TINISCULE

Apparently, the word ginormous is now getting some kind of pseudo-official standing? I guess after Homer Simpson got "doh" into the dictionary, now we have to basically accept every new-fangled (wait, is "fangled" a word?) pop-culture term that comes along.

On the history channel there is a new show on this week called "Mega-Movers" or something along those lines. In the lead-up to the show, the narrator uses the word "ginormous." That just blew me away! It could have been better if he said, "Dudes, we have learned how to move hella wicked ginormous buildings now. Come check this...at 8/9 Central on the Historological Studymatron Informatophile Viewchannel."

According to dictionary.com (and so you don't think I'm really crazy): Ginormous

A CASE OF CREDIT

This was pretty interesting. Was reading an article from a friend (and former roommate) who works for CNet. It's regarding Windows new OS: Vista. So the interesting thing is that this article appears (maybe) several times on the Ziff Davis managed sites, but of the two instances I found there was an inconsistency.

On the CNet News website we have the following article:
http://news.com.com/An+inside+look+at+Windows+Vista/2100-1043_3-6051736.html

As you can see, there are two authors credited.

Now on the same exact article, which comes from ZDNet India:
http://www.zdnetindia.com/insight/software/stories/135643.html

Notice that only a single contributer is mentioned.

I just thought this was kind of funny. Is there a possibility that the article gains more respect and trust if the author's ancestry and name are more common in the reader's country? That's what I am assuming happened here. Or else maybe the articles aren't exactly the same, but I found this interesting nonetheless. BTW, Sarj writes great hardware reviews too.

SEWIOUSWY...WIKI

I v Internet!

www.hrwiki.org

Sewiouswy.

THE HAYWARD TEA PARTY

Onto this lovely "spring" day, I dedicate the following song:

TAXMAN
Written by George Harrison
Performed by The Beatles

Let me tell you how it will be
There's one for you, nineteen for me
'cause I'm the taxman,
yeah, I'm the taxman

Should five percent appear too small
Be thankful I don't take it all
'cause I'm the taxman,
yeah, I'm the taxman

If you drive a car, I'll tax the street
If you try to sit, I'll tax your seat
If you get too cold, I'll tax the heat
If you take a walk, I'll tax your feet
Taxman

'Cause I'm the taxman,
Yeah, I'm the taxman

Don't ask me what I want it for
If you don't want to pay some more
'cause I'm the taxman,
yeah, I'm the taxman

Now my advice for those who die
Declare the pennies on your eyes
'cause I'm the taxman,
yeah, I'm the taxman
And you're working for no one but me

BABIES WITH RABIES GO TO HADES

So this is something that I don't understand. Perhaps someone can provide an explanation for this phenomenon. I've flown literally 100s of flights the past 6 years for business and so have dealt with my share of noisy flights. Unfortunately, last week I experienced the worst in recent and long-term memory. My UAL flight from Kona, HI (KOA) to San Francisco, CA (SFO) had the highest number of babies and toddlers in the history of humankind.

In my row, there were 2 such devil children and they would scream at the top of their lungs during random times during the flight. The parents were unattentive and would let the child throw a tantrum, eventually giving the child a DVD player running Barney the Dinosaur to calm him/her down (children are ambiguous to me in terms of their gender). At one point, said child was crawling along the floor (ew!) and grabbed a teenaged girl's legs in the row in front of her. Why someone would let their child crawl along the knappy-carpeted peanut crumb-riddled floor of an aging 767 is beyond my comprehension.

OK, but here's the thing that REALLY confused me. Why were these people spending all this money to take unruly children to a relaxing paradise like Hawaii? Hawaii is to have fun, yes, but it is also to relax. With children in the age condition I saw them in, there's no way either of these can take place. Yes, if they were in grammar school or something, snorkeling and beach activities would be fine, but these children were pre-pre-school aged and out-of-control. Not only this, but some were infants and not able to even feed themselves!

Come on people! Leave your child with grandma and grandpa! And Airbus+Boeing, please design an aircraft with a soundproof section for the screaming children. Or, Bose, please make your Noise Cancelling headphones also Baby-Cancelling. Chemical companies, please put Valium into a discreet spray bottle (like Binaca) so that I can secretly spray monster children on my way down the aisle. Then I could get some peace.

