tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-86446785585261540412023-07-19T01:30:12.304-05:00Skyrocket PenguinInvesting in the AbsurdJameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06889958204848033620noreply@blogger.comBlogger21125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8644678558526154041.post-29902654952565734692010-05-16T19:44:00.006-05:002010-05-16T21:46:01.222-05:00The Grand Tour<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFfscQ-NATKTjMetOKJuYUo6vg21_QiKazK6fa9yN_wfRbMENhUiQIjzlX4lzE3r7uqvqx4gkU3vwrhb2UQRRac1sfiV0HSlnzARkGfDn9Q-xTA0RRclPOaFuhuPLlAFkM3v3gCoido5Z1/s1600/Spring+2010.jpg"><br /></a><br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dxmla2IMy-NmkNKXar7oulQ9xiw7nWwk4Gy_Gw3snjAU9WFD1azpEaUfSirRU1SRMsUd5JVlCdQLbYHOaMW2Q' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe>Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06889958204848033620noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8644678558526154041.post-74032898526021626972010-05-16T18:48:00.004-05:002010-05-16T19:40:22.784-05:00Moving from 100 Colgate StDad- Here are a selection of images with my comments.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEih7NmcAQSzyTUoMY6zrRxKmVQUWvYzzUW1Z-fT6k52p6y8VLVH1DLa8gXIYBH21iTZrPmnvpfSbzH802YCBAoTXa1vAbp7EWG4tNmAKZ0V1Zub7Iad8E8fFaj-aUV_Kl7O8P-AHtcBkMCi/s1600/Window.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEih7NmcAQSzyTUoMY6zrRxKmVQUWvYzzUW1Z-fT6k52p6y8VLVH1DLa8gXIYBH21iTZrPmnvpfSbzH802YCBAoTXa1vAbp7EWG4tNmAKZ0V1Zub7Iad8E8fFaj-aUV_Kl7O8P-AHtcBkMCi/s320/Window.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5472021604240223426" border="0" /></a>This is the window through which we'll move the boxes. There's nothing below it except the baseboard heater and that phone line jack to the right, neither of which should present a problem.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjskvRglGGqW8GHq7faP8KU1tZKy4VLGsuLHNt12F22BnJimqElvmOTMyhqPci6F51ZCdjEo14mgYA7ZIhWLknlWTmbFNcjZ-1h9pyC_-IemQ0pSi9UL1jEqzXTHRDsFMCyMVKrCfyPIpKV/s1600/Sill+with+2x4+to+protect+plastic+sill+wall.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjskvRglGGqW8GHq7faP8KU1tZKy4VLGsuLHNt12F22BnJimqElvmOTMyhqPci6F51ZCdjEo14mgYA7ZIhWLknlWTmbFNcjZ-1h9pyC_-IemQ0pSi9UL1jEqzXTHRDsFMCyMVKrCfyPIpKV/s320/Sill+with+2x4+to+protect+plastic+sill+wall.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5472021608032464194" border="0" /></a>Here is a view of the sill. I've put a 2x4 in there to show you how we can protect the 1" high plastic wall. However, there is nothing to keep that 2x4 in place. We need a solution for this. Perhaps we can place a heavy blanket or similar over the entire sill and slide boxes over that. Did you keep the rubber floor mats from the VW?<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyTt5vhKWQp3khQtTE-yOuj-sYjhykScidNaxvXiBjYMmfsuVvq01FqyA_-Y26hWNQun3V3dZOC64eAvv-hpWOG530CF4EyuUlGNshJewULFB2BKh69oL74K-QMrD6rXrlTo0fXZm9XrWr/s1600/Floor+of+fire+escape.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyTt5vhKWQp3khQtTE-yOuj-sYjhykScidNaxvXiBjYMmfsuVvq01FqyA_-Y26hWNQun3V3dZOC64eAvv-hpWOG530CF4EyuUlGNshJewULFB2BKh69oL74K-QMrD6rXrlTo0fXZm9XrWr/s320/Floor+of+fire+escape.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5472021612124426002" border="0" /></a>This is the floor of the fire escape. There's some surface rust, but everything seems structurally sound. There is 38" x 52" of usable space. The largest box I have is 20" x 20", so there will be enough room for one of us to stand out here and position the box on the platform.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIAlVtVpNkXpsK3EOol9F89teygo-ncDpBSNaq7J3Hni6bbyA0YjoFM1RWRkIsFylY0nzK1zf7SAlWB5WbcJ1JDp5DpDfRHUVRve5io5bcnkEQ0c0AGD7ADBN8xyR4QcYXEAfn9RuQoD6-/s1600/Complete+look+at+vertical+railing.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIAlVtVpNkXpsK3EOol9F89teygo-ncDpBSNaq7J3Hni6bbyA0YjoFM1RWRkIsFylY0nzK1zf7SAlWB5WbcJ1JDp5DpDfRHUVRve5io5bcnkEQ0c0AGD7ADBN8xyR4QcYXEAfn9RuQoD6-/s320/Complete+look+at+vertical+railing.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5472021617823248530" border="0" /></a>This is the vertical post to which we will affix the pole. While it would be ideal to nestle the pole into the channel of this angle iron, the railing at the top of this post prevents perfect alignment.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMmmJngnSq8FC2OcXnqKiDP739QNsNFKuxA9YDOCQGxMtUGyq4oks7egCUU8CwLNNkmfbQkCQPFq6K-f7wdErabzDVM1QmP_DYtKRC5DaZd1hNzprLPbWcnXFWaT5uXEvEUxZRorx5rf8Y/s1600/Focus+of+vertical+railing+to+which+we%27ll+affix+pole.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMmmJngnSq8FC2OcXnqKiDP739QNsNFKuxA9YDOCQGxMtUGyq4oks7egCUU8CwLNNkmfbQkCQPFq6K-f7wdErabzDVM1QmP_DYtKRC5DaZd1hNzprLPbWcnXFWaT5uXEvEUxZRorx5rf8Y/s320/Focus+of+vertical+railing+to+which+we%27ll+affix+pole.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5472021617821761490" border="0" /></a>This is a second look at the post.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggjd0nLD-FUSSFcCltvXGxUvD3LUIK_QnYCodOhbGEVSDOfcf2gKLe34iVKPB4oBaSDruNkmPCO847HGtv57t0Kiu4teEWzFRqfvcOTnieB0j4nRgxnkWvB6jBxnePItPr1fC14vY9Ft6g/s1600/Elevated+view+of+vertical+railing.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggjd0nLD-FUSSFcCltvXGxUvD3LUIK_QnYCodOhbGEVSDOfcf2gKLe34iVKPB4oBaSDruNkmPCO847HGtv57t0Kiu4teEWzFRqfvcOTnieB0j4nRgxnkWvB6jBxnePItPr1fC14vY9Ft6g/s320/Elevated+view+of+vertical+railing.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5472023394293474162" border="0" /></a>This is an elevated look at the top of the post.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdQcAsmdHN_-LL09QXASYnRy7VKmpVY2nIeyggaIdv0EtDEnpEbolfQgs4tascQlK4uNjp4gy1MBXib874cq2jcYwtg_umO-rU5T9sMsdoy5ELKtc7X8DsWqoS-_bxt12jmGNvpmdNRDsH/s1600/Detail+of+foot+of+vertical+railing+2.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdQcAsmdHN_-LL09QXASYnRy7VKmpVY2nIeyggaIdv0EtDEnpEbolfQgs4tascQlK4uNjp4gy1MBXib874cq2jcYwtg_umO-rU5T9sMsdoy5ELKtc7X8DsWqoS-_bxt12jmGNvpmdNRDsH/s320/Detail+of+foot+of+vertical+railing+2.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5472023394842813906" border="0" /></a>This is a close up of the foot of the post. The angle iron down here is 2 1/2" wide. In contrast, the railing that bolts to the top of the post is only 1 1/2" wide.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhGsPl0hKLAl5aED0HYbGYcZWBWCQ5EnKrFc_Bs3YdcLHko6jZ5VSuh_M5pBkSsJ99bBE3-Miq1-bJdKSHsGIJOgqv8pZEmezyEmvGNVRSfRtjQy4s9dTkWDl0MpJuwvWRXpmPCWenmfHu/s1600/Looking+down+at+sidewalk+%28note+powerline+to+the+left,+intersecting+license+plate+on+car%29.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhGsPl0hKLAl5aED0HYbGYcZWBWCQ5EnKrFc_Bs3YdcLHko6jZ5VSuh_M5pBkSsJ99bBE3-Miq1-bJdKSHsGIJOgqv8pZEmezyEmvGNVRSfRtjQy4s9dTkWDl0MpJuwvWRXpmPCWenmfHu/s320/Looking+down+at+sidewalk+%28note+powerline+to+the+left,+intersecting+license+plate+on+car%29.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5472023403214719922" border="0" /></a><br />This is a view looking down on the sidewalk. The guy at the bottom will need to pull the platform away from the basement entrance and trash can house to the right as the platform descends. Note also the power line in the left side of the shot: It is the black line that is not part of the sidewalk channel grid. It shouldn't be difficult to avoid this.<br /><br />I see two issues still to resolve: 1. I need to find a way to keep both the upper and lower sashes as close the ceiling as possible so we have as much room to work as possible. 2. It seems that the pole will have to lean back slightly to accommodate the top railing. This isn't a problem per se, but it isn't ideal. We'll need to affix or otherwise lash the pole to the post very securely, because it will want to wiggle out of position as we place weight on the pulley at the top.<br /><br />One more thing: We need to keep the box located on the platform as we lower it. If you can screw eyes near opposing edges of the platform, we can use a couple of bungee cords to meet this need.<br /><br />The heaviest box I have is probably around 70 pounds, but I'd like to use this system to get the piano down as well, which weighs around 100 pounds. My bookcases will likely have to go down the stairs, as will the couch, mattress, coffee table, and box spring.<br /><br />Let me know your thoughts. Talk to you soon!Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06889958204848033620noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8644678558526154041.post-55928611950295650442008-12-26T16:24:00.004-05:002008-12-27T15:21:54.314-05:00Jersey City on Christmas DayMy daily walk to the train looks a little different on Christmas morning.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE7N63YVf1nr-9JS0wlmdM5TBwQsN2jJHHlRuNezMC5S1L1UdZK2sXdvu0ikD7nD9FzFWyHHZttV7HNqGD4CzFIq0zC98G87xuydT2GUb7oa9u2aRgGKx5y_KyI-AHNFRFNkKtneF8uIfm/s1600-h/IMG_1984.