Category: ramblings

ramblings

JetBlue Easter Egg

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An easter egg has been discovered on JetBlue’s web site. If you go to their route map page, select a route, hold down the “control” and type the letters p-b-j you get a “Family Guy” clip where Brian is doing the “Peanut Butter Jelly Time” dance. There is a debate going on in my office about whether or not it’s supposed to be there or if some JetBlue programmer slipped it in there as his own private joke. I for one don’t know and don’t care. I just think its cool.
4/28 UPDATE: The easter egg is gone – I guess it wasn’t supposed to be there after all. This is why you need to read WGTCTIP2 every day!

ramblings

My Return to 19

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While I made this declaration to myself on 4/1, it is anything but a joke. It is a simple pledge to try and “return to 19.” When I was 19, I was 10 pounds lighter, in much better physical shape and definitely more, as the kids put it, ripped. Stephen King wrote a great essay called “On Being 19” that can be found in a number of his books, such as the re-release Dark Tower books. It’s about how we crystalize our view of ourselves at 19 and that we forever view ourselves as being in a sense 19. So, if you played sports then but haven’t since, you always consider yourself an athlete even if you are 100 lbs overweight and a total couch potato. I have been guilty of thinking that I am now what I used to be and am hoping to break this routine. I want to get back to being the person that I think I am.
While I have started and stopped many previous attempts to recapture my former glory, I have decided to use my blog a forum to publically declare my intentions to “Return to 19.” I figure, if I put it out there, I’ll have to be accountable. My goals are pretty simple and attainable:
* I will no longer eat after 10 pm during the week, period.
* I will do at least 50 push-ups a day at first which will eventually get up to 100 a day.
* I will eventually will run both a 5K and 10K race (I have never done the latter) this year.
* I will bike 60 miles (not 30 like I’ve done the past few years because I haven’t been in good enough shape) in October in the MS Bike Tour.
* I will increase my metabolism (I’m buying Ultrametabolism tonight) by modifying my habits. This includes having breakfast (something I never do) each day to kick start my digestive engine.
* I will reduce the amount of coffee I drink and increase in the amount of water.
* I will get a journal so that I can keep track of what I’m supposed to do and will give myself gold stars as rewards. In case you didn’t know it, gold stars rock. If it was good enough to help me learn how to go on a potty like a big boy all those years ago, it’ll work now.
That’s about it. Exercise more. Eat less. Fix my metabolism. Get ripped. Sounds easy enough, right? Wish me luck. Change is hard but simply putting my goals in writing is a huge step for me. Sometimes the first step is the hardest. Good bye perpetual fall – I’m ready for this new leaf to stick…

ramblings

Peaceful Dining

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I gleamed this bit of knowledge from my dinner this past Saturday evening:
Chopsticks originated in China during the Shang Dynasty (1766 – 1122 BC) as a substitute for knives at the table. According to Confucius, knives were equated with acts of aggression and should not be used to dine. Chopsticks then became the eating utensils of choice as neighboring Asian counstries adopted its use and modified it according to cultural preference.

ramblings

News Europa

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Two weeks ago I flew across the pond and was in jolly old London. I went to visit my sister, who blogged about our visit on her great site. She’ll be heading to Ireland this weekend, stopping in Dublin and parts unknown. I am very jealous. Here blog can be found in the left nav and is quite good, especially if you’re an Anglophile.
In football related news, the US has climbed to 5 in the FIFA world rankings, the first time it has ever cracked the top five. It’s group though at the World Cup consists of the Czcheck Republic (#2), Italy (#12 – i think) and Ghana (#50) so I have my fingers crossed that they’ll play up to their ranking. Many have claimed that their group is this year’s “Group of Death” and I don’t disagree. If you thought I was talking about American football, check the title of this post.

ramblings

The Gift

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SCI FI Channel is currently conducting the first-ever nationwide search for America’s most talented new psychic. Eight finalists will be selected by a panel of experts to compete on SCI FI’s new original reality series The Gift, slated to premiere this summer.
First of all, I can’t wait to see what these experts look like. Second and more important, if you are a psychic, then how do you not know you won already? I would love to see 8 people besieging the producer saying “Of course I won! I’m psychic! Dismiss these pretenders immediately!”
Via Monty

ramblings

Where Cubes Come From

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The inventor of cubicles, Robert Propst, lamented his unwitting contribution to what he called “monolithic insanity” before he passed away in 2000. Fortune has an interesting article about the history of cubicles, where they came from and why and where they might go in the future (hint: it’s not away because, of all things, the way businesses can assign depreciation expenses against these assets).
Via Phyl