Magazine Subscriptions

In response to my post yesterday about receiving a mystery magazine subscription, The Bearman [cwru.edu] mentioned that happened to him, and it was just the magazines randomly giving out free subscriptions in the hopes that you will continue to subscribe after the first year is up. That definitely makes sense to me. And it probably works relatively often.

Anyway, while we're on the subject, I've been trying to figure out what magazines I want to subscribe to next year. We already subscribe to National Geographic [nationalgeographic.com], which I hadn't gotten since I was a child. I also get a few magazines as a by-product of being a member of certain organizations (Mechanical Engineering [memagazine.org] from ASME [asme.org] and American Rifleman [nrapublications.org] from the NRA [nra.org]). And then, as I was just talking about, we have mysteriously started receiving PC Magazine.

But I was thinking that I should subscribe to something else, since I burn through those magazines pretty quickly, and I like staying on top of the latest and greatest.

I had it narrowed down to either Consumer Reports [consumerreports.org], or a car magazine like Car and Driver [caranddriver.com]. I ended up deciding to go with Car and Driver for a couple of reasons. One is that I didn't think that I would regularly read Consumer Reports. I mean, we use it from time to time, because we have been making purchases for our house lately. But I figured that it would be better to just wait until we are ready to purchase something, and then buy access to their website.

Whereas I think that I will read Car and Driver from cover to cover. Plus, in the latest issue, there was a subscription card in it that allowed you to get 3 years of the magazine for $12! You can't beat that!

Roadmaster VRBCS300W

So, I was reading my latest copy of PC Magazine (which by the way, I still have no idea who bought me the subscription [fluggart.com], but I have been enjoying reading). And there was a short article about the Roadmaster VRBCS300W Backup Camera system [roadmasterusa.com].

It is a system that you can install in your car, and it will allow you to look at a screen and see what is directly behind your car. The article in the magazine shows a toy truck on the ground about a yard behind the car, and you can clearly see it (and everything else behind the car) in the viewscreen. It looks like a pretty sweet system.

I went to their website to check out the details of the installation procedure. The system takes power from the backup lights. So, the camera and the screen only come on when you shift into reverse. And the camera is wireless. So, other than tapping into the backup lights for power, you don't have to run any other cables through the interior of your car.

It seems like it's pretty well thought-out, too. They designed it be mounted on the border of your license plate, using the same bolts that hold the license plate onto the car. So, you don't have to go randomly drilling holes everywhere. Anyway, that looks like a great idea.

Damn Interesting

A little while ago, a friend pointed out Damn Interesting [damninteresting.com] to me. It's a site where semi-in-depth articles are posted about all kinds of random subjects.

For instance, one article that was posted recently was about the construction of the Citicorp building in Manhattan [damninteresting.com]. Apparently, the building was constructed in a slightly different way than what was originally in the plans, which compromised its strength.

I like the articles posted there, because they go into enough detail to where I feel like I really understood what the issue or subject was about. But they don't go into brutal detail. Sometimes the articles on Wikipedia [wikipedia.org] go into so much depth that they can't keep my interest when I just want to casually read something.

Burning River Roller Girls

Oh, I forgot to mention last week that I was going to be watching the Burning River Roller Girls [burningriverrollergirls.com] at their first roller derby exhibition over the weekend.

One of my friends is participating in the league, which is how I knew about it in the first place.

It was very entertaining. But parts of it really reminded me of professional wrestling. I mean, not that *I* watch professional wrestling. I'm just saying, there were aspects that reminded me of what I think professional wrestling is like. The outcome of the bouts were not pre-determined or anything like that, but the outfits/costumes were ridiculous (most were wearing short skirts and fishnet stockings), and the action seemed more geared towards entertainment than actual athleticism.

We had a great time, though. And the place was packed with spectators, so it seems like the new league is off to a good start.

Vanity Searches

Ummm, what does it mean when you do a vanity search on yourself, and find more links to your old weblog (which ceased to exist years ago) than your new one?

Giving Thanks

I hope for everyone to have a great holiday weekend.

As I prepare to engorge myself with turkey, I like to take a moment and reflect on the various things that I am thankful for.

This year has been totally crazy, with buying a house, moving, looking for a job, etc. And through all of those milestones in my life (and there have been a lot of milestones this year), I have received a generous amount of help from family and friends. They are really amazing, and I am so lucky to have them.

I've also managed to make it through another year without seriously injuring myself. I am an unbelievable klutz, and am constantly tripping over my own feet and banging into things. It should be shocking to everyone that I worked for several years in a machine shop, where one bone-headed move could have easily gotten me killed. But I have scars all over my body from other various bone-headed activities, none of which really make an interesting story.

I am also very grateful to be gainfully employed, at a job that is near to where I wanted to live, working with a lot of very sharp (and patient) people.