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 237px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE7N63YVf1nr-9JS0wlmdM5TBwQsN2jJHHlRuNezMC5S1L1UdZK2sXdvu0ikD7nD9FzFWyHHZttV7HNqGD4CzFIq0zC98G87xuydT2GUb7oa9u2aRgGKx5y_KyI-AHNFRFNkKtneF8uIfm/s320/IMG_1984.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5284555892149768578" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ0fh3JZx8TQ50gmjRn2uOo2vnOE47GyxyhPjFqbWIAbqaGYgJmmfPFvC6eEMZAjBB1xhlKbG0gMfZSR7VATXioSbNA7_7gle7txdt0uxQqcLgK5ghtee8qD6QX_0QMF5k12YGwje85lee/s1600-h/IMG_1985.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 218px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ0fh3JZx8TQ50gmjRn2uOo2vnOE47GyxyhPjFqbWIAbqaGYgJmmfPFvC6eEMZAjBB1xhlKbG0gMfZSR7VATXioSbNA7_7gle7txdt0uxQqcLgK5ghtee8qD6QX_0QMF5k12YGwje85lee/s320/IMG_1985.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5284555893489127810" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj69Szw1Fv8gwoUaVUjnUXdLu9drEkaPtdoSGX_JU6geeF8whgFsJvKbSvBzW6vqodBlnAoJOsv_YtnMt3BpnF0uGoYeGE3PvNWrQEOTNq2aGcHm16Mj_Maif_DM47EoqmYng_WQVIXa9Ht/s1600-h/IMG_1987.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 255px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj69Szw1Fv8gwoUaVUjnUXdLu9drEkaPtdoSGX_JU6geeF8whgFsJvKbSvBzW6vqodBlnAoJOsv_YtnMt3BpnF0uGoYeGE3PvNWrQEOTNq2aGcHm16Mj_Maif_DM47EoqmYng_WQVIXa9Ht/s320/IMG_1987.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5284555899215756642" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivIMgnt1TZQH6vtmvZeFC_xTw9jzTUjiPyBb9vW6I1HKuBv1ZhLMs5yGB4EJqmUtiQuLwNTy-0DfZtf4V0qs5VMQ-ljOsjVRkirSfDMFDPTWBk9HSbKpRjUCXj4H5LkwuGV4_ogCjKuHKv/s1600-h/IMG_1990.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 258px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivIMgnt1TZQH6vtmvZeFC_xTw9jzTUjiPyBb9vW6I1HKuBv1ZhLMs5yGB4EJqmUtiQuLwNTy-0DfZtf4V0qs5VMQ-ljOsjVRkirSfDMFDPTWBk9HSbKpRjUCXj4H5LkwuGV4_ogCjKuHKv/s320/IMG_1990.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5284555910075630642" border="0" /></a>Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06889958204848033620noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8644678558526154041.post-8515579646448114842008-12-26T15:58:00.006-05:002009-06-17T21:45:08.381-05:00Good TelevisionI've become so cynical about television that I consider "good television" to be as likely as penguins that are grown and packed in Exeter, California.<br /><br />But good television still exists, or at least it did: I've commented how much I like <a href="http://www.hulu.com/watch/589/arrested-development-pilot">Arrested Development</a>, but it was my memory of a surprise ending on one episode of Major Dad, an otherwise mediocre show with an occasional hint of emotional relevance, that keeps my cynicism at bay. I was happy to discover it again on the wonder that is Hulu. <br /><br /><object height="296" width="512"><param name="movie" value="http://www.hulu.com/embed/foFB8KL92_WNZMWfXVOoWQ"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><embed src="http://www.hulu.com/embed/foFB8KL92_WNZMWfXVOoWQ" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" height="296" width="512"></embed></object>Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06889958204848033620noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8644678558526154041.post-13725159816815095692008-12-26T15:42:00.008-05:002008-12-28T21:48:39.721-05:00It Wouldn't Be Christmas Without a Dick Joke<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggDwZsLCeuRD76m2_5qmXSljXbl6FlgjD8yWLzHLhoTEMS3LWRPrK6_Es0kju54_pMVYGtF2NkPAOS16ZpUQyAfwxOq5esbN1lbwiOuwbLm3d90VmDPAyZUQZVhgiDAEcs2GF76yT2xzHV/s1600-h/IMG_1996.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggDwZsLCeuRD76m2_5qmXSljXbl6FlgjD8yWLzHLhoTEMS3LWRPrK6_Es0kju54_pMVYGtF2NkPAOS16ZpUQyAfwxOq5esbN1lbwiOuwbLm3d90VmDPAyZUQZVhgiDAEcs2GF76yT2xzHV/s320/IMG_1996.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5284205602456295186" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.kurtfitzpatrick.com/">The guy</a> who sent me this card also turned me onto Arrested Development, a show so funny I gave it to people on DVD for Christmas.Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06889958204848033620noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8644678558526154041.post-42587773857383077172008-05-12T17:51:00.012-05:002009-06-19T10:07:05.661-05:00Abandoning Disbelief, or Why We're Here.There's few things we at Skyrocket Penguin find more entertaining than utter ridiculousness presented with an unqualified expectation on the part of the presenter that we, the audience, take it seriously (see High Five, below, for a perfect example).<br /><br />Our fondness for all things quixotic is what <a href="http://skyrocketpenguin.blogspot.com/2007/06/welcome-to-skyrocket-penguin.html">borne the blog</a>: Penguins <span style="font-style: italic;">might</span> skyrocket when our backs are turned, just as windmills <span style="font-style: italic;">might</span> be giants. If you just ignore your disbelief (if you're only suspending it, try a little harder) either is possible.<br /><br />This enthusiasm of ours may have been planted in our minds by this music video for <span style="font-style: italic;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Graceland-Paul-Simon/dp/B0002EQ7E2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1211458392&sr=1-1">You Can Call Me Al</a> </span>when we were the most impressionable of youths. The guy on the left is Paul Simon, the song's writer and singer. I don't know the guy on the right, but I think he once took a <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0089670/">European vacation</a>.<br /><br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/ULjCSK0oOlI&hl=en&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/ULjCSK0oOlI&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /><br /><br />It's the nuances that make us laugh hardest: Keep your eye on the glass of water, then the piccolo.Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06889958204848033620noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8644678558526154041.post-19092093878666672742008-04-12T16:41:00.004-05:002008-04-12T22:44:05.394-05:00Memo to Mary Kay<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPobn9YAxLfZxcriCOBHacgVZx4SNKKIMS00wClFGjjGC6Tfz2bCrO3BErjfjhXfmxab8HjoEe5VWAgcSdWMP0KZ9u-TwjsBU6ScAgF7jbbA41-rk09hWHf6n7Jr81hMQPYratqgDqblgK/s1600-h/IMG_0456.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPobn9YAxLfZxcriCOBHacgVZx4SNKKIMS00wClFGjjGC6Tfz2bCrO3BErjfjhXfmxab8HjoEe5VWAgcSdWMP0KZ9u-TwjsBU6ScAgF7jbbA41-rk09hWHf6n7Jr81hMQPYratqgDqblgK/s400/IMG_0456.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5185879834375068162" border="0" /></a>MEMORANDUM <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p>To: Mary Kay, Mary Kay Incorporated</p> <p class="MsoNormal">From: Sent Jointly by The Employees of the Cadillac Brand, General Motors; The Cadillac Owners Club of America; Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson; Tim Gunn, Liz Claiborne Inc.; The American Civil Liberties Union; The American Family Association; The Beach Boys; The United States Coalition of Gas Station Franchise Owners; Wayne Newton; The United States Conference of Mayors; Mary E. Peters, Secretary, the U.S. Department of Transportation; The United States House of Representatives; The United States Senate; The Office of the President of the United States of America</p>Re: Hurting America<br /><br /><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p>Mary Kay:</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p>With few exceptions, pink Cadillacs ceased being appropriate forms of transportation in 1959, and as your salespeople are neither Elvis Presley nor Wayne Newton, we strongly encourage you to revise your company car policy. </p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p>Cadillacs are available in a variety of colors that will both avoid defiling the highways, byways, and thoroughfares of our great nation and allow your salespeople to do their jobs with their dignity intact. </p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p>It is both in your best interest and ours to discontinue polluting our culture. We ask that you please take action in this matter so we do not have to.</p>Signed,<br />The Employees of the Cadillac Brand, General Motors; et alJameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06889958204848033620noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8644678558526154041.post-33404226237161784432008-04-12T15:36:00.000-05:002008-04-12T22:42:07.187-05:00Boss LadySpotted Friday outside my office:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCJpku18vGKWWNdIfWoGSp-5A7ZuN6JQK484HTA1KZcpENklhZbyC7Se7o3holbDN8toGy_OtA78klwkDfKOTmW3EQRo--kRbrIOBZ0US7zSXkvt8x5T1M2IxEuYH-AsocFped4e5-ZFlm/s1600-h/IMG_0471.