Archive for April, 2006
Sunday, April 23rd, 2006
Ken Jennings is well known for his record-breaking winning streak in Jeopardy. Well, that is not the only thing he is well known for; not only is he an intelligent Jeopardy ace, he is also a very comedic Jeopardy ace. I think he should have been given credit for his answer. Take a look at the definition of his answer at Dictionary.com and UrbanDictionary.com; doesn’t the answer seem right to you? 
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Ken Jennings: Jeopardy Funny Answer (1.39MB)
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Saturday, April 22nd, 2006
I know I haven’t posted a funny video in a while so I got a great and absolutely hilarious clip of a live Tech TV blooper. I am not sure if the man was shaking because he was old or really nervous but uh … he said it was one of a kind and it was one of a kind no longer. I know once you watch this the first time, you’ll re-watch it… when you do, look at the host’s facial expression right when it happens. Hahah!
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Tech TV Blooper! (1.06 MB)
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Friday, April 21st, 2006
I read multiple news sources on the net daily; it has almost become an everyday ritual as soon as I wake up. However, it’s not everyday I blog about current events or politics unless there is something I just need to rant about.
It’s official: Distracted drivers are dangerous – Some sources: CNN, Chicago Sun Times
A new study lends scientific credence to what many already suspect: Drivers dabbing on makeup, chatting on cell phones or eating breakfast are three times as likely to be involved in a crash as more attentive motorists.
[sarcasm] Wow, that is a breakthrough scientific study! What the heck?! [/sarcasm] There needed to have been a scientific study to find that out? That is like saying “It’s official: Distracted hair stylists cause bad hair days!” or “Distracted surgeons cause deaths!” or “Distracted police lets loose perpetrators!” or “Distracted students fail tests!” or *ahem* “Distracted test scorers incorrectly grade tests!” or “Distracted American Idol* contestant gets booted!” I can think of hundreds of these “no duh” headlines. The problem I had with this story was that almost every single newspaper, online news site, and other news sources carried this article as one of their top headlines. Either the research group(s) who ‘conducted’ this awesome study thinks the American public is absolutely stupid or the news agencies do; either way, I vote it to give it the ‘No Shit Award of 2006′ where we write that in pencil on a notebook paper and give them a box of crap to go along with it.
Duke Lacrosse Rape Case – Google Aggregated News
Two lacrosse players arrested on rape and kidnapping charges have been suspended by Duke University, a source familiar with the investigation told ESPN on Wednesday.
There has got to be a rape reported somewhere in the United States at least once a week. Why is the Duke case given so much attention by the entire nation? I’m surprised President Bush hasn’t made a comment about this case to the press seeing as how the press is all over this. For example, the Chicago Tribune has an article about this case… why would anyone in Chicago give a crap about this case? Are there no lacrosse teams in Chicago? Are there no rape cases in Chicago? Is the nation a big fan of Duke’s lacrosse team? Honestly, I never even knew Duke had a decently skilled lacrosse team. You know, I’d understand the national attention if Duke’s basketball team was involved in such a controversy because they were one of the top NCAA teams last season; there are fans and haters of Duke basketball alike spread out across the entire nation… but Duke’s lacrosse team? I feel bad for the three students that are involved (the accused and the accuser). Move on and find better things to report on, media.
American Idol* – Google Aggregated News
This season, the singing contest has hit its highest note yet: An average of 31 million Americans are tuning in to watch Chris Daughtry, Kellie Pickler, Taylor Hicks and the others vie for instant success and celebrity, to follow in the recording contract footsteps of previous Idols Kelly Clarkson, Ruben Studdard, Fantasia and Carrie Underwood.
I hate American Idol. I thought it was dumb the first season, I still think it is absolutely dumb. I don’t understand how so many Americans seem addicted to this glamour-ized version of whatever it was at the Apollo show decades ago. It’s a reality show that is governed by television gimmicks like any other show on 24 hours a day. What? The show gets viewers involved? How do you know? You ever seen a 1994 movie called Quiz Show? It was about a very popular quiz show with contestants that were picked to win prior to the show being taped. Now, I’m not saying American Idol is fixed (although it would be awesome if it was and it causes the downfall of American Idol). In the end though, all those votes that the American public sends in – they are not ever accounted for in their production of the show. There is always news once every season of American Idol where media reports “Favorite American Idol gets booted” – no viewer stops to question how they got booted and why they were labeled as favorites in the first place. People made mistakes grading the SATs. People made mistakes keeping track of Presidential election votes. And at the end of the day, 31 million Americans trust a TV show to keep a record of ~31 million (more or less) votes.
