Pipes Network Clog Death is more universal than life; everyone dies but not everyone lives.

When at a Track Meet...

Be careful where you stand!

This was recently posted on Yahoo! News. I am by no means trying to make light of her situation, as that would be extremely painful. Apparently she was a line judge at the meet, so who knows if maybe the throw was just way off, or she misjudged it, but that would suck.

With Time to Spare

I just saw an article today that the U.S. has eased restrictions on what can be carried onto an airplane now, as far as liquids. According to the article...

Passengers will be able to carry-on travel-size liquid or gel items, three-ounces or smaller, as long as they're in a one-quart zip-top bag.

Good news for those travelling soon (especially if you're cheap like me, and worried about losing your luggage).

Fall

It's Fall already. The seasons seem to change so fast anymore, its already cold enough to use my heated seats this morning. Seems like it was last week I had the air cranked up.

There were some dang good football games this past weekend. My Packers finally won, the Colts won, and even Purdue won their first Big Ten game.

I am rambling today, I can't quite put together a coherent thought, so whatever. Happy Monday.

New Computer

I finally got a new workstation at work (it only took 5 months after they were ordered)!

Dual 80 GB 10,000 RPM Hard Drives in RAID 1
2 GB PC 4200 RAM
Dual Xeon 3.00 GHz (dual-core) CPU's
256MB Graphics with dual DVI output so I now have dual monitors at work too,
although one is only a 19", but at least it's an LCD.

Now the only problem is this is nicer than what I use at home, so now I'm really going to want to upgrade my home desktop (which is 3.5 years old might I add, I've never had a PC that old before).

Creepy

Tell me this dude isn't just a little bit creepy...

This was taken from Yahoo, and according to the caption...

In this combination picture of before and after, Claudio Paulo Pinto pops his eyeballs out of their sockets. Pinto can pop his eyeballs at least 7 millimeters (0.3 inches) out of their sockets, a national record for eye-popping according to RankBrasil, an organization modelled after the Guinness Book of World Records that lists Brazilian records. Pinto says he's been doing this since he was nine years old and 'it doesn't hurt a bit.'

This picture is worse.

More Ford News

Apparently Ford has decided to cut more people (we all knew this was coming). The number has gone up from the original 4,000 to 14,000 now, or 1 in every 3 salaried workers. A large portion of this will happen through attrition I'm sure, but there will definitely be some involuntary separations to go with it.

From the Detroit Free Press:

Ford Motor Co., in an effort to get its second restructuring effort in five years off the ground, today announced a retooled Way Forward plan that aims to cut 30,000 hourly jobs and 14,000 salaried jobs.

While the hourly cuts will be completed by 2008, the white-collar jobs — representing a third of the company’s salaried workforce — will mostly be completed during the first three months of 2007.

link

Super Mario Anniversary

I've always prided myself in the fact that I'm one of the few computer nerds who don't waste all of their time playing video games. That being said, I don't remember when Super Mario Brothers was actually released 20 years ago today in 1985, but I guess it was a big deal. So Happy Anniversary Mario.

Bears vs Packers

Wish I would have bought some furniture...

Randy Gonigam, a Kendall County furniture store owner and "huge Bears fan," got tired of players bragging about their defense, so he decided to put his money on it.

Over Labor Day weekend, Gonigam's World Furniture Mall in Plano offered customers free furniture -- up to $10,000 -- if the Chicago Bears shut out the Green Bay Packers in their season opener.

Four quarters, 206 customers and about $300,000 later, Gonigam is still a little shell-shocked.

From ESPN

OPEC Sucks

Just when I start getting happy about declining oil prices, and gas down to $2.30/gallon, I see this article from the New York Times:

VIENNA, Sept. 10 -- What a difference a few weeks can make. As OPEC ministers prepare to meet here Monday, the question on their minds is not how high oil prices will rise, but how far they may drop.

Crude oil prices have fallen more than $10 a barrel in the last month, driving down the retail price of gasoline and providing some relief for consumers. While energy prices remain high, they have not risen to the heights that many analysts had feared, in part because of a light hurricane season this summer, the cease-fire between Israel and Hezbollah, and the fact that the United Nations has not imposed sanctions on Iran.

While there is no sense of urgency about oil price increases, some members of OPEC are beginning to express anxiety about further price declines. Nigeria's representative, Edmund Daukoru, who currently holds the rotating presidency of the group, said Sunday, "I am very concerned about the drop in prices. We do not know how much further they can go and we need to review that in depth."

It must be nice to be in an industry where you can decide "I think my product is too cheap, I want to make more money, so I'm going to cut output to raise the price."

Detroit Teachers Strike

It's been a full week now, and the kids of Detroit schools still are not back in school. The superintendent announced today they will miss school again tomorrow.