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCJpku18vGKWWNdIfWoGSp-5A7ZuN6JQK484HTA1KZcpENklhZbyC7Se7o3holbDN8toGy_OtA78klwkDfKOTmW3EQRo--kRbrIOBZ0US7zSXkvt8x5T1M2IxEuYH-AsocFped4e5-ZFlm/s400/IMG_0471.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5185864037485353442" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnVf-4UenB8BYrJiIudqomAK_6Wf2Ki2WNSpUBhttYgMS1mZIJGwSHkVvIR6hhbebf-IIlERdH6oLk9q18BJkG296FEZbj34Q_RzQanJruz7Cen41tF7CwYN9ai8x_9ocKFLR-TW0S4ACa/s1600-h/Copy+of+IMG_0472.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnVf-4UenB8BYrJiIudqomAK_6Wf2Ki2WNSpUBhttYgMS1mZIJGwSHkVvIR6hhbebf-IIlERdH6oLk9q18BJkG296FEZbj34Q_RzQanJruz7Cen41tF7CwYN9ai8x_9ocKFLR-TW0S4ACa/s400/Copy+of+IMG_0472.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5185864037485353426" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifAp6JRZHjpl-QD4nHhkkdMiQXDPkuNCKwGBPaIuVMjxZasfyxThXOadM6yOOtzZOGUewieKs4L5O0FEcJ6GxCubkD0pHhvQ10dIQO5J3mKGYEcNpNqWqfvbmrob9Yh6Wf9_XpHKfD-Tq2/s1600-h/IMG_0472.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifAp6JRZHjpl-QD4nHhkkdMiQXDPkuNCKwGBPaIuVMjxZasfyxThXOadM6yOOtzZOGUewieKs4L5O0FEcJ6GxCubkD0pHhvQ10dIQO5J3mKGYEcNpNqWqfvbmrob9Yh6Wf9_XpHKfD-Tq2/s400/IMG_0472.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5185864041780320754" border="0" /></a>Without a V8? I don't think so.<br /><br />For crap's sake, this is the base model. At least spring for the bigger V6.Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06889958204848033620noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8644678558526154041.post-11956925096366425172008-04-08T20:23:00.011-05:002009-06-17T21:52:33.968-05:00Get Thee to JC: Another Man's Treasure<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcdVBwrIaKjSA83FNnb312vYglaMHL8oOuux3lLgLX8gg2Vb0waM5LvGD09K1cI8uC-_ubKggS7wjHTnOCnmGb79dTrpwETRw3EzYBNxHzL4oeYg8IlAyy3smvSI9PCTxPZAMGZHnzh_8-/s1600-h/IMG_0588.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcdVBwrIaKjSA83FNnb312vYglaMHL8oOuux3lLgLX8gg2Vb0waM5LvGD09K1cI8uC-_ubKggS7wjHTnOCnmGb79dTrpwETRw3EzYBNxHzL4oeYg8IlAyy3smvSI9PCTxPZAMGZHnzh_8-/s320/IMG_0588.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5187052072684067426" border="0" /></a><br />We have been saying how much we like <a href="http://skyrocketpenguin.blogspot.com/2008/04/magic-hour-in-jc.html"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Jersey City (JC)</span></a> for a while now, so we figure it's time to get a little more specific.<br /><br />We at Skyrocket Penguin are not adventurous dressers. Tim <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Gunn</span> would admire our restraint (no midriff) but disapprove of our <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">Rumsfeld</span>-in-retirement attire.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7N2PPdTo6PnWqMzi7n6acdGO5LWpgAjxUYKRrEV8CtQ7v-lZJfdtCvT019paFIIeTpyn4Mumr8rrwlGkfh2M20sws1MPElqyTYLEIveMSno4xtdZZzTiF4UI8N6wh7NmyjRph9gvEW3fx/s1600-h/IMG_0590.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7N2PPdTo6PnWqMzi7n6acdGO5LWpgAjxUYKRrEV8CtQ7v-lZJfdtCvT019paFIIeTpyn4Mumr8rrwlGkfh2M20sws1MPElqyTYLEIveMSno4xtdZZzTiF4UI8N6wh7NmyjRph9gvEW3fx/s320/IMG_0590.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5187052072684067442" border="0" /></a><br />So we occasionally visit <a href="http://www.amtvintage.com/">Another Man's Treasure</a>. You ever find a Fort Knox Softball League T-shirt at a Salvation Army store that you now can't stop wearing? Ever go to a flea market and find a coat that fit like nothing made today because it was made 40 years ago? Another Man's Treasure collects all those and sells them in one place. Specifically, one block away from the Grove Street <a href="http://www.panynj.gov/CommutingTravel/path/html/map.html">PATH</a> stop.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgREYppkB6w70wb_LOIrwpanxvpf297BkfEdUq8aYTRR0sY2aiLSOTb8BpqdisKAN8uUivik5gDA2-7x_Ex9WgiplZeFSaUOHtq3-QLuE1hmeJyH2OurIItP_Kex5QdCa7dU03aQJUieNz3/s1600-h/IMG_0596.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgREYppkB6w70wb_LOIrwpanxvpf297BkfEdUq8aYTRR0sY2aiLSOTb8BpqdisKAN8uUivik5gDA2-7x_Ex9WgiplZeFSaUOHtq3-QLuE1hmeJyH2OurIItP_Kex5QdCa7dU03aQJUieNz3/s320/IMG_0596.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5187052085568969346" border="0" /></a>We bought an "I <span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" >♥</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">JC</span>" shirt that doesn't even resemble something that would fit us. We're saving it for the next generation.Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06889958204848033620noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8644678558526154041.post-69990541128366638632008-04-08T19:51:00.007-05:002008-05-03T12:18:23.552-05:00I'll Never High Five the Same Way Again<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigfBCsASxTERSuyUOyr9zMntTAZRUR-dG0pxlvCKLYocoZzf69ZlgzJboFGd8Cag8AQfBoWe18Vx8HH4m6JIZgGOJVBqbbcpKTVos6WSyM5NKV4DcY6OqrIt5fc-H3cVdHjP6ulk-ylA3J/s1600-h/high+five+2.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigfBCsASxTERSuyUOyr9zMntTAZRUR-dG0pxlvCKLYocoZzf69ZlgzJboFGd8Cag8AQfBoWe18Vx8HH4m6JIZgGOJVBqbbcpKTVos6WSyM5NKV4DcY6OqrIt5fc-H3cVdHjP6ulk-ylA3J/s320/high+five+2.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5187420231597500066" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Why? Here's why:<br /><br /><object classid="clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000" height="388" width="464"><param name="movie" value="http://www2.funnyordie.com/public/flash/fodplayer.swf?6045"><param name="flashvars" value="key=d7e5ec2c55"><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true"><embed flashvars="key=d7e5ec2c55" allowfullscreen="true" quality="high" src="http://www2.funnyordie.com/public/flash/fodplayer.swf?6045" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" height="388" width="464"></embed></object><noscript><a href="http://www.funnyordie.com/videos/d7e5ec2c55">HIGH-FIVE!</a> on <a href="http://www.funnyordie.com/">FunnyOrDie.com</a></noscript><img src="file:///C:/DOCUME%7E1/Jim/LOCALS%7E1/Temp/moz-screenshot.jpg" alt="" /><br /><br />Don't hold back: Watch it again. And the sequel:<br /><br /><object classid="clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000" height="388" width="464"><param name="movie" value="http://www2.funnyordie.com/public/flash/fodplayer.swf?6045"><param name="flashvars" value="key=0e7e65a11c"><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true"><embed flashvars="key=0e7e65a11c" allowfullscreen="true" quality="high" src="http://www2.funnyordie.com/public/flash/fodplayer.swf?6045" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" height="388" width="464"></embed></object><noscript><a href="http://www.funnyordie.com/videos/0e7e65a11c">HIGH-FIVE HOLLYWOOD!</a> on <a href="http://www.funnyordie.com/">FunnyOrDie.com</a></noscript><br /><br />I hear that song from the first video at my gym all the time and wonder what in the hell it's trying to convey. These guys know.Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06889958204848033620noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8644678558526154041.post-17414498357070933102008-04-05T13:32:00.010-05:002008-04-06T21:04:07.540-05:00Magic Hour in JC<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZYoXCZ7tSG1zMskIaKI39HNKf__ynEHEpzd4d2eHa9aLdIYM-PjPR3TMmkJDIevCQGPNA0inC7H_ZYhW0BGVxrSjDACqZdvPThPNIrq6fDlMJFGBTeJ4Cfm4qBk6Xa6y9CYFB-calAshn/s1600-h/IMG_0406.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZYoXCZ7tSG1zMskIaKI39HNKf__ynEHEpzd4d2eHa9aLdIYM-PjPR3TMmkJDIevCQGPNA0inC7H_ZYhW0BGVxrSjDACqZdvPThPNIrq6fDlMJFGBTeJ4Cfm4qBk6Xa6y9CYFB-calAshn/s400/IMG_0406.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5185844650002979250" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">One of the many things I’<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">ve</span> learned from the movie</span> <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Old-School-Widescreen-Unrated-Caplan/dp/B00005JM1F/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1207420385&sr=1-1"><i style="">Old School</i></a> is "<a href="http://www.blogger.com/%5Bhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magic_hour_%28photography%29%5D">magic hour<span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">.