Pauls Rants & Revelations

I recently read a press release about a company I thought was quite good. “Thought” being the operative word.

In it, they said they wanted to”spread their services to all corners of the globe”.

Now normally since we hear this term often we think nothing of it. But if you think about it with the same amount of brain power it takes to estimate a waiters tip, you’ll see that it is a misnomer and a fairly un-intelligent thing to say.

A globe, in fact, has no corners. It has no sides either. It’s a globe. A spherical shape that technically has no beginning or end. So why do we keep saying it?

A better way to say it is “all parts of the globe” or, to be melodramatic,  “to the far reaches of the world”. At least that way one would be factually correct.

Just a  random thought to get your brain juices working.

-Cheers

So it happened that I was in the Apple store in Bridgeport Village when they were rolling out the latest and greatest version of Apples new OS. I was there to help out a friend but I was quite taken with Leopard once I got to playing with it.

For instance, the Time Machine is nothing short of spectacular. You can save a file, make changes to it, and still recover an original version that is weeks old at the click of a button. Also, the nifty scrolling features in the Finder and the fact you can preview files without actually opening them is really impressive. Also, from what my boss said, it takes full advantage of the Intel chips power so everything is just plain faster.

I haven’t gotten my copy yet but am planning on obtaining it (leagally, mind you) soon. I almost had one of the Apple store blokes convinced to give me one off the shelf for free but it didn’t pan out (bummer).

Despite the fact that everyone is toting this is as the great OS to date, there are still some that are having problems. Reports of BSODs on the Apple support forums got me worried a bit, but the fix was as simpel as booting to DVD and selecting “Archive and Update”.

If you have any great stories (either good or bad) leave a comment. Once I get my copy Ill let you know how it goes.

-Cheers

Now I normally don’t succumb to the outside pressure of “this is what is manly and you are a man to have it” type of crap, but this really caught my eye as it goes with what I want in my house.

I was over a Car Guy Garage and I spot some metal cabinets that looked really interesting. The aluminum garage cabinets are what really caught my eye because I was thinking “that would look great in my kitchen”. No really, it would. The aluminum is easy to clean and the finish that comes with it is really pretty impressive. The layout of the cabinets is also quite well thought out so I would be really a smart thing to use them as kitchen cabinets.

I just have to come up with the cash to get them. And, you know, convince my wife that it would be a good thing. She did after all tell me to get a motorcycle, so she would probably go for this as well.

-Cheers

I just finished reading this really great article about where the music industry is headed and I have got to share it with everyone.

When Pigs Fly: The Death of Oink, the Birth of Dissent, and a Brief History of Record Industry Suicide.

It is one of the most well written and inspired articles I have ever read regarding the future of music distribution and I will be working on following the proposed steps given by the author to help the bands.

If you want, you can Digg it here.

Cheers

I am seeing more and more on the streets people carrying around skateboards. At first I thought “Cool. The more skaters the better.”

But upon closer inspection I found that they weren’t actually doing anything other than walking around with them. This got me a bit confused so I watched a group of them while at the local Starbucks (which should have been my first clue). The entire time they sat there with their boards close at hand. They didn’t ride them or do any tricks, just sat there. Then when they got up to leave, they didn’t ride away as I was expecting. They walked.

No mind, there was no posted “Skateboarding Prohibited” signs in evidence. So I can only surmise that they were not actually skateboarders. They were pretending to be just because it make them look cool. This was also confirmed by their choice of clothing. Very high-dollar threads that no one in their right mind would want to get ruined by failing at a trick.

My question about this is when did it become a fashion accessorie to carry around a skateboard? It is almost useless to them just carrying it around so why do it? For the chicks? No, as they were a group of guys and the girls were wrapped up in their own stuff. So if not to get chicks, then why?

Its sad, in my opinion, that a noble sport (yes, it is noble) such as skateboarding has fallen from something that was once considered “punk” to now be considered “hip”.

I mean you don’t see people walking around with snowboards or fencing blades, do you?

As one who use to skate religiously, I can only hope that this is a phase in fashion. If not, then I can only assume that this ridiculous trend will continue and those who participate in it will fall by the wayside when they finally realize that looking the part is not enough.

