jargon and place my hands on the appropriate parts. Then upon successfully repairing the problem was able to confidently and comfortably enjoy the new improved ride. (albeit after a short trip back to the driveway to fix a serious looking spray of fluid that was unchecked for the victorious (and short) first drive. Then day two of repairs came along. I added a trailer hitch where once there was none! i even had to devise my own tools (just like the apes who shoved sticks into the anthills making the first tools - ant fishing poles or anting rods or some such) Regardless it was successful that I may remain these hallowed pages Charles' Handyman DIY fixer-upper blog.

I am also teaching myself 3 programming languages at once. This should be interesting!

What has happened to me? (and where's my red bird?)

2006-04-12T11:10:00.000-04:00

My posts used to be decidedly witty, whimsical, thought provoking, perhaps even charming. Then *pow* suddenly back to geek mode. I hate how that happens. I now work for a company that makes HDTV equipment and while not the most interesting company in the world, i do like the work and I get to watch HDTV whenever i want. Plus lots of trips to TV stations in the DC area and lost of free lunch. So all in all not too bad.

When I was a kid my dad was a purchasing agent. His job was to exclusively deal with vendors who were desperate to have their products involved with Sohio. (remember Sohio?) He used to always talk about these things he seemed to get on a fairly regular basis called red birds. I don't think I figured out that a red bird was free lunch until i was like 16.

-c

I am in organizational hell

2006-04-06T13:23:00.000-04:00

I need help! I try to subscribe to the GTD philosophy, but I kind of want an electronic way to manage my actual job function. I am involved in customer support as well as a little sales so sometimes I am waiting for the phone to ring but often I have next actions etc. Is there software out there that lets me easily manage a project. I want something that historical, not just planning. I am looking for something that will let me take simple notes under a given project, and then from those notes i want to be able to create tasks and subtasks. So when I go to a particular project I can see all the steps I have taken, all the steps i have yet to take and notes that are important chronologically and project-wise but not actual tasks? The way I accomplish this now is a horrible combination of using 30boxes.com for tasks that require scheduling, freemind for tracking actions i have taken, and just the simple outlook task manager for freeform task lists.... but getting them coordinated is so manual and tedious that I end up not doing it and then missing steps and milestones.

Beyond this I have now thrown a PDA phone into the mix and started to abandon my hPDA.... I am really am organizationally screwed at the moment!

Any thoughts???

-c

30 Boxes VS Spingecell Part Duex

2006-03-08T14:30:00.000-05:00

OK, so when i last addressed this issue i suggested that 30 boxes, well, basically, sucked. Wow, have there been changes. The interface is interfacalicious, with lost of fun tweaking, the event entry has gotten much smarter and on the whole, the entire site seems more functional and reliable. Interestingly enough, tagging rocks (flickr, delicious, who knew?) the power to tag events in one calendar is simply amazing and has made time organization much more streamlined. No longer do i have to maintain multiple calendars or put strict rules in place (on myself) for data entry.
However,I still believe that spongecell has a better interface. Selecting a range of dates and times is a much better way to manually enter date. Seeing a breakdown of time on a day is also a hug boon to efficiency, not to mention the variety of interface delights: emailing events from any of the emails i have added, SMS input, reminders and interfacing.

which leads me to this:
Spongecell needs to add tagging and the powerful variety of syndication options of 30boxes.

-or-

30Boxes need to add the difference calendar views, and the variety of i/o options of Spongecell.

However, if you want to know who I am throwing my weight (feeble through it is) behind, just check here for which calendar is linked for public events...

30 Boxes VS Spongecell

2006-02-06T11:06:00.000-05:00

I have played around with the 30 Boxes interface, and although I like
the idea of tagging events. It seems all the naysayers may be right on
this one. Sites like planzo, airnet, and (my favorite) spongecell have a
better overall interface. I like spongecell because of the myriad ways
to get info onto your calendar, reminders, a direct URL to view my
calendar, ical subscription support, RSI, and a really slick interface.
I find that, after all, a calendar has to be good at being a calendar
before it is good at being revolutionary.