</span></a><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">" In the words of director Adam McKay: </span><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal"><o:p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"></o:p>“Magic hour is that time between afternoon and night and it’s sort of optimal shooting time…” Between sunset and nightfall, light reflects off the darkening and colorful sky, so everything is briefly lit much differently than at any other time of the day. Shadows are longer and the light is softer and gives everything a different hue. When people talk about the “long evenings” during summer, they’re probably referring to the longer magic “hour” at that time of year. </p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p>No matter where you are, magic hour does its trick, even in Jersey City neighborhoods.</p><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjANNKVQPHvkk0SGcLMF1mnI3A_SgWdOeYpk67FoabdEIZ2IQ0KHiEJNRubFHRfiaOq40LS1s1EvY_ZQun3367acTBrZWLUKDvh15hv3HT7kwwH3GnLHn9sDo0zeavAo3S0oKtE8_Jqzsd2/s1600-h/IMG_0387.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjANNKVQPHvkk0SGcLMF1mnI3A_SgWdOeYpk67FoabdEIZ2IQ0KHiEJNRubFHRfiaOq40LS1s1EvY_ZQun3367acTBrZWLUKDvh15hv3HT7kwwH3GnLHn9sDo0zeavAo3S0oKtE8_Jqzsd2/s400/IMG_0387.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5185837550422038882" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">These pipes are about 40 feet long, and will be driven into the ground with a steam-powered pile driver until only about 6 feet remain above ground. </span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaNst0Gwv3A8DZ3-flEvEs6k-kmkT6JnRcEAxV0ov8VevasTym8mrVF9j96IlLHYVPXZVpdSFQodKNYeCZkxFmdLUh1frphGwC7caFegBPXpUP80ygDvcmU03ASp3AU7QzmxfnQXe2QEn9/s1600-h/IMG_0400.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaNst0Gwv3A8DZ3-flEvEs6k-kmkT6JnRcEAxV0ov8VevasTym8mrVF9j96IlLHYVPXZVpdSFQodKNYeCZkxFmdLUh1frphGwC7caFegBPXpUP80ygDvcmU03ASp3AU7QzmxfnQXe2QEn9/s400/IMG_0400.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5185837541832104274" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKuIZdJhCHieLvrD-Wn5dctimS-IcemgPkp0jYcAP2MMS9XMpoqFPMY-9XDlhgamePKvLOMwMl5a9LJpiIagryMSB-Srht1K21KfIvYKc0_0U5Ya6l2gq4rIWoXieP1tLeaIBKrWMt78kB/s1600-h/IMG_0415.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKuIZdJhCHieLvrD-Wn5dctimS-IcemgPkp0jYcAP2MMS9XMpoqFPMY-9XDlhgamePKvLOMwMl5a9LJpiIagryMSB-Srht1K21KfIvYKc0_0U5Ya6l2gq4rIWoXieP1tLeaIBKrWMt78kB/s400/IMG_0415.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5185837550422038898" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">This is actually a pristine shot of <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Bam</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">Bam</span>, a neighborhood dog. Puppies just lack focus.</span> <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><br /><br />Streetlights make for interesting lighting, too. </span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPjRrMNd2KIYxYvcr3yYlV_cUF99lrkr9LsLiYXe3F58fIAZghwr20goRBp_0cxxgP8RlaDNqnjl5suxPW3wf5WBeroZd6GAj9JvgFR4Vyvo0RE7yXNGU35zjBdCw2kBxPwJYP-dxhIasb/s1600-h/IMG_0437.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPjRrMNd2KIYxYvcr3yYlV_cUF99lrkr9LsLiYXe3F58fIAZghwr20goRBp_0cxxgP8RlaDNqnjl5suxPW3wf5WBeroZd6GAj9JvgFR4Vyvo0RE7yXNGU35zjBdCw2kBxPwJYP-dxhIasb/s400/IMG_0437.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5185837554717006226" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvorqZDfQw125l77RHPiQukslq3TT-ZSiJxlky-z6PripEXpth73CHSaSsliDMr-8BbVunF4V-ALp8zqcvocMNvtzfmaz6hqsVhDgz6g6psnpMEYCMECtWqI9e_urZMNROJwEVbv8v0ZV5/s1600-h/IMG_0419.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvorqZDfQw125l77RHPiQukslq3TT-ZSiJxlky-z6PripEXpth73CHSaSsliDMr-8BbVunF4V-ALp8zqcvocMNvtzfmaz6hqsVhDgz6g6psnpMEYCMECtWqI9e_urZMNROJwEVbv8v0ZV5/s400/IMG_0419.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5185837554717006210" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioAIgtBC5WMxO8B4USC1DwqnddZhybe5i4p8DuCFUNFUtKZsaUg1aKrnDVRz1VDORSekn0BBeKXXpj88bUfbftJDX1V95__uycWvHaaPdf17-pk8IBKhthO2oaf5tZlxyiSRA-nsoA51VJ/s1600-h/IMG_0450.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioAIgtBC5WMxO8B4USC1DwqnddZhybe5i4p8DuCFUNFUtKZsaUg1aKrnDVRz1VDORSekn0BBeKXXpj88bUfbftJDX1V95__uycWvHaaPdf17-pk8IBKhthO2oaf5tZlxyiSRA-nsoA51VJ/s400/IMG_0450.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5185841978533321122" border="0" /></a>Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06889958204848033620noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8644678558526154041.post-16516119678418636902008-04-01T22:01:00.011-05:002008-04-06T21:05:09.774-05:00Skyrocket Penguin's April Fool's Day Public Service Announcement<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.leconcombre.com/concpost/fr/postcard4/alfred_e_neuman.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 252px; height: 325px;" src="http://www.leconcombre.com/concpost/fr/postcard4/alfred_e_neuman.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />The celebration of April Fool's Day does genuine fools a gross disservice each year by irresponsibly elevating regular Joes to that higher, unearned station. A man with a handful of dog poo from the underside of his car door handle does not a nincompoop make. What's next, "President's Day"? The situation is appalling.<br /><br />Skyrocket Penguin would like to take a moment to point out a few genuine articles that deserve our attention this April 1st.<br /><br /><br />1. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.oldies.com/i/boxart/large/38/081227380427.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 199px; height: 199px;" src="http://www.oldies.com/i/boxart/large/38/081227380427.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>FIA president and billionaire Max Mosley paid five hookers to dress up as Nazi concentration camp guards and their prisoners. They took turns flogging each other (Mosley bled) as well as more typical acts. The entire encounter was captured on a five and one-half hour tape, clips of which are now on the internet. A British tabloid is in possession of the complete tape.<br /><br />I love that I can describe this situation with no snark (or even adjectives) and it still makes me chuckle. If comedy were food, this and the <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2AE847UXu3Q">Jon Edwards hair care seminar</a> could sustain me until Seinfeld returns.<br /><br />2. Creamer, for choosing this particular shade for their trucks:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwLVAv6x892IaTBOo27V9VFuvkK2SDvCk7LNxX8rdzIs16dKzca-nqplZTnJBjeZ5G7tDXcNacZaEuEKz24jzgI59Z0CnTJEtlXibs4eq3HrOrOy88UEDcYpYL61PKXT2yBexEe1X0Q6az/s1600-h/IMG_0452.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwLVAv6x892IaTBOo27V9VFuvkK2SDvCk7LNxX8rdzIs16dKzca-nqplZTnJBjeZ5G7tDXcNacZaEuEKz24jzgI59Z0CnTJEtlXibs4eq3HrOrOy88UEDcYpYL61PKXT2yBexEe1X0Q6az/s400/IMG_0452.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5184481947074271490" border="0" /></a>That isn't a Ford standard color, so Creamer likely had to pay extra for it. Seen today in JC.<br /><br />3. The person who designed this:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnlvZ8WUccgvcXT6_GMeZVw07YQsB0Wn4LbP3_TZyhzNAieGVG0LJGyLH6VLSgP7HeldGiZiqjgnl6oF58Ct-1HfJp5J2NScLbs_QYyqZCAflbPrIjDlk4zaKMMsloPnJo3zv7-mly76Zf/s1600-h/IMG_0453.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnlvZ8WUccgvcXT6_GMeZVw07YQsB0Wn4LbP3_TZyhzNAieGVG0LJGyLH6VLSgP7HeldGiZiqjgnl6oF58Ct-1HfJp5J2NScLbs_QYyqZCAflbPrIjDlk4zaKMMsloPnJo3zv7-mly76Zf/s400/IMG_0453.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5184482733053286674" border="0" /></a>...and the person who drives it, who isn't paid enough. Also seen today in JC.Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06889958204848033620noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8644678558526154041.post-18557351413055895552008-03-31T21:27:00.008-05:002008-04-06T21:05:59.427-05:00A Ray-Finned Fish Known for Its Fearsome Appearance<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5GDZE5ioOqRZCbmRqdkDU_CeB-zsKwcnbojK5sVfWdZ0fo1-22UpnN1wzqD1OIzlVh0I91Hx-ZQaMkQRr0XjUII4ZJS9P1McObJIRdAFgj3WnF0rNBmxMDRWCC8AnqCIjPWs-Y1QKfI_U/s1600-h/IMG_0361.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5GDZE5ioOqRZCbmRqdkDU_CeB-zsKwcnbojK5sVfWdZ0fo1-22UpnN1wzqD1OIzlVh0I91Hx-ZQaMkQRr0XjUII4ZJS9P1McObJIRdAFgj3WnF0rNBmxMDRWCC8AnqCIjPWs-Y1QKfI_U/s320/IMG_0361.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5184099570430875746" border="0" /></a><br />Anyone who's seen an episode of the old Batman TV show knows that <a href="http://drawn.ca/2006/03/28/holy-onomatopoeia-batman/">onomatopoeia</a> is.<br /><br />I wonder if there is a term to describe a word the sound of which is especially descriptive of that word's tenor, tone, or connotation.<br /><br />Like <span style="font-style: italic;">barracuda</span>.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxWtU0ecWaKR6MxDd4daUH9KFEqunWFYZ_WQz1zf8WNztHy4FjxbVEV1QPhKFUDj3_-ttO4qGkG_vR3EsC9Y2F8UO2lQNvjydctDcAvwrrhMXAfeX8Z3AS4HvXveO96Ynk9HetsbKDMg1O/s1600-h/IMG_0362.