What FOX should do is provide a confirmation ID everytime someone voted and keep a database of their votes and this database should be released to the public. This way you can always go check to make sure they got your vote counted correctly and those interested can actually take the data and make sure it matches with what FOX shows as the results on television. And no, I’ve never voted and never will. This was just a random thought that I had when I was reminded of the Quiz Show movie whenever I saw a news article about American Idol. I wouldn’t think it as the dumbest show on television if they had a way for the public to account for the show’s results since this would actually take some guts to incorporate for a TV show.
* I’m sorry but I think American Idol plainly sucks; I can not believe it is the most watched show. It’s a karaoke show with better lighting and TV cameras. There, I said it.
Posted in Time Out! | No Comments »
Thursday, April 20th, 2006
A few days ago, I wrote a SQL abstraction layer class and MySQL wrapper in PHP. It has actually been a year or two since I last coded in PHP so I had to PHP.net’s Quick Reference to refresh my memory on function names and parameters. Years ago, when I actually had the time to do some freelance development work, I always used the MySQL class (db_mysql.php) from the PEAR libraries. It is a very simple yet beautifully written MySQL class but it was a bit more in-depth than I’d prefer. Now, the class that I wrote is very basic with only a few key methods but exactly what I want/need for my projects. It didn’t take very long and it certainly wasn’t a difficult task at all but it was necessary for me to get my hands dirty in coding again so that I can increase my productivity.
The project I am currently working on is not yet public. I plan on pitching ideas to a buddy of mine as soon as the generalities are set so I can see if he thinks this is worth risking although the only thing we would be risking is our time. I trust his judgement and also need someone to manage it on their own as soon as I start my full-time job since my priorities would change to focus on the new job.
It will be difficult to make this venture worthwhile in the beginning; however, it is highly lucrative as soon as it picks up speed. Don’t worry. it is not a pyramid scheme, scam, get-rich-quick, nor instant-millionaire type of deal. It feels like I’ve been preparing, researching, and learning about this for about five years.
Posted in g33kl0g | No Comments »
Sunday, April 9th, 2006
First, I just want to type that this post is not a joke or fiction and am attempting to account for this honestly as possible. If you experience this kind of event frequently, please do post a comment since it’ll be interesting to how many notice this.
This is the weirdest of all coincidences but whenever I look at a digital representation of time (cell phone clock, computer clock, digital alarm clock, television clock, and etc) to see what time it is, it is always the eleventh minute of the hour. The scary thing is that 80% of the time (approximation), it is always the eleventh minute of the ninth hour, making it 9:11 AM or PM. It doesn’t happen every morning or every night on a consecutive basis. It happens in a way that at the time I think “weird” and it’s put away in my mind. Then at some point later, it happens again and you are reminded of the last time it happened. This has been happening since last semester down at Tech.
It is one of the weirdest feelings in the world that curiosity picques your interest and you want to know what time it is to find that it is exactly 9:11 in the morning or 9:11 at night.
Posted in Time Out! | 6 Comments »
Saturday, April 8th, 2006
Just a few days ago I realized that I am now part of the group that others may consider simply as … old. I was running some errands when I decided to stop by a Jack-in-the-Box to give it a try for the first time. When I entered, I saw a bunch of bookbags sprawled across the floor and a group of high school guys ordering their food up front. I got in line as a group of I-am-a-blonde-cheerleader type of high school girls came in; talking so fast in their feverishly high-pitched voices that I was partially hoping that they were european and speaking another language. I looked at both of these group of high schoolers and thought to myself how immaculate they looked in the way they dressed and how immature they behaved (immature being a completely relative term).
Then I observed myself; I was wearing my Tech cap that I bought during FASET in the Fall of 2001 which I overused so much that now the bill of the cap was frizzled in the front and the buildup of the sweat and dirt could be seen as stains. I had been lazy so I haven’t shaved that morning. So I had the five o’clock shadow of a mustache and a thin patch on my chin. My laziness that morning also prompted me to put on the first articles of clothing I could get my hands on which happen to be a white partially wrinkled t-shirt that read ‘Yellow Jackets’ on it (yes, I do wear Tech clothing proudly even in North Carolina) and a pair of jeans I forgot to get washed the day before.
It just seemed like these high schoolers were thrown by my tattered appearance because they half expected me to be carrying a bookbag on my back and pulling out crumpled dollar bills from somewhere deep inside my pockets like they were. Instead, I looked like I’d just gotten up and walked over to get some fast food with an American Express card. Prior to this point, I thought that I would assign myself to the same age generation as today’s high school students thinking that I could still relate to them somehow. Afterwards, I realized that I am now part of the generation that I would have labeled as old back when I was a high schooler.
I think it is a milestone when you personally realize that you are no longer a part of a generation that you thought you belonged.
Posted in My Life | No Comments »