THE DEALO WITH HILO

"I ate some mushrooms from a cattle pasture and my friend recalls finding me in the flower bed of her front yard. But the best psychadelic experience I had was with peyote. Not an attractive plant." - Blue Tablecloth Hilo Hippie Lady

Right now I'm sitting and watching the phenomenon that is Scrabble night at the Borders Bookstore Cafe on Maka'ala St. in Hilo. (If I didn't get the spelling right on that street name you can bite me.) Listenening to the chatter between these old folks is hilarious. "Seared is a word too. Meaning brown and burned-out." says an old lady. I'm not certain I agree with her 100%, but a raging Borders Cafe brawl is nothing I want to take part of. Especially with an old lady who ate too much peyote.

Speaking of eating...I just had what I would consider one of the top-5 meals in my entire life:

Appetizer: tiger shrimp cocktail with wasabi mango cocktail sauce and marinated cucumber sticks (Alo calls shrimp, "moon-shaped cholesterol nuggets")

Entree: crusted rack of lamb in a pumpkin cream sauce with shallot rissoto and roasted red peppers and funky looking mushrooms (Again, Alo comments and says, "lamb is entree cholesterol")

This makes me recall what I would consider my top-5:
1. Le Chameleon (Paris, France)
2. Rubicon (San Francisco, CA, USA)
3. Sunset Grill (Nashville, TN, USA)
4. Restaurant Kaikodo (Hilo, HI, USA)
5. Diva at the Met (Vancouver, BC, Canada)

MEEZA GONNA SWING AT BIKERS!

A friend did this, so I decided to try it out and give an interpretation of myself as well...

DO THE SAFETY DANCE!

This week I'm working at this new cancer clinic that is currently under construction. Due to strict OSHA requirements and such, we were forced to acquire a hard hat and safety glasses while working on-site. On my way I stopped by Lowe's and bought what I thought would be the coolest safety glasses in stock. "Coolest" meaning that they really aren't attractive at all, but in-fact quite ridiculous looking. The only good thing about them is that they have this reflective sheen a la J-Lo in her "Jenny From the Block" video. The helmet is just plain white color and is remarkably comfortable. Like a blank canvas...

Goals for the week:
1. Find out a prevention method for "helmet hair"
2. Add "cool" stickers to the hard hat. Such as my favorite, "I'm radioactive and so are you!" sticker. I'm sure the brutish construction staff will get a kick out of that one. I pray I won't be beaten.
3. Develop an anti-fog process for the stylish safety glasses. Maybe I need to buy some of that scuba diving serum or use some good old-fashioned spit.
4. Buy a bright orange vest with reflective material. This will go over my normal work clothes. I'm actually not kidding about this...the site managers requested this!
5. Eat lots of whole grain and avoid fatty and cholesterolic (did I just make this word up?) foods.

CAPTAIN, ABORT!

This might ignite a lot of comments, but due to the low visibility of this blog, more than likely it will not.

So, in South Dakota there is not a single Doctor available to perform abortions. Now I don't advocate abortions for situations where it is practically a form of birth control, but I don't think it should be illegal in that case or in any other case. A woman (or person) should always have first priority over their own body, be it for abortion, self mutilation (tattoos/piercings) and the ultimate end of life right (suicide). That's just my opinion as a supporter of personal freedoms being of a higher level than any other rights.

I find it incredible that people like this exist: http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/03/31/griffin.abortion/index.html

The way this country is going, a lot of women may have to travel to Mexico or other neighboring countries in order to receive this service. From my experience in other countries, the quality of medical care does not meet the same standards as that in the US. Although, this may be changing based on my recent experiences of trying to get a prescription filled. Does it really take 3 days to receive approval for a prescription? Ridiculous. Mexico actually seems enticing.

Maybe Canada will help for the right amount of money? But see, that's another problem. It shouldn't be based on whether you can pay for the service. It should be available no matter what economic class. I don't agree that it should be as easy as going to Starbucks and buying a latte, but it should be offered as an option through proper psychological counseling and offered in a system where a decision, no matter what it is, is respected and affordable.

/rant

EDUCATE YOURSELF - Volume 1

So I haven't blogged in quite a while. Just to duck more responsibility, I'll let you, the reader, do a little bit of work. As I kick back and relax, not blogging, why don't you peruse this information just for kicks. There is a trivia bee coming up you know!

Cholesterol - Yes, I have it, and so do you. I'm dragging everyone I know into this fight! Un-Clog.

Dilated Peoples - Their new album titled "20/20" is genius. Take a listen if you get the opportunity. Dope, not Wack.

Klystron - My wonderful company makes these useful RF components. Nerdy.