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxWtU0ecWaKR6MxDd4daUH9KFEqunWFYZ_WQz1zf8WNztHy4FjxbVEV1QPhKFUDj3_-ttO4qGkG_vR3EsC9Y2F8UO2lQNvjydctDcAvwrrhMXAfeX8Z3AS4HvXveO96Ynk9HetsbKDMg1O/s320/IMG_0362.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5184099579020810386" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh82rHzIKjq2yQISvWd-C3b0hDrqT_UJgcHTRvRvjeRxsOciDmNV9MH9JiG0S-s5SwyJ75weJUEImKBle11aUcn7QqobwPXwRSe3bwUyfq3xIW0UHZkRrpFPc4Ir4A2B0SKnrf89gDpetQT/s1600-h/IMG_0364.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh82rHzIKjq2yQISvWd-C3b0hDrqT_UJgcHTRvRvjeRxsOciDmNV9MH9JiG0S-s5SwyJ75weJUEImKBle11aUcn7QqobwPXwRSe3bwUyfq3xIW0UHZkRrpFPc4Ir4A2B0SKnrf89gDpetQT/s320/IMG_0364.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5184099579020810402" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtkl_jcG-SzmoHrbvC2LYI6806HpdyBoKy5_TR1iKhWwSEqELGhU2RzL7_poxNi3FHvzgrwwPl8NNbYov-vTVt8JrRx66C9hXCzB43QWy4ZwLKjjXJiJY5zfkEYlPB6c0joxOBBH4ThL6w/s1600-h/IMG_0378.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtkl_jcG-SzmoHrbvC2LYI6806HpdyBoKy5_TR1iKhWwSEqELGhU2RzL7_poxNi3FHvzgrwwPl8NNbYov-vTVt8JrRx66C9hXCzB43QWy4ZwLKjjXJiJY5zfkEYlPB6c0joxOBBH4ThL6w/s320/IMG_0378.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5184100180316231858" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzUHhyh97qAKUDs6XIanYS79tdluJ8avFZPE3vTrrirp-YvBLeofghZFKJi3XpY3BNeMnf9maVIQSr3ZrnG4LdSTiKGDmxEC_rndpeLke6Yc4L6xBuMzyJzxGiDFUUWJa4xszGxkO8V4zP/s1600-h/IMG_0370.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzUHhyh97qAKUDs6XIanYS79tdluJ8avFZPE3vTrrirp-YvBLeofghZFKJi3XpY3BNeMnf9maVIQSr3ZrnG4LdSTiKGDmxEC_rndpeLke6Yc4L6xBuMzyJzxGiDFUUWJa4xszGxkO8V4zP/s320/IMG_0370.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5184100180316231874" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhao0AzthEKdR3-6K-gLUgyhUkzzoqlX814rTW5CwYgkZzlz9fwZPjWG2Sa-sbxC5gaDwT9aRq77X_KOAfplb7LLXaUC3cAHUJLPXebh_vTrdN7OMd9NCGb2fk4Ruc2TMDqSUQCDcL_SXnO/s1600-h/IMG_0375.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhao0AzthEKdR3-6K-gLUgyhUkzzoqlX814rTW5CwYgkZzlz9fwZPjWG2Sa-sbxC5gaDwT9aRq77X_KOAfplb7LLXaUC3cAHUJLPXebh_vTrdN7OMd9NCGb2fk4Ruc2TMDqSUQCDcL_SXnO/s320/IMG_0375.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5184100730072045778" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYvE_bL3-UKbMCf84-YJLQyH1UQFyVdtpkedzJDasymUWOkCjsdxyUCxpYYe8phDl7XFImWYya6sglhyQCfgwsF4BVQp0NRKBxADdcpm_dOWVKzXmPjhgl2fQk8nsNhlNfDWqfJAWmeAxn/s1600-h/IMG_0372.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYvE_bL3-UKbMCf84-YJLQyH1UQFyVdtpkedzJDasymUWOkCjsdxyUCxpYYe8phDl7XFImWYya6sglhyQCfgwsF4BVQp0NRKBxADdcpm_dOWVKzXmPjhgl2fQk8nsNhlNfDWqfJAWmeAxn/s320/IMG_0372.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5184099574725843074" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhO9IdusPBVaas3RDmJTKvH7Zfet5DJ8afUtZ9RQ70TC7R1BbBMqba8btfQQoYVcqIemWYHIKJmWn3BrGgKaOSUrSNYuz-L8kyElIkEfG_SBU5haD90xJVktqudysSO4VAgJsdKG5McMhXZ/s1600-h/IMG_0368.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhO9IdusPBVaas3RDmJTKvH7Zfet5DJ8afUtZ9RQ70TC7R1BbBMqba8btfQQoYVcqIemWYHIKJmWn3BrGgKaOSUrSNYuz-L8kyElIkEfG_SBU5haD90xJVktqudysSO4VAgJsdKG5McMhXZ/s320/IMG_0368.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5184099574725843058" border="0" /></a>Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06889958204848033620noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8644678558526154041.post-47317882712408880512008-03-31T20:17:00.008-05:002008-04-06T21:07:45.056-05:00Max Mosley, Champion<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.f1fanatic.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2007/06/maxmosley_fiagala_2006.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px;" src="http://www.f1fanatic.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2007/06/maxmosley_fiagala_2006.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />Max Mosley doesn't screw around. He knows that if you're going to <a href="http://images.businessweek.com/story/08/600/0312_spitzer.jpg">do something</a>, <a href="http://www.thetimes.co.za/News/Article.aspx?id=737670">you do it</a> <a href="http://jalopnik.com/373884/f1-boss-max-mosley-caught-with-five-hookers-in-nazi-orgy-video-scandal?cpage=1#viewcomments">to the extreme</a>.<br /><br />You really have to admire the severity of the guy's conviction. Mosley saw McGreevey and Spitzer and said, "children." There can be only one at the top, one irrefutable champion, and now everyone knows: It's Max Mosley.Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06889958204848033620noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8644678558526154041.post-52813067230378453362008-03-16T16:44:00.019-05:002008-04-05T14:30:54.238-05:00Awesomeness... too severe... cannot type.... at normal rate<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEia-BvV7CPHitJKrF3H4Xhrv5z5l-tbM_WB-0aTgD2heCP9zVbTVSUC85HphJ_h25KmVomsCl0vv-WkB3x6mE1d9iHBYVwHnKSx5H53TUIF1GkVBWM0tixXdDxD64B6dLh-gA4oMVdqlvK9/s1600-h/DSCF0015.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEia-BvV7CPHitJKrF3H4Xhrv5z5l-tbM_WB-0aTgD2heCP9zVbTVSUC85HphJ_h25KmVomsCl0vv-WkB3x6mE1d9iHBYVwHnKSx5H53TUIF1GkVBWM0tixXdDxD64B6dLh-gA4oMVdqlvK9/s320/DSCF0015.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5178465372101401042" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><br />I'm proud of Jersey City not despite of its shortcomings but because of them </span><span style="">– </span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"> some, anyway. I don't like the attitude that leads to the litter on the downtown strip, but it gives the city a more complete character: Yeah, we've got our problems, but who doesn't? You go into Hoboken and it's like Disneyland, only more expensive. Ironically, these annoyances make JC feel more welcoming because you don't have to go far to reach "the real" Jersey City. When you take in our rough edges and the extremely disparate neighborhoods, classes, and art throughout the city, you realize you've got one of the most interesting places in the country.<br /><br />JC has a lot more rust than this Beetle, but they both have a lot of personality (and JC moves a little faster). Although the farting catback exhausts on the first-gen Altimas around here let you know you're in JC, the guys driving them could learn something from this Bug.</span><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAxdVIhh0kpNI00cNLQ5KjKndr1UXvIj6kLdxRC5eFb042nRABKXj5whoqSLL1K9TaAP-KDc8LzCMIkV9ph-f0Avr7yEwQa8hpQoCIIldLtqDp0LAiUnSkpL5Pt6XUBm9EUGGLtRLBJR69/s1600-h/DSCF0009.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAxdVIhh0kpNI00cNLQ5KjKndr1UXvIj6kLdxRC5eFb042nRABKXj5whoqSLL1K9TaAP-KDc8LzCMIkV9ph-f0Avr7yEwQa8hpQoCIIldLtqDp0LAiUnSkpL5Pt6XUBm9EUGGLtRLBJR69/s320/DSCF0009.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5178465376396368354" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKQP2oYWvzBQAHbLMmjYG84dPhISnhJt-74-csrLtq2W-Hwc2fXyMpqRoVH5yaApqEvuTsIR8SwyoROy40cvIY1T6GHIBfwUYi1s2B8AoQxjAQXSN_ONWO6_BWVsT4-lfUjnXHW2eEgteW/s1600-h/DSCF0013.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKQP2oYWvzBQAHbLMmjYG84dPhISnhJt-74-csrLtq2W-Hwc2fXyMpqRoVH5yaApqEvuTsIR8SwyoROy40cvIY1T6GHIBfwUYi1s2B8AoQxjAQXSN_ONWO6_BWVsT4-lfUjnXHW2eEgteW/s320/DSCF0013.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5178465384986302978" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiU1DFmS_b2HGxkJguZfye81gQVxQ7USk61xecKEr259xKW5H30tS_0DcMFhDfuzeqJZadtS4Oo7YZXMlfp8Jk5oW4ZZQHHfCc1oIDpGJptrnaCGZL06Nx5J9D8GMaymEpgDX4DDvYtTXAQ/s1600-h/DSCF0014.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiU1DFmS_b2HGxkJguZfye81gQVxQ7USk61xecKEr259xKW5H30tS_0DcMFhDfuzeqJZadtS4Oo7YZXMlfp8Jk5oW4ZZQHHfCc1oIDpGJptrnaCGZL06Nx5J9D8GMaymEpgDX4DDvYtTXAQ/s320/DSCF0014.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5178465389281270290" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcriw3SIGqGxAisxGNLKNV1FR8F1PyqvQ3ng8SPE2_vodqmlnABCFDoCVRptKxIwuX6oEwmydyq-gJYd-TCJzx_f41xUMEKYIHNsxQINbhVOffHcFea2W_I5EqjRYJ6BIqTFkQgVXPWQoF/s1600-h/DSCF0012.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcriw3SIGqGxAisxGNLKNV1FR8F1PyqvQ3ng8SPE2_vodqmlnABCFDoCVRptKxIwuX6oEwmydyq-gJYd-TCJzx_f41xUMEKYIHNsxQINbhVOffHcFea2W_I5EqjRYJ6BIqTFkQgVXPWQoF/s320/DSCF0012.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5178543162549066322" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoABu3STu6La0jo-5c_PDhAinvHDHJQLK2kmaAzYxH6VCB7JFmyMk9qGnf800AGE9i-tBqEGYdedPKh7wgRLvl2TxSIU7KWgSOHnCAbYq6BhPNF0QrSUYv0LEDAs3eN-g_UWgeFU4yB5mT/s1600-h/DSCF0018.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoABu3STu6La0jo-5c_PDhAinvHDHJQLK2kmaAzYxH6VCB7JFmyMk9qGnf800AGE9i-tBqEGYdedPKh7wgRLvl2TxSIU7KWgSOHnCAbYq6BhPNF0QrSUYv0LEDAs3eN-g_UWgeFU4yB5mT/s320/DSCF0018.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5178468683521186338" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivdTVpHSpukXw6RAVWMCzJ6pet1W5-vKuSjJBEpgpM4iAkhMtPIzZ9NdLTViQgwnFgKrOGN3bE3dbb6A0GabGGu4Ejj8ZuONQJbsBXY5BzOKAXHBBH8-9SGYEMAac2jI-rK2PBHOeF9vcE/s1600-h/DSCF0016.