I just wanted to send a hearty Merry Christmas out to all that are reading. I hope Santa is kind to you, and that you have a most enjoyable festive season.

And so are the rest of the people “out there”. I admit that I am always amazed at the complete stupidity of drivers out on the roads. From driving too fast, to changing lanes without signaling, to tailgaiting, to being completely clueless.

I have a lot of respect for those that have to deal with these morons of the road. Yes I have respect for bus drivers, couriers, and even taxi drivers.

However, when they start driving moronically, I really get angry.

Lately I have had many incidents with moronic drivers. I think the holidays drive people insane. Todays was with a bus driver.

I was travelling along Douglas towards work, and I was in the left lane doing 50 (like a good little driver). I wanted to be in the right lane, so I slowed to their speed, put on my turn signal, then moved over with plenty of space to spare. I happened to pull in front of a school bus.

The street I wanted to turn off onto was coming up so I put on my turn signal, and started to slow down. I checked my rear view, and noticed that the school bus was rapidly gaining on me. By this time I was braking so my brake lights were on (and my turn signal still on). As I started my turn, the school bus behind me layed on his horn.

Why? Because he is a moron. Either he thought I cut him off earlier, or he wasn’t paying attention to what I was doing in making my turn (more likely).

I hold bus drivers and big rig drivers to a higher standard when it comes to their driving. They have many more people lives in their hands. When something like this happens, all I can do is shake my head and hope they get a good rest over the holidays.

Here is John. He made the switch, and he will never go back.

This is a really great spoof on the Apple ads.

I have always loathed spam. I think it is despicable, and completely counter to what the Internet used to be. I remember the good old days when backgrounds were grey, text was black, links were blue, and frames didn’t exist. Selling stuff on the Internet at that time was poo-pooed upon. My how times have changed.

And so have spammers. I got some spam this morning. What a gross taste. What got me was their disclaimer:

xxxxxxx.com is a respectable firm and is not involved in unsolicited email sending of any kind. Our strict policies forbid any spam activities and you are receiving this email because you, or someone on your behalf have opted-in to one of our online services, or to one of our partners and expressed a direct interest in services of this category. If you would like to unsubscribe your e-mail address from our mailing list, we will do this for you. Please CLICK HERE and type in your e-mail address on the form given to you.

Hmmm, I know I didn’t sign up for their “services”, so that must mean that or someone on my behalf did. Noone that knows me would sign me up. My best guess is that some email harvester got my email address, and on my behalf expressed interest the the spam senders. Like I said, very despicable. To me this is such an obvious way to get around laws preventing spam.

I hate spam.

Fa la la la la, la la la la (or something like that). It is the holiday season, and once again I feel the crunch. I have been to two Christmas paries this past weekend (one of them hosted by Sue and I). This coming weekend is chock full of holiday things to do. The tree is up, the lights are strung. Hmmm, what else?

Oh yeah, purchasing thoughtful gifts. Hmmm. Today is the 10th. If I do my calculations left that means I have 15 days until Chrsitmas. Since I can’t buy stuff on the 25th, that means I have 14 days to find my treasures.

Aaaaah. I better get cracking. For some reason this year I am havin troubles getting into the Christmas spirit. Don’t get me wrong, I am enjoying seeing family and friends, but there is a lack of cheeriness that is missing. I dunno, I swear that time speeds up the closer I get to Xmas.

One pet project I had for the underlying code was sub topics. Not sure why I wanted this. Must be something to do with how I like to organize data.

Anywho. This code is not complete. It may not be readily apparent to you the casual reader, but it is to me.

If you are reading this, look up a little to the filed under section. There should be a subtopic there. Nifty huh? 🙂

Today I went for my first real ride in quite a while. It felt great. I have had some health issues that have forced me to sit on the sidelines since the end of October. I was finally cleared to resume my normal activities, so I did with style.