And finally, I'm grateful for my lovely wife, who (through a little over a year of marriage) hasn't gotten sick and tired of me yet.

I really couldn't ask for anything more right now (although if Santa could remember that I want a Porsche for Christmas this year, that'd be great. Oh, and make sure it has a turbo.).

Emphasis Quotes

A little while ago, I was talking with friends about being annoyed at grammar or spelling mistakes. I'm not talking about when someone knows how to spell something, but misspell it because they are typing too quickly. I'm talking about when people are too lazy to look up the correct spelling of a word, or the correct word to use in a particular situation. For instance, I get annoyed when I see someone type "They really could of done a better job." Or, I get annoyed when I hear someone say, "Me? I'm doing good." Rrrrrgh.

Ok, well, there was this huge laundry list of complaints as various people brought up their pet peeves. And then someone said that they were annoyed when people used quotes for emphasis. Huh? Quotes for emphasis? What are you talking about? They said that they sometimes see people type quotes around things that they want to emphasize, instead of using asterisks (like *this*) or using bold or italics, etc. I was really confused.

And then it hit me. I have seen this before [fluggart.com], but didn't know what I was seeing:



I saw that on a sticker on top of a gas pump at a gas station I had stopped at, and was confused at why Attention was in quotes. Now I know. And it *is* really annoying.

Belkin USB Printer Adapter Review

I have an old HP LaserJet 4 printer [wikipedia.org]. It's about 10 years old, and it's one of those old behemoths -- you know, back in the day when people knew how to build a printer that will last. This thing will never die, and I frequently see them in banks and other businesses.

Anyway, I wanted to move it to another room, and connect it to different computer. It turns out that the new computer's parallel port doesn't work. So, I ended up buying a Belkin USB Printer Adapter [amazon.com]. The model that I got was the Belkin F5U002V. It's a device that allows you to connect a printer (that would normally use a parallel cable) to one of the USB ports on your computer.

By the way, if you are thinking about buying one of these, I have also found them in OfficeMax and Staples for a lot cheaper than the price on Amazon. This is kind of a tangent, but I was surprised to find this device in those stores. Especially after I struck out in CompUSA. If I wanted an obscure piece of computer hardware, I would go to a computer store, not an office supply store, but whatever...

Anyway, I love this device. Installing it on a computer with Windows XP Pro was a snap. I just plugged one end into the USB port of my computer, and connected the other end to the Centronics port [wikipedia.org] on the printer. The device itself required no drivers and was auto-detected properly.



At that point, it was just a matter of adding the printer. When you go to add the printer, instead of telling Windows to look for a device on LPT1, you select "Virtual printer port for USB" (as in the above picture). Installing the printer literally took 30 seconds.

Sarava

This past weekend, I had the pleasure of eating at Sarava [sergioscleveland.com], which is a Brazilian restaurant in Shaker Square (Cleveland, OH). I went there with a large group of people, including two Brazilians.

We all had a great time, and the food was very good (not to mention the caparinias!). I ordered the Xim-Xim, which was kind of a stew that had chicken and shrimp in it, among other things (the full menu [sergioscleveland.com] is available on their website). It was very spicy, and would definitely order it again. Our two entrees and a drink each came out to around $60.

The Brazilians who were with us said that the food was fairly authentic, noting that the real ingredients that are used in the original dishes probably couldn't be served in an American restaurant (or would be much too difficult to obtain). But in the grand scheme of things, I don't really care. The food tasted great, and it was very unique.

Who knew that such a gem of a restaurant was right in Shaker Square? I'm looking forward to eating there again sometime soon.

Globalization of US Economy

Recently, I saw a scary article: Can Anyone Steer This Economy? [yahoo.com]. Here's a quote:

"Sometime next year--perhaps around Christmas 2007, if current trends continue--the U.S. will hit a milestone. For the first time in recent memory, the cost of imported goods and services will exceed federal revenues."

"Since 1995 imports have risen from 12% of gross domestic product to about 17%. And foreign money finances about 32% of U.S. domestic investment, up from 7% in 1995. In other words, the U.S. is more open to the global economy than ever before, and the links run in both directions. Now many of the levers affecting the U.S. economy are located not in Washington but in Beijing, London, and even Mexico City."

The article talks about how little of an effect recent government action (tax cuts or the huge number of interest rate hikes) has had on the economy.

The article also asks some difficult questions, such as if household wealth is higher than it was 10 years ago, but income is down, are we better or worse off? And what can even be done about it?

Diamondback 850Er Elliptical

A little over a month ago [fluggart.com], I mentioned that we bought a Diamondback 850Er elliptical machine [diamondbackfitness.com] to work out on.

Since we have been using it for a longer period of time, I have been preparing to give it a more comprehensive review. But then we started having problems with it, so I'm going to wait to see how it gets resolved.