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivdTVpHSpukXw6RAVWMCzJ6pet1W5-vKuSjJBEpgpM4iAkhMtPIzZ9NdLTViQgwnFgKrOGN3bE3dbb6A0GabGGu4Ejj8ZuONQJbsBXY5BzOKAXHBBH8-9SGYEMAac2jI-rK2PBHOeF9vcE/s320/DSCF0016.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5178468687816153650" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYtE5arNC5JOvu9ZTAVIQBEBW9AUB-0eaQCMmO73Gz92g7pMrudmc1PaPy7PQ6KuVsphfmay0GTyA5TxnQUHXWddDY_B96M0ZkgGDnv3GvK19WM0oVT0G0SNlRS4iv-iNdyYMjnIwzd8G7/s1600-h/DSCF0011.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYtE5arNC5JOvu9ZTAVIQBEBW9AUB-0eaQCMmO73Gz92g7pMrudmc1PaPy7PQ6KuVsphfmay0GTyA5TxnQUHXWddDY_B96M0ZkgGDnv3GvK19WM0oVT0G0SNlRS4iv-iNdyYMjnIwzd8G7/s320/DSCF0011.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5178543772434422370" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-_XtPFrzgnL9gFabjr15aDVfmy8Rdq6G-b0kODYMnD1ytuQo9NQMXTjDcSVQIfVzvW7Y0jQLSbL5fb0LE627xAP50ZyfB3j8ZymF5GqpHuwpJPVLcFGm9X6TYREw5pfPrd0VUosSGzfq4/s1600-h/DSCF0010.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-_XtPFrzgnL9gFabjr15aDVfmy8Rdq6G-b0kODYMnD1ytuQo9NQMXTjDcSVQIfVzvW7Y0jQLSbL5fb0LE627xAP50ZyfB3j8ZymF5GqpHuwpJPVLcFGm9X6TYREw5pfPrd0VUosSGzfq4/s320/DSCF0010.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5178468687816153666" border="0" /></a><br />The owner of Der Hooplevagen may be trying to make his own, more modest version of <a href="http://positiveapeindex.blogspot.com/">Coop's</a> <a href="http://positiveapeindex.blogspot.com/search?q=%22living+the+dream%22">1929 Tudor Sedan</a>.Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06889958204848033620noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8644678558526154041.post-24034884415978883812007-12-18T22:05:00.002-05:002008-04-06T21:08:52.125-05:00Fate and Snapple<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKqC8jdMhaFtcx7FSDEEdhwOCwKK1mW2azB9FC_XLHx-C84WgmgLxmZbnzTcxMPGVhFnqMp_f-RVcZzrv_L9y29P0ww9JXs8Ct0dVWBM03Qsbzpk4_27JY34T0PV-k-QYHyF9X9KRLG202/s1600-h/IMG_0549.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKqC8jdMhaFtcx7FSDEEdhwOCwKK1mW2azB9FC_XLHx-C84WgmgLxmZbnzTcxMPGVhFnqMp_f-RVcZzrv_L9y29P0ww9JXs8Ct0dVWBM03Qsbzpk4_27JY34T0PV-k-QYHyF9X9KRLG202/s400/IMG_0549.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5185861713908046274" border="0" /></a><br />All too often I happen upon Snapple caps while walking through my daily life. Given their useless trivia and my love of non-sequiturs, I began to suspect that their frequent but arbitrary appearance was more than happenstance. In fact, I began to believe it was fate.<br /><br />I've never believed this more than I do now, after what happened yesterday. I hate litter, so when I happen upon a piece of carelessly tossed refuse along my path, and I see that there is a garbage can in sight, I pick it up to deposit it. Yesterday I tossed a beer bottle over a short fence, aiming for a garbage can on the other side. Being the masterful athlete I am, it bounced off the rim of the can. When I walked through the gate in the fence to retrieve it, there on the ground, behind the can, was a Snapple bottle, its cap almost glowing with serendipitous magic.<br /><br />I instantly recognized that I would not have seen the Snapple bottle unless I walked around the can, and I would never have done that unless I somehow missed, almost incredibly, that seemingly unmissable toss.<br /><br />Faced with the most compelling evidence yet of a larger intelligence influencing my life, I regarded the bottle before picking it up, twisting off the cap, and in the pale street lamp light, reading what was printed inside:<br /><br />"Stop picking up garbage. You'll never get chicks that way. They'll think you're dirty."<br /><br />It either said that, or, "Frogs never drink." I don't remember which.Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06889958204848033620noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8644678558526154041.post-27921779488187973532007-09-19T22:14:00.001-05:002008-03-13T06:49:35.471-05:00Jon from the video storeJon is the guy who runs my neighborhood video store. We've shot the breeze a couple times in the four years I've been going there.<br /><br />I stopped in last night and asked what the good word was, and he had nothing for me. I was starting a 3-day weekend and would have none of it, so I asked how his wife and kids were and that got him talking. Turns out Jon has a full-time job in addition to owning the video store. Wow. I asked him old he was, explaining that if he was so accomplished at an age similar to mine, he'd make me feel very inadequate.<br /><br />Jon is 36. But he's really 38. He said it was a long story, but hardly hesitated to tell it.<br /><br />When Jon was born in Vietnam in 1970, his parents wanted to give him the best chance of never having to fight in the war, so they falsified his birth certificate to show he was born in 1972.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">They assumed the war would still be going on 18 years later, </span>and maybe those two extra years would be enough to save him from having to fight in the war like his father did.<br /><br />We talked about his family and Vietnam for nearly an hour. Here's a real gem he laid down for me: You know how we have parties in college and have too much to drink and generally have a good time with a large group of people? Vietnamese are not allowed to assemble. You can go to church, but it's in the presence of police. If you have a gathering at your home, the cops come to break it up.<br /><br />This is the least of what we discussed.<br /><br />I went into the video store to rent Fantasitic 4 because I knew it would be nothing more substantial than a 100-minute amusement. And what I came out with is a completely different understanding about a place I thought I had a pretty good bead on because I read about it and spent a few days there.<br /><br />How great is that? How lucky am I that Jon is the guy who runs my neighborhood video store?Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06889958204848033620noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8644678558526154041.post-32721235179067217382007-08-19T22:11:00.002-05:002008-03-13T06:27:35.870-05:00HoonageThank you for joining me today for an introduction into a very important topic.<br /><p class="blogContent">"Hoonage" is a noun that broadly covers the spectrum of usually extralegal activities people undertake in their motor vehicles, but can be more specifically defined as those activities that said people do with great enthusiasm, some level of ingenuity or boldness (however misguided in either case) and reckless abandon.<br /><br />Hoonage is not a simple subject and shouldn't be approached as such. Hoonage has a long history, has both light and dark aspects (as we shall examine), and can even be the subject of heated debate.<br /><br />The best recorded hoonage allows the viewer to bask in its beauty much as he would in the warm, radiant light of a fine stained glass window in the sanctum of a church. Conversely, in some cases, the hoonage is so gratuitous that the viewer can be moved the exclaim, "Ahhhh, that's some good hoonage," with much the same inflection as he commented about good porn, before he grew out of that. A long, long time ago.<br /><br />"The Blues Brothers" is a good introduction to hoonage for those of you otherwise unaquainted.<br /><br />Recently, I reviewed soon particularly daring hoonage on Jalopnik.com: <a href="http://jalopnik.com/cars/jalopnik-weekend/supercar-weekend-worlds-hooniest-soccer-mom-256066.php" target="_self">Hoonage, Exhibit 1</a><br /><br />Said hoonage, although very exciting, ultimately disheartened me. Put more directly, (and this is a term with which you might not be familiar), it sucked. While this kind of action is fun in movies, these hoons put many lives in danger to satisfy their own egos.<br /><br />This hoonage is therefore in direct opposition to the best hoonage, which endangers the hoons and the hoons only, thereby inspiring admiration of the hoons' bravado in the audience (sort of like the chase scene in <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0372784/" target="_self">Batman Begins</a>, but without the rubber suit). This hoonage is also characterized by a universal appeal: In the instance of watching a <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BE0IqW0JHLk" target="_self">Citreon 2CV being blown to pieces by the engine of a 747</a>, few viewers can keep a straight face.<br /><br />Several more satisfying examples can be found here: <a href="http://jalopnik.com/cars/hoon-of-the-week/cast-your-vote-for-hoon-of-the-month-256302.php" target="_self">Hoonage, Exhibit 2</a>.<br /><br />Thank you for taking the time to learn more about this important topic.