This is what the public interface for sponges looks like:

The most interesting feature is the "sponge" function. You tell sponges what email address you might use, and give it your mobile number. Then when you send it an email or text message (in natural language - meeting in new York tomorrow at 8am through thursday at 6) it dissects it, interprets it and adds the events to your calendar. Then you can setup reminders for email or SMS (or both). Beyond this excellent interface (or lack thereof) i really like the web interface. it allows dragging across multiple days and multiple nested events.

The only real lacking here, is the same thing it seems every online calendar is lacking. An interface between todo list and calendar, where an update to one updates the other. sites like Voo2Do, and rememberthemilk are great and elegant todo sites with terrible calendars. And all these calendar sites i have mentioned do not even have to do lists (with the function i mentioned).

Ok, Back to 30boxes. My only real opinion here is two-fold. 1) I do not see anything new here. As I said, you have to be good at what you do before you can be revolutionary and I do not see a good online calendars here. I see another "social blah-blahing" band wagoneer and an average product with a few unique ideas. 2) For the first time in ages I feel like i am actually using beta software. It seems these days that beta means, beta for the mass market to see if everyone likes this product and if there is a business model here. The 30boxes beta interface just feels, well, beta-ish.

More to come after I play some more.
-c

2005-12-01T15:04:00.000-05:00

Apple makes cool stuff besides the ipod.

Frankly, apple has always made good stuff. The ipod was just a fluke that caught on. They always made clean sexy stuff with a great UI and a good feel (except the newton.... whatever).

Their newest product (ok sort of new) is the Mighty Mouse. This is an update to the regular uni-button clear mouse, popular for the last couple of years with apple users. Interestingly they combined 2 things not ordinarily juxtaposed (ooooh, big word), a windows concept (a mouse with many many configurable buttons) and the Mac sensibilty (ergonomic, minimalistic).

Another interesting side effect here, is that to use the mouse on a Mac, software must be loaded, and then there is a control panel to map all the functions. HOWEVER when you plug this bad boy into windows it immediately works as follows, without any driver!

Left click
Right click
scrolly wheel
click scrolly wheel
Browser Back button and,
(just like the old Mac mouse) Cursor lock. [when you left click and drag, then squeeze the sides you can pick up the mouse, which would normally unclick, and move it and the cursor will stay left clicked until you release it the second time.]

so what I am saying is this:

1. I dig the no software (for PC)
2. I like the feel of the mouse
3. I like the cool added features
4. it works..... end of story.

I use some very intense custom software like: various custom graphical programming languages, AutoCAD, Video Editing, Audio Editing, Audio Mastering, and the like. This mouse has supported every app, and every crazy one-off function in every proram gracefully and without fail.

I am reasonably certain my next computer purchase was to be a Mac, and that was decided awhile ago, but this goes beyond just reinforcing my thoughts about the superior store-bought OS (non linux in otherwords) and hardware and truly leads me to believe that Apple has real potential to keep chipping away at the PC market. I am not suggesting they will compete with MS on a large scale, and truly I am not entirely sure that a piece of hardware and software sitting at your feet is the future anyway, but if they can master something small and silly like a really good mouse, whose to say they won't find a niche in the future?

BUT, there are 3 things they need to take away from this:

1. they need to be in touch with the user's current modus operandi. Why do I say this? Because the mouse is wired. WIRELESS!

2. they need to find a happier middle ground of marketing. The news today is filled with the millions and millions the ipod campaign has cost, yet they rely on viral marketing only for pretty much everything else they make. I only found this mouse because i happened to stop into an apple store to test a Mac Mini.

3. They need to return to the ipod schema. Stop refining products every 2 weeks (like the ipod which in 4 short years has had around 12-14 updates, my guess) and go back to spending the bucks on R & D to create an entirely new product, or an earth shattering change to an existing one (only 3 updates to the origial mac mouse since the 80's: from beige to clear, from clear to wireless and now the mighty mouse)

I want apple to succeed. I see the free/OSS software revolution coming (duh! like everyone else) and I see that it will take a big market share from MS, but it will take most of the market share that apple has earned. Apple will go back to the ultimate niche machine. Great for graphics, Audio and Video editing, and not much else... and this time Apple might not find the next big thing (whatever that will be) in time to save it.

-c

should i buy the hat?
	buy the hat.
	dont buy the hate.
	Buy me the hat (only for crystal)
	you and the hat are ridiculous.
	you look good in any hat (only for mom)
	steal the hat

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