The primary problem that I have seen with it so far is that it sometimes randomly resets in the middle of the workout. And I have noticed that it corresponds with the heart rate monitor showing phantom readings (obviously, this only happens when I'm not actually wearing a heart rate monitor) -- in other words, since I'm not wearing a heart rate monitor, there is no way that it should be showing my heart rate, but sometimes it shows something. We found out that the machine can sometimes pick up wireless internet signals, which cause the phantom heart rate signals. And when it detects that your heart rate is too high, it resets, on the assumption that you are about to die.

This is definitely something to look out for if you are looking to buy an exercise machine. It only happens rarely, but it's annoying.

Other things to look for: ours can only store one profile (age, weight, target heart rate range, desired length of program, etc). But there are two of us. In addition to the obvious inconveniences this might cause... there is a display that shows how many estimated calories you have burned in your workout so far. But I'm pretty sure that it's based on the details in your profile. So, if you are interested in watching the calorie counter, it'll only be a good estimate for one person.

Voting Delayed for Ohio State Football Game

Get this... there are a couple of US Representative races that still have not yet been decided. One of those races is for the US Rep for Columbus, OH. And they are delaying the start of the absentee and provisional ballot counting by a day [kansascity.com], so that everyone can watch the Ohio State-Michigan football game this Saturday.

*sigh*

That reminds me of a funny story. Back when I had only been living in Ohio for a year or two, I didn't really understand what it meant to live near a Big 10 school. So, I somehow end up in this bar on Halloween out in the boonies of Ohio. Tons of people are in costume. And this guy walks into the bar with this ENORMOUS, round, costume head. And a little too loudly, I asked, "What is he supposed to be?" At which point, everyone in the bar turned around to look at me like I was an alien (I wish I were exaggerating). My friend then proceeds to tell me that the costume was of Brutus Buckeye [wikipedia.org].

Conscious of the volume of my voice this time, I asked my friend, "Who the hell is Brutus Buckeye?"

It was at that point that I started to understand what a truly wacked out state that I live in is.

Christmas Shopping

As with the past couple of weekends, I spent a lot of time over the past few days trying to put a dent in my Christmas shopping list. I have a lot of various people to buy for, which is usually fun. I actually really enjoy searching through tons of items, looking for the one that I know that someone will enjoy receiving. Depending on the person, it's something that I look forward to doing.

I think that the hardest people to buy for are teenagers. It is so hard to remember all of the things they are into, and their interests change so fast. Plus (and this is something I really hate admitting), but I can't really remember what it is that I really wanted when I was a teenager (I mean, besides a car).

I mean, what the hell did I look forward to in those days? I didn't really read (at least, no where near as much as I do now). I think that I really wanted a good multi-tool and/or a really good utility knife for various projects... Uh, and then as I got older, I just wanted lots of computer hardware (you can stop laughing now). But I must have wanted other things.

Anyway, I feel so out of touch. I pulled up the video game section on Amazon, and the only title I recognized was Nintendogs. I don't think that anything else could make me feel so old right now.

Deja Vu

Last night, I saw a sneak preview of Deja Vu [imdb.com], starring Denzel Washington, James Caviezel, and Val Kilmer. The short version is that it was very enjoyable to watch, and it wasn't really predictable.

The good news: Val Kilmer's career isn't dead (yet). The bad news: He looks horrible. Like he could drop dead at any moment. What happened to that guy?

Does the world really need yet another movie where Denzel Washington plays a detective-type character who just happens to have brilliant insights into mysterious police cases and is never wrong? I liked this movie the first time, when it was called The Bone Collector [imdb.com]. Actually, the movie was quite different than The Bone Collector in that the obligatory attractive female lead character wasn't another detective.

The movie was very enjoyable, though. Lots of crazy action scenes -- including a new twist on crazy car chases. Of course, there are the typical action movie cliches -- huge impacts that leave the main characters virtually unharmed... shootouts where 80 different police type characters can't hit the gunman, but the gunman can shoot from the hip and hit all of them...

A lot of what made the movie so enjoyable to watch was the witty dialogue. My favorite line of the whole movie was, "Ok, let me talk slower for all of you with PhDs in the room..." There were tons of funny one-liners, and a lot of really clever puns and jokes that made you not want to miss a minute of it.

And despite all of its faults, I have to say that it really wasn't that predictable. I suppose right at the very end, you could tell what was going to happen. But for the first 95% of the movie, you never would have been able to predict the plot twists and turns.

Well done. Very enjoyable, but perhaps it would be better as a rental.

Desks

So, we moved into our new house [fluggart.com] in what, June? So, ever since then, I've had an office, but no desk. It's kind of hard for the room to be organized without one. Not to mention, sitting on the floor to use the computer isn't the most ergonomic.