Now I can understand the teachers being upset, as they supposedly haven't gotten a raise in 4 years, and are expected to take a pay cut. But the kids up here have to take the ISTEP test next month and have to pass it if they want to graduate.

Apparently the problems comes down to Detroit not being able to afford schools & teachers, and teachers not being able to afford to live without raises, let alone taking a pay cut. Detroit schools are so pathetic anyway, (from what I hear, not from experience), that the teachers may not deserve a raise. But then again, maybe its because of the school conditions and their limited resources that they are so bad.

All I can say is I'm glad I just have to hear about it, not deal with it.

What is wrong with these people?

SAN SALVADOR (Reuters) - Four prisoners in an El Salvador jail hid cellphones, a phone charger and spare chips in their bowels so they could coordinate crimes from their cells, prison officials said on Wednesday.

The four men, all gang members, wrapped their phones and accessories in plastic and inserted them into their rectums "far enough to reach their intestines," Ramon Arevalo, director of the maximum security Zacatecoluca prison, said.

Full story here, x-ray picture here.

Detroit Lions

This just goes to show the intelligence of their coaching staff, and why the Lions are terrible...

From the Detroit Free Press

A Lions assistant coach was arrested twice in the last two weeks, charged with driving drunk in one incident and with indecent and obscene conduct in the other, the Free Press has learned.

In the latter incident, a Dearborn police ticket describes the coach as "driving on public street without any clothes on. (NUDE)."

Read the full story here and here.

Public Nudity

I think I would have a problem living in a town that allowed this.

BRATTLEBORO, Vermont (AP) -- Public nudity isn't new to this bastion of bohemia, but it usually bares itself in more subtle places than the downtown parking lot.

This summer, a group of teenagers has disrobed near restaurants, bookstores and the town's many galleries, igniting a debate about whether Brattleboro should ban a practice long tolerated until now.

Vermont has no state laws against public nudity, but communities can write their own bans. At least eight cities and towns have anti-nudity ordinances, according to the Vermont League of Cities and Towns.

Drunk Groom

This would put a damper on your wedding night, so keep an eye on me please!

A West Brookfield groom was arrested at his own wedding reception Sunday on five charges, including assaulting a police officer.

Big News at Ford

From the Detroit Free Press

After five trying years of running the company founded by his great-grandfather, Bill Ford turned for help Tuesday from an executive who he sees as the heavy hitter needed to rescue the 103-year-old automaker from its heavy financial losses, plummeting market share and low morale.

Ford Motor Co.'s turnaround now depends on new CEO Alan Mulally, 61, who is credited with reviving the Boeing Co. in the face of strong international competition and the aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attacks that devastated the airline industry.

This has been all over the newspapers, radio and television up here ever since about 5 yesterday evening. I imagine it is a good thing for the company, which has been struggling to get back in the black lately. I suspect that hiring someone outside the Ford family is related to criticism that Bill would struggle to make the tough decisions that hurt the people that work for Ford (such as plant closings, personnel cuts, benefit cuts, etc).

It does not however, have anything to do with what some people call Bill Ford's "inability to get the job done". This it not the case at all, as should be evidenced by his being named Auto Industry Executive of the Year.

It's a bumpy road ahead, but I think the light at the end of the tunnel just got a bit brighter.

Steve Iriwn (AKA The Crocodile Hunter) Killed!

The Crocodile Hunter, famous for his crazy TV show where he gets ridiculously close to crocodiles and other animals, was killed this weekend. Apparently he was stung near the heart by a Sting Ray as he was filming a documentary. He was only 44, and left behind his wife and two young children.

link
Another (better) Link

Labor Day Weekend

Also known as the end of summer. The beginning of school, and as I mentioned yesterday, the start of football season.

While I was driving home from a short trip for our last pre-marital session today, I was thinking about some of the Labor Day weekends from college for some reason. Our freshman year my roommate and I stayed around and were about the only people around for the weekend. We rode bike all over campus trying to get familiar with it, and even rode down by the airport where we almost ran into a deer.

Two years later we went to Chicago for the weekend, which was the last time I have been there.

Last year I went to my Grandparents to see my Grandma for the last time before she passed 2 months later.

I want to go on a trip now, but with the wedding coming up it is difficult to find the time (or money) to do much of anything. Hopefully in the coming year we can do a few things.

Opening Weekend

It's finally here. Opening weekend of the College Football season. This means school has just started, or is just about to start for some (like me), and that fall is almost here. I've been waiting since the January bowl games to have something to do on Saturday's once again.

All I need is some pizza and wings (maybe some 6-packs of....soda) and I'm ready to enjoy the games.