-Cheers

Do they call it french toast in France? Do they call them belgium waffles in Belgium? Is it just ‘food’ in China?

What if Americo Vespuce (map maker on Columbus’s voyage) was named Bob? United States of Bob? Has sort of a ring to it in a fucked up sort of way.

If a man states his opinion in the woods and a woman is not around to hear it, is he still wrong?

If I could go back in time, what would I do? Kill Hitler? Save JFK? Buy Apple stock? What would you do?

When I’m 37, will I still look as good as I do now? Do I still look as good now as I did at 17? Do you?

Like the title says, just some random thoughts. More to follow later.

- Cheers

More about migraines than anything else but the title sounded good. I have had these blasted things for a great many years and although I have tried just about every cure, none of them has really helped. Even the prescription stuff didn’t do squat. This is because you have to take it before you get a migraine and frankly I am not wasting $25 per pill on what could be a normal headache.

I used to think it was stress but I really dont have that much going on that would cause them. Perhaps my wife and I’s decision to get a kitten is weighing more heavily on me then I thought.

OK. That was all I had the mental capacity to put down. To bed with me.

-Cheers

I went to Starbucks for my weekly dose of superficial culture and I saw something that I was not really expecting. It was a shirt.

Now, I know most people wear shirts when they go out, but this one said “Im not with stupid anymore”. At this I thought, “That is cool. Good for you.”

I went up to the woman to tell her that I was glad she wasn’t with who ever “stupid” was, when I overheard her talking to her friend. It was a brief bit of conversation that I gleamed but it was enough to confirm that this “stupid” person had definitely left some of their idiocy behind for this girls use (yes, she went from woman to girl in a blink of her vapid brown eyes).

It was quite sad, really. I guess she didn’t rid herself of ‘stupid’ fast enough. Which just goes to prove, that if you are with stupid (often evidenced by a cheesy t-shirt saying as much), you should immediately remove yourself from their presence and go to the library. Studies have proven that Stupid-itis is easily cured with large doses of knowledge taken often.

In fact, you should probably just go to the library now. A good defense is a good offense and all that.

-Cheers

After being somewhat reemed on the cost of my dentist appointment, I was looking at some means of alternative incomes (unfortunately the local nudie bar wasn’t hiring) when I came across a seminar in New York City called the Wealth Expo.

From the sounds of it it is not one of those “you’ll be a millionaire overnight” type of events, but more of an education seminar telling people how to invest wisely their money into various ventures. It’s sponsored by MyWallSt.net: Your Financial Social Network which is a leading financial news site so it seems like it would be packed with good info.

Here is the event schedule for the next coming series of seminars:

• Friday, 10/19: 1 p.m.-6:30 p.m. EDT w/ a cocktail hour to follow
• Saturday, 10/20: 9 a.m.-6:30 p.m. EDT w/ a cocktail hour to follow
• Sunday, 10/21: 9 a.m.-4 p.m. EDT (no cocktail hour)

I’m rather fond of alcohol so that would kill off the sunday event for me, but on friday they have a class on tax free wealth accumulation, so I would be all over that one.

If you have been to a seminar from this vendor or got a questions about it leave a comment. If you are going to the event please come back and tell me how it was (if I didn’t see you there).

-Cheers

I went to the dentist today to get a couple of cavities filled. I thought it would be a simple ‘drill and fill’ but it was more like a ‘gouge and paste’ kind of affair. Evidently the tooth was so bad that they had to remove about 80% of it before plastering in the new tooth.

For my trouble, I got slapped with an $80 bill. Evidently the insurance I use doesn’t really cover what they call ‘restorative fillings’ so I’m left to pay the difference.

You know, when you use to loose a tooth, the Tooth Fairy gave you a quarter at the least. Now, when you get older, you have to pay someone else to do the same function. And if you don’t thing 80% loss of a tooth doesn’t count, you try sitting in the chair and have it done After the Novocaine wears off a bit.

All I know is that when my kids loose a tooth, I’m thinking of leaving a 10 spot or something. That way if they ever need it taken out they’ll be covered.

-Cheers