I've been putting off buying a desk for several reasons. I worried about finding one with enough area on top of it. I have two monitors (I hate LCDs) that have to compete with everything else for desk area. The ones I seemed to find either had two little space, or were these huge executive behemoths. And most of the ones that I saw at OfficeJack and OfficeRepo didn't look like they would be sturdy enough for 150 lbs of monitor weight, plus the inevitable abuse I would subject it to.

In addition, I definitely wanted one that could be disassembled. Our staircase has a 180 degree turn in it, making it very difficult to maneuver large pieces of furniture up it. Having furniture that comes apart into pieces makes it infinitely easier to get them up and down the stairs.

And along with everything else, I didn't really want to spend $400 on a desk. So, I started getting discouraged and stopped looking for a while.

This weekend, I stopped in at Target, and found that the Mission table was on sale for $130, plus they were offering a $75 gift card with the purchase.



It actually fits perfectly. Just to the left of the desk (right behind the printer) is the chimney that comes up from the first floor. So, there ends up being this nook in my office that is really difficult to use. But this table fits perfectly in between the chimney and the wall on the right. There's a nook to the left of the chimney, too, which is where the armoire sits. Anyway, it's got tons of room for my monitors, and it is very sturdy, so I scored a hell of a deal.

Ohio Elections, part 2

I'm glad that I posted that entry yesterday, because a couple of people sent me more links that helped clarify some of the races for me.

Barry [cwru.edu] send me a link to The Plain Dealer's 2006 Election Preview [cleveland.com], which had a ton of useful information on a bunch of the candidates, in an easy-to-read format. Barry also wrote a post [cwru.edu] yesterday about 3 of the many confusing state issues on the ballot that he thinks you should vote against.

Homis sent me a link to USAVoter.Info [usavoter.info], which had even more information about the various candidates, and filled in many of the holes that I found in the Plain Dealer's guide.

All of those together have a lot of information, for anyone else trying to sort out this whole mess. It's a shame that there isn't a single source that is comprehensive, because I know that the average voter isn't going to go to the lengths that I did to become informed about the issues and candidates.

Ohio Elections

I ended up renting a couple of movies this weekend. Among them was V For Vendetta [imdb.com], even though I knew virtually nothing about it (except that a bunch of my friends had seen it and said they enjoyed it, and it was done by the Wachowski brothers). It turned out to be unexpectedly apropos right before an election -- I had no idea that it was going to be political.

This year, as always, there are a dizzying array of issues on the ballot. For instance, there are several state issues [cuyahogacounty.us], ranging from a minimum wage increase, to a ban on smoking in public areas. The problem with many of these issues is that they aren't written in a way that they can be easily understood (of course, this is nothing new). Fortunately, there is a guide [oh.us] for state issues. It includes pages that are written by people for and people against each of the issues, as well as the full text of each issue (instead of the paraphrased stuff that is actually on the ballot). I found it to be useful, since there are two issues that are very confusing to me (Worker's Comp and the Minimum Wage Hike).

Unfortunately, I only really feel well-informed in a few of the races that I will have to vote on. So, I have been trying to find some sort of guide that gives me an indication of what the various candidates stand for. Most of the candidates have websites that are so full of crap that it is virtually impossible to find any actual information on their views. The closest I have found to a comprehensive guide is Ohio Voter Guide 2006 [vgt2004.org], which was put together by a newspaper. It clarified many of the races for me, but there are still many (such as Attorney General) that I have not yet decided on.

I think I have more research to do.

Shower Caddie

So, we've had this shower caddie for over a year now. We probably picked it up at Bed, Bath and Beyond or one of those Big Boxes.

Anyway, it always bothered me that the wires forming the shelves are weirdly shaped. And then recently, it hit me that they were specifically designed to allow you to store your bottles upside down.



I feel like a moron. I always have a problem when my shampoo bottle is almost empty. And I have to figure out a way to get it to stand upside down on the edge of the bathtub. And it never works, because the bottle always falls over at some point -- so it's easier to just shake it upside down every time I need shampoo.

But being able to store them upside down in the caddie is way easier. I feel like such a moron, because I should have figured that out a long time ago.

Kincaid's

Earlier this week, I had dinner at Kincaid's [kincaids.com], which I did not realize was a chain until I found their website.

The food was very good, and I would love to go there again soon. I ordered the Moscovy Duck, and it was very tender. Although, it was pretty pricey (but worth it, in my opinion).

The reason I didn't realize it was a chain was because of the atmosphere. You know, usually when you hit a chain (even a nice chain), the interior usually doesn't look as nice, and the waitstaff seem like identical robots that were just pressed out of a mold.

Anyway, good stuff. And the portions were just the right size. Nowadays, it seems like every restaurant has portions that you could easily get 2 meals out of. And that's fine, except when you are in a situation where it isn't practical to take the rest home with you. In those situations, I either feel the need to overstuff myself, or I feel guilty because I didn't even finish half of what I ordered.