</p>Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06889958204848033620noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8644678558526154041.post-42827209945289381242007-06-05T20:08:00.000-05:002007-06-05T20:41:38.903-05:00Taking the ExamMy gym is in a basement. After walking through the door, you walked down 12 steps at a 45º angle to get to the gym floor.<br /><br />A few months ago I saw a guy jogging up and down these steps with a weight vest on. The vest contained I think 40 pounds of iron rods. Later, we would hold additional weight in his hands. I knew instantly what he was training for.<br /><br />The firefighter's physical exam requires the applicant to run up 10 steps at a 45º angle, cross a small platform, and descend 10 steps. You then turn around and do it a total of ten times. To be clear, once up, across the platform, and once down is one repetition.<br /><br />You're wearing and holding 100 pounds of gear during the exam.<br /><br />I saw this guy again today and asked him how the exam went.<br /><br />"Not too good. I had an injury two weeks before the exam."<br /><br />"Oh man. So what happened?"<br /><br />"I tore my <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plantar_fascia">plantar fascia</a>," he tells me. "Took 14 seconds off my time."<br /><br />The plantar fascia is the tendon that supports the arch of your foot. You need only consider the engineering of the foot for a moment to get an idea of how severe an injury that is.<br /><br />Fourteen seconds doesn't sound like much, but it meant everything to him:<br /><br />"The average for applicants in the State of New Jersey is 3:25. My fastest time was 2:51, but I only pulled a 3:05 on the exam."<br /><br />His mood when describing this fairly amazing feat (sorry) was discouraged. He didn't say it, but he wanted to beat his personal best of 2:51 at that exam.<br /><br />I replied, "I think it's important to keep some context here. Fourteen seconds is not a half a minute. You still beat the average."<br /><br />You're probably wondering if this is a pass/fail exam or if a better time on the exam is meaningful. It doesn't matter. The exam, at that moment he took it, was meaningless. He purposely built this pressure on himself over the course of months <span style="text-decoration: underline;"></span>so when it came to a head, he could perform his absolute best. And he didn't get a chance to do that.<br /><br />I've no doubt that he'll become a firefighter in September, even if he says that's when he "finds out." And he'll probably have a great career. He never said it, but he's looking forward to the next time he has to take that exam, whether it's in a classroom or not.Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06889958204848033620noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8644678558526154041.post-75549731693585996672007-06-03T10:07:00.000-05:002007-12-09T00:53:00.511-05:00"Having is not so pleasing a thing as wanting. It is not logical, but often true."When I was 15, my Dad and I bought a 1985 Jeep <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">CJ</span>-7. It ran, but couldn't move.<br /><br />We spent the next few years returning it to road-going condition. It was never perfect, but I sure learned a lot.<br /><br />Two of the things I learned:<br />1. The styling of older Jeeps is iconic and magnetic, and,<br />2. It used relatively primitive engineering to hold it together and make it go.<br /><br />The 1952 <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Willys</span> Jeep I encountered over the Memorial Day weekend reinforced both these lessons.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWNUAUfKhNgITpHmmU9_PGEvKUdlVPX-K2DY2Dlmbyb9JeeiazN6yVHhStDDlK8Z-gVHjxXLnIQ-9DQyr7yzb6-8RcL2GbrWADPLg7Y2vZQJFsNZof4gPZdP0K6sZlm4AgOM-kdAftkSO9/s1600-h/DSCF0001.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWNUAUfKhNgITpHmmU9_PGEvKUdlVPX-K2DY2Dlmbyb9JeeiazN6yVHhStDDlK8Z-gVHjxXLnIQ-9DQyr7yzb6-8RcL2GbrWADPLg7Y2vZQJFsNZof4gPZdP0K6sZlm4AgOM-kdAftkSO9/s320/DSCF0001.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5071641463932277938" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLOBjYmeoQ-Vhl093e7048DgaggvAwzQ0NNjN4XZLs1RReHNRmfzcNGdkZxPv6a96i9E0qx3eWDxa8Cx3a-x84RMO9SntrI28d9nyU26LfeE7WxmMT3DnNo47dmenGtKGXjYYkjmHRYw3M/s1600-h/DSCF0002.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLOBjYmeoQ-Vhl093e7048DgaggvAwzQ0NNjN4XZLs1RReHNRmfzcNGdkZxPv6a96i9E0qx3eWDxa8Cx3a-x84RMO9SntrI28d9nyU26LfeE7WxmMT3DnNo47dmenGtKGXjYYkjmHRYw3M/s320/DSCF0002.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5071641463932277954" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgY960E5kIOOYMOwpCz8xFIsZyTYkfZ5hfsNgFmvlQE5Tn-tNwE6jV7v1SbIPm0ZBZoCDBUmuzRSQui6Dzy7VrdrA0jKS8Y-1ifRLT0D7pRtXgcEn3T0qGqEHDJGf0D9OUvatAH7P_k_Lh5/s1600-h/DSCF0003.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgY960E5kIOOYMOwpCz8xFIsZyTYkfZ5hfsNgFmvlQE5Tn-tNwE6jV7v1SbIPm0ZBZoCDBUmuzRSQui6Dzy7VrdrA0jKS8Y-1ifRLT0D7pRtXgcEn3T0qGqEHDJGf0D9OUvatAH7P_k_Lh5/s320/DSCF0003.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5071641463932277970" border="0" /></a>From down here, it looks almost heroic.<br /></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLOBXp8_UN95KfK1cMytdYCfi8jM3LjdvbGrGcp2cmlylYKvMSl1jKisuGpE23CsBCcMvJNt6q6QS0jQ-LV9T0jspBHQOJ0jU2lwDvGrriM8yXZJaROHE48D4Ja8MirazOK2fSQqpK18Rf/s1600-h/DSCF0004.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; 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display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqYEvmVQ2AHutrlzf9v9QSVQGF-elKyVTpUMWibM0ctCG4PKPYyn-YEAWRv9QEg7GV6tgiP1KIF_wFviSSlQDahMjg8mhiD6c9PT2b66EEw5KpvwgBHuC6Her1vnbBKGU5wmzot93NaHzQ/s320/DSCF0019.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5071643018710439346" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCVhcKHrDjkGm7PFWgvcB21xnGWHpJxLQr2kYnlLS9keGCTpRgDAlfMSFDoHWk22H3N7VA3M29ZRlW0sPxnukLHg9w03XF0BsSjkraG6Tit9_5RfgvIDsfhwYLElHYgcr3GUeByw1E0b6j/s1600-h/DSCF0020.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCVhcKHrDjkGm7PFWgvcB21xnGWHpJxLQr2kYnlLS9keGCTpRgDAlfMSFDoHWk22H3N7VA3M29ZRlW0sPxnukLHg9w03XF0BsSjkraG6Tit9_5RfgvIDsfhwYLElHYgcr3GUeByw1E0b6j/s320/DSCF0020.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5071643023005406658" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4B5A_70baKWsuNtPU4Kkxd2TI5jkwXBcrhFrclspQ-sXw0Q2Tgk90lMTD9s9ZqA5SqUj3lpdB84PMfS3n0euYOl4VM-kyX3svIh8HGAW2ZuKr7XrDs5dI_yRQCQCpDwzlyxHnpFq3MhGy/s1600-h/DSCF0021.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4B5A_70baKWsuNtPU4Kkxd2TI5jkwXBcrhFrclspQ-sXw0Q2Tgk90lMTD9s9ZqA5SqUj3lpdB84PMfS3n0euYOl4VM-kyX3svIh8HGAW2ZuKr7XrDs5dI_yRQCQCpDwzlyxHnpFq3MhGy/s320/DSCF0021.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5071643023005406674" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEcynKzRB4l722tZIeFVuYc4L_xn8Oa6TaAWayg9hbs3OpxfKbAEoO7Ym-f-p_f25na18x4AAv6zd5m-JFx83QfsG9LF5w4jeZJFGxtbkwAldkWWRKnbNADqZ03hL58jNn9LbGlFspxi9B/s1600-h/DSCF0022.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEcynKzRB4l722tZIeFVuYc4L_xn8Oa6TaAWayg9hbs3OpxfKbAEoO7Ym-f-p_f25na18x4AAv6zd5m-JFx83QfsG9LF5w4jeZJFGxtbkwAldkWWRKnbNADqZ03hL58jNn9LbGlFspxi9B/s320/DSCF0022.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5071643023005406690" border="0" /></a><br />I'd kill to drive a car with a gas can on the fender.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3tODM-puEOV9VD71htWETwvRHT4co2Sv0sNO_ohDImh6anazMd0GMCtXGG_IzloYYxaPjMW3kUWsbtKn3eKgS7oIDLd8J9xBnp1wvRbhNVJ8gdTDJCfkGM1xruL25H09Hml7kMqxIWgKK/s1600-h/DSCF0015.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3tODM-puEOV9VD71htWETwvRHT4co2Sv0sNO_ohDImh6anazMd0GMCtXGG_IzloYYxaPjMW3kUWsbtKn3eKgS7oIDLd8J9xBnp1wvRbhNVJ8gdTDJCfkGM1xruL25H09Hml7kMqxIWgKK/s320/DSCF0015.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5071642816846976386" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYi0Dh8y23swESr8Kdceq_xFf6IllnzVVkLzCbDv551RTUdTCwSAzWWusFOqwamIhAroWiK68QrlOjo36VoZ3lSfJB5z0jlCMrxIs9nudNWcNWZWN0vI_OYc05IsSbW9zEoG4-zb1Q52pS/s1600-h/DSCF0017.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYi0Dh8y23swESr8Kdceq_xFf6IllnzVVkLzCbDv551RTUdTCwSAzWWusFOqwamIhAroWiK68QrlOjo36VoZ3lSfJB5z0jlCMrxIs9nudNWcNWZWN0vI_OYc05IsSbW9zEoG4-zb1Q52pS/s320/DSCF0017.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5071642816846976402" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4VAn5_tsPpLyTPPBJgdbMfc0Fdh56JkYv3cgXs19BuOtMULkl-GvGi6l3droiiboIuQDKuNu3QkndvmCiV27vA863b93DvC17KpnoUKgmoNTrVHhwgqzl_Tw8o2tgM-HTqpHFLfeGmfVJ/s1600-h/DSCF0006.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4VAn5_tsPpLyTPPBJgdbMfc0Fdh56JkYv3cgXs19BuOtMULkl-GvGi6l3droiiboIuQDKuNu3QkndvmCiV27vA863b93DvC17KpnoUKgmoNTrVHhwgqzl_Tw8o2tgM-HTqpHFLfeGmfVJ/s320/DSCF0006.