Stupid Phone Thing

I’m pretty happy with my Sprint plan. I did one of those “threaten to leave so you get a heavy discount” things. One thing that stills bugs me is the company’s policy on international text messages. I get charged for an international SMS whether it’s incoming or outgoing. That’s completely retarded. If I receive an international call, do I get charged international rates? It boggles the mind.

You Take the Good, You Take the Bad

We shared a large Sprite and one of those pretzels covered with cinnamon and sugar. I may as well have administered an eight ball. What was I thinking? By the end of the third quarter, after she’d turned into the Great Cornholio and started to sing ” Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star” at the top of her lungs, I knew we had to leave before she kicked a hole through the seat of the poor guy in front of us.

That’s from Bill Simmons’ column, where he tells the story of taking his daughter to her first basketball game.  It’s completely adorable. I really hope I have a daughter so I can turn her into the ultimate videogame-jock tomboy. Her first Yankee game will be awesome.

And on a more terrifying note, here are some frightening numbers on military spending. It’s just crazy how much money is being thrown around when there are kids that don’t have enough to eat and/or can’t get medical treatment.

Two and Two

A man who views the world the same at 50 as he did at 20 has wasted 30 years of his life.

I believe in God, but not as one thing, not as an old man in the sky. I believe that what people call God is something in all of us. I believe that what Jesus and Mohammed and Buddha and all the rest said was right. It’s just that the translations have gone wrong.

Those are two random quotes from two of my favorite people that ever existed. Who are they? The answer is after the break. Muahahahahaha!!!

Save Me

As a big fan of Queen, I’m simultaneously intrigued and appalled by this Freddie Mercury action figure on Skymall. Here’s the product description:

The legendary Queen vocalist now comes in 18″ action figure form! Freddie comes with a ball jointed neck and articulated shoulders for added customization. Motion activated triggers bring forth a medley of classic Queen songs!

I wonder if a toy company could pull off Brian May’s hair….

Image Problems

Vista is not cooperating with my old copy of Paint Shop Pro 8 (I believe it’s four-versions old) so I’m looking for a new image editing program. Right now I’m messing around with a trial of Photoshop Elements 6. A lot of people on Amazon wrote about its Vista issues. They’re not wrong. Other than that it’s a pretty good program with a good looking interface (I like the slate. Sue me.), but some of the keyboard commands are just retarded.

Soon I’m going to give Noromis Photolab a try. The reviews are good, the program is cheap, and the interface seems like it was made for actual humans. More importantly, it’s made by a small company in Jersey so I’ll finally have mob connections. I’m excited to try it, but I don’t want to expect too much.

If anyone else has some suggestions for an image editor (primarily for photo use), let me know.

Kindling

I’m pretty excited about the Amazon Kindle. I’d actually read more books with a device like this. However, I’d use it more for magazines and newspapers though–that stuff is just hot. Hopefully it hits the $200 price point some time next year. I’m pretty impressed with the service and the initial content offerings. I’m also positive that Amazon will grow the library immensely over the next year. If you’ve never tried an E-Ink screen, it’s something that needs to be tried in order to realize how good it is. It’s so much easier on the eyes than a backlit LCD or LED screen. Aside from the early adopter price (i.e. nerd tax), my only other complaint is its looks. This is one fugly piece of consumer electronics. The Sony e-reader looks so much better, but that device doesn’t have the content support (particularly the newspapers and magazines) that the Kindle has.

My New(er) Dream Machine

Honda’s first hydrogen fuel cell car is going into limited production. It’s called the FCX Clarity and it’s pretty awesome. The tech is cool, it’s much better for the environment (gasoline equivalent of 68 miles per gallon), and it looks pretty sharp. Hopefully it proves to be a safe vehicle and hydrogen refueling stations proliferate quickly (though I imagine California will adopt them faster than other states).

When I win the lottery on Wednesday, I’m going pre-order some for Rannie, Kit, and Ted.

Papers Please

I got a letter from the government last week regarding Noot’s visa. It was nice to get physical evidence that the application is being processed. The gubment was supposed to send a notice of action (NOA) within the first month of receiving the app, but there were issues. It never arrived and I had to call the USCIS hotline, wait (as instructed), and call back. After several months, all I had was a case number that some guy on the phone gave to me. That should be enough, but it’s nice to have tangible proof I mostly hate paper (unless it’s used to print comic books), but these two sheets rule.

Anyway, they needed passport-sized photos of Noot and me (separately). When I first consulted with the San Francisco USCIS office, I was told that these weren’t necessary. I should be mildly annoyed that they’re asking for these after I was told I didn’t need to send them in, but I’m not really bothered. It might mean a delay of a couple of weeks, but I’m just happy that I have paperwork that tells me that the whole thing is progressing. The photos were send last Tuesday and arrived to the gubment on Thursday. Hopefully things start speeding up!

H2O Ignorance

Admission: I just learned what waterboarding was. I’ve heard the word lots (especially lately) and I knew it was a form of torture. However, I had no idea what the precise methods were. After reading about on Wikipedia, I’m shocked. I absolutely cannot believe that this is something my government practices. It’s cruel and crazy and inhumane. I’m having a huge problem believing that the American government is doing this to people. I also feel naive and ignorant. It’s just mind blowing to me. Home of brave? Torture is for fucking cowards. Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to be free? Why?!? So you can torture the crap out of them?