I met with Mark at the dump this morning to go for a spin at the dump. It was perfect. The fall air was a little crisp, and the ground was just a little damp. It made the dirt perfectly tacky, but the rocks seemed to be coated with a slick layer of algae. This is normal for this neck of the woods. This first couple wet rides of the season can be a little dicey while everyone learns to ride in the wet all lover again.

The coolest part of the ride was the fog though. For most of the ride, it was clear, but on one trail we got high enough to get into the fog. I just love how it feels on my face as I ride through, and how it hushes the sounds of the city. Spectacular.

I had digger and Yoshi with me, and we weren’t planning on doing any epic rides. The route we took was just perfect for what I wanted. I felt pretty strong all day. I certainly didn’t feel like I had been off my bike for a month. The dogs just loved it. They ran like there was no tomorrow. When Mark and I stopped for a rest, they continued to romp through the woods. Near the end of the ride they started to slow down. Hard to tell, but I could see subtle clues. As soon as I let them back in the truck, they layed down and fell asleep right away.

After the ride I stopped for a cup of coffee and an oversized, home made oatmeal chocolate chip cookie. Mmmm, fantastic.

It’s great to be back. Later on this week I might be heading out for a night ride! I can’t wait.

One mailing list I am on covers interesting or weird news items. Todays email contained a jewel about how a lawsuit on behalf of some New York children that has been filed against McDonalds blaming McDonalds for their health problems and obesity.

How ??? What??? This is completely ridiculous.

First off, take some responsibility for your own actions or inactions. Eating at McDonalds every day can in no way be considered healthy. It is not their fault if you make the choices you do.

What would people say if an obese person walked into McDonalds, ordered lunch, and was refused based on the grounds they were obese? A new lawsuit would be entered claiming that McDonalds discriminates against fat people.

They are damned if they do, and damned if they don’t.

Something about this story just got to me.

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http://www.medrants.com/archives/000977.html
http://news.findlaw.com/ap/f/1310/11-20-2002/20021120144502_53.html

From Coffee Break
AND A TOY FOR THE KIDS

McDonald’s has asked a federal judge in New York to throw out
a class-action lawsuit filed on behalf of New York kids who —
the suit claims — have suffered health problems such as
diabetes, high blood pressure, and obesity from dining too
often beneath the Golden Arches. A lawyer for the plaintiffs
accused McDonald’s of being responsible for a national epidemic
of obesity among children, by serving up food high in fat,
sugar and cholesterol. One of the plaintiffs is a teenager from
the Bronx who said he ate at McDonald’s for every meal while
he lived at a homeless shelter for three years. Another plain-
tiff — a 13-year-old Staten Island boy who carries 278 pounds
on his 5-foot, 4-inch frame — said he eats at Mickey D’s three
or four times a week. A lawyer for the fast-food chain argued
that McDonald’s should not be held accountable for the health
problems of people who eat there, because people have known
for a long time what happens when they eat hamburgers and
fries.

<inhale>

Mmmm, I love the smell of a freshly printed CD. Today the CD of choice happens to be the newly released AudioSlave disc.

For a little background info, AudioSlave is comprised of the Rage Against The Machine drummer (Brad Wilk), basist (Tim Commerford), guitarist (Tom Morello), and Chris Cornell formerly of Soundgarden.

Quite simply this album is amazing. So many different sounds and tempos, yet there is an underlying sound that links everything together. It is hard fo rme to put into words, but the first time I listened to the entire album was such a treat. It almost gave me goosebumps. This album was everything I was hoping for, and then doubled! It seems like such a steal for only $15.

There are several songs that must be turned up to fully appreciate them. Then there are a few slower ones that just lull you to submission before beating you with the next song.

If you even remotely liked Soundgarden or Rage Against the Machine, I have two words for you. BUY IT!

Not later today, not tomorrow. Leave the computer, run to your nearest record store, slap down the cash, and prepare yourself.

Ever wondered what the internet thinks of you? Well, head over to the Googlism page, and find out.

I sound like an incredibly interesting guy. Here are my results.