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5071641996508222722" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv4go-l5gjP0tQjI8V_n9HHxlXLUkFe3nOWIM84OpWOWDRARhSBr8sKerHbQ-PBPR_dWAWc9s4RgCfWdml2KiBlqmpbXOqatQ2qJkMfEaXwNjSN61qZsvFq7k0mjb1VSfADFbkZAZ2aAaZ/s1600-h/DSCF0032.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv4go-l5gjP0tQjI8V_n9HHxlXLUkFe3nOWIM84OpWOWDRARhSBr8sKerHbQ-PBPR_dWAWc9s4RgCfWdml2KiBlqmpbXOqatQ2qJkMfEaXwNjSN61qZsvFq7k0mjb1VSfADFbkZAZ2aAaZ/s320/DSCF0032.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5071646261410748130" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkjpeZFxGjxpqM1K_JRo_lewg5A38fdUD9NSuz4TeG8BAonaOgv0rVZc70wMKcieggALMTVR85lxTvIsG2RcncPtYhJGhS5Yscu9Gvc2m2PzKjBfzaF7QKoXoFOYw4CZ8-bAKEj4LZvj1Z/s1600-h/DSCF0038.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkjpeZFxGjxpqM1K_JRo_lewg5A38fdUD9NSuz4TeG8BAonaOgv0rVZc70wMKcieggALMTVR85lxTvIsG2RcncPtYhJGhS5Yscu9Gvc2m2PzKjBfzaF7QKoXoFOYw4CZ8-bAKEj4LZvj1Z/s320/DSCF0038.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5071643641480697506" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFmVM-i_jaDT2S1XW4X5xjm9WTZFb5FiR-90ciB03hoCyuYTRyYq087rSwBmz8kxEVSBVKNaz2k4aqVQaVyrbDntUNfNlNfFFZtp2q5jr74LMATpLanbr4zJ7oKxZ4xMQlMiZjHraIFXbl/s1600-h/DSCF0036.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFmVM-i_jaDT2S1XW4X5xjm9WTZFb5FiR-90ciB03hoCyuYTRyYq087rSwBmz8kxEVSBVKNaz2k4aqVQaVyrbDntUNfNlNfFFZtp2q5jr74LMATpLanbr4zJ7oKxZ4xMQlMiZjHraIFXbl/s320/DSCF0036.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5071643641480697538" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhldb1bOb8JA3K63arzPGOjwni2sGFt2FIWjoQOy0OWn8aMtYF-OuRycQTjSM3PBbuVjHTltzxm16yBIVSw5eIK9WbK7QF-BQRmewLN9555uY8eNy6KKynJa0uv65CyadMiuxLHjDmQoLg1/s1600-h/DSCF0035.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhldb1bOb8JA3K63arzPGOjwni2sGFt2FIWjoQOy0OWn8aMtYF-OuRycQTjSM3PBbuVjHTltzxm16yBIVSw5eIK9WbK7QF-BQRmewLN9555uY8eNy6KKynJa0uv65CyadMiuxLHjDmQoLg1/s320/DSCF0035.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5071643645775664850" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1B_mCKaFD6LBBfNkjyketR2NP57sfguqBNBEqESHE4_LZBHvK_uZNrsc09x3XUVhID_WZZGRiImBbxTd7yJb_d6jBHokx0FphxYj74EBTYk9LadDN1nElblNOxs6nNgl0r3P33vvgHF6n/s1600-h/DSCF0013.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1B_mCKaFD6LBBfNkjyketR2NP57sfguqBNBEqESHE4_LZBHvK_uZNrsc09x3XUVhID_WZZGRiImBbxTd7yJb_d6jBHokx0FphxYj74EBTYk9LadDN1nElblNOxs6nNgl0r3P33vvgHF6n/s320/DSCF0013.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5071642812552009058" border="0" /></a>Notice how much more the brake was used than the clutch.<br /><br />Also: circular pedals are awesome.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOzq2Jlo8bU7LgI5VDI-RhWLRtEtI3VkQbLFe2PZsQDHUb7S5ENcEsSbDsNxP7SK591dQE-q5dtWEEczuNcQ-PbZRG1gRk9b7tGo-1uCqmB6ldMXKZPIbcVDfexmpGCTyT_AzjlSd9L3Jn/s1600-h/DSCF0014.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOzq2Jlo8bU7LgI5VDI-RhWLRtEtI3VkQbLFe2PZsQDHUb7S5ENcEsSbDsNxP7SK591dQE-q5dtWEEczuNcQ-PbZRG1gRk9b7tGo-1uCqmB6ldMXKZPIbcVDfexmpGCTyT_AzjlSd9L3Jn/s320/DSCF0014.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5071642812552009074" border="0" /></a><br />I think found four speeds with this unmarked shift knob but I expected only three. Although it seems to lead into the transfer case, I don't know what the lever in the middle does.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8JBMugrr8IIRyTMSsKzeYjVrGRB4M8n4rzozsS5y-tn5sUq9smnlpcxdeaDS_Hyuq00lIvLM42dccvjtc_mBilTrztGY_4enkVFMCU6PLppfsGB3DHccTYDQ8KvO2E0lTvHShKaxjIYWq/s1600-h/DSCF0007.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8JBMugrr8IIRyTMSsKzeYjVrGRB4M8n4rzozsS5y-tn5sUq9smnlpcxdeaDS_Hyuq00lIvLM42dccvjtc_mBilTrztGY_4enkVFMCU6PLppfsGB3DHccTYDQ8KvO2E0lTvHShKaxjIYWq/s320/DSCF0007.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5071641996508222738" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQGnGd3qyrGT8mS3hn7cI0plwmzJLXBS53I4tIK5vwKv14ShGM-Q3a3CnfVhteliQBIrodwsoM2BQA7KlJt5RvA6v5CZe8MJvGxMr7LrMe5m6uFWH-cE1C6asGaCvBFJR2b-m6wlTjIAjg/s1600-h/DSCF0009.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQGnGd3qyrGT8mS3hn7cI0plwmzJLXBS53I4tIK5vwKv14ShGM-Q3a3CnfVhteliQBIrodwsoM2BQA7KlJt5RvA6v5CZe8MJvGxMr7LrMe5m6uFWH-cE1C6asGaCvBFJR2b-m6wlTjIAjg/s320/DSCF0009.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5071641996508222754" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj46c6YjANuY2X2Li_6vBSLhXjKZ7UulpaGDApNeqGdaA_0Sniisi7hmde_7P7lQoBJUMBUwXcq3n6TtLhGv4SSg-785qa6FZ8HfnXWsJkHZQHfFeH_DRwBXhx37C66Spieu5g9sEdZRtmJ/s1600-h/DSCF0034.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj46c6YjANuY2X2Li_6vBSLhXjKZ7UulpaGDApNeqGdaA_0Sniisi7hmde_7P7lQoBJUMBUwXcq3n6TtLhGv4SSg-785qa6FZ8HfnXWsJkHZQHfFeH_DRwBXhx37C66Spieu5g9sEdZRtmJ/s320/DSCF0034.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5071648808326354674" border="0" /></a><br />This alone might be worth the $1,100 asking price (to my mind).<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeSuLUorWpS1KxUlC6lsjdNtuEy_vZVmDr0d8vOajOo80ORNN0SzkIWV_9wmM2J2Rp0nrKXlh4jk2Zi2Yn-NRHrHra41CANGN014pcw01ICrP-tcMCgU7ujS8KyBhq76JBhnM3HN0QptbJ/s1600-h/DSCF0010.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeSuLUorWpS1KxUlC6lsjdNtuEy_vZVmDr0d8vOajOo80ORNN0SzkIWV_9wmM2J2Rp0nrKXlh4jk2Zi2Yn-NRHrHra41CANGN014pcw01ICrP-tcMCgU7ujS8KyBhq76JBhnM3HN0QptbJ/s320/DSCF0010.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5071641996508222770" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBqO9IB9e2nxciS5pSbzys0Gma2ZU_cKvwjfkfus4xYjP0EBasIqTq0D6bSbJSt6nOptsbrye0y05vyGp7PikJElMdjItWYdpaqfDGHTg4ljnrUQMbwaTe-qYtGFG9jg-NDCcq2fEH0og9/s1600-h/DSCF0011.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBqO9IB9e2nxciS5pSbzys0Gma2ZU_cKvwjfkfus4xYjP0EBasIqTq0D6bSbJSt6nOptsbrye0y05vyGp7PikJElMdjItWYdpaqfDGHTg4ljnrUQMbwaTe-qYtGFG9jg-NDCcq2fEH0og9/s320/DSCF0011.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5071642000803190082" border="0" /></a><br />It's appropriate that the speedometer uses the smallest values to measure MPH. Even if you're going 50, you're still going pretty slowly.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj04y8nhuQbaUFFmNWxtsgDWVqUj5_ueldf5mrCbCTu9BglGplTo7vRA5AcPdAmtRd47EQqX51hB8bKDwyF6VVaWR2drAstntc6mSNdDDTPoyPT00FHYtuAkfsOdvI_x3n9NfsK9MnBbay9/s1600-h/DSCF0039.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj04y8nhuQbaUFFmNWxtsgDWVqUj5_ueldf5mrCbCTu9BglGplTo7vRA5AcPdAmtRd47EQqX51hB8bKDwyF6VVaWR2drAstntc6mSNdDDTPoyPT00FHYtuAkfsOdvI_x3n9NfsK9MnBbay9/s320/DSCF0039.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5071643637185730194" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBGqVzn8QbzZd11q2l-4Cv3HjlTa1Y5q-4ClVvtHoMMjwy_wyQNIfu3dwMKRzcOv5sDvRlbRgzN_79N8vPnY-s2rHDraJXTYW9xxFJdRKt0pKZwtJU_E5p7I5N6teB-ElEGaU5RzfIJFCT/s1600-h/DSCF0037.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBGqVzn8QbzZd11q2l-4Cv3HjlTa1Y5q-4ClVvtHoMMjwy_wyQNIfu3dwMKRzcOv5sDvRlbRgzN_79N8vPnY-s2rHDraJXTYW9xxFJdRKt0pKZwtJU_E5p7I5N6teB-ElEGaU5RzfIJFCT/s320/DSCF0037.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5071643641480697522" border="0" /></a><br />If I thought I could get it into my apartment to work on it, I would have bought it.Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06889958204848033620noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8644678558526154041.post-85133682356306044062007-06-02T20:50:00.002-05:002009-01-10T14:45:56.019-05:00Welcome to Skyrocket PenguinI've got this crazy idea that everything we imagine actually happens. I can't explain this and even if I could, you probably wouldn't want to read through the explanation.<br /><br />An example: I believe that penguins can fly. I think they're fooling us, and further, I think they enjoy having fun at our expense.<br /><br />I have no empirical evidence whatsoever to support this belief. It's absurd.<br /><br />For a long time, the laws of physics could not explain how hummingbirds fly. They are exceptional creatures; heart rates of 1,200 beats per minute, twisting their wings 180 degrees and flapping them 70 times per second. These are achievements of engineering and physics without peer. Nothing else works and flies like a hummingbird.<br /><br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/eBO-pP8hqqE&hl=en&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/eBO-pP8hqqE&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /><br />So while it is outside of the scope of reason that penguins can fly, it is just barely within the scope of reason that hummingbirds can.<br /><br />I'm willing to go that extra distance, just for the fun of believing that these evolutionary ridiculous, swimming birds can skyrocket beyond our beliefs.<br /><br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/9dfWzp7rYR4&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/9dfWzp7rYR4&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06889958204848033620noreply@blogger.com1