Posts
Yet Another Reason to Hate Airlines
Posted . ~2min read.
Spirit Airlines drank some Kool Aid and decided to charge passengers for carry-on bags that do not fit under the seat. The fee will only apply to bags placed in the overhead bin. “Bring less; pay less. It’s simple,” Spirit’s Chief Operating Officer Ken McKenzie said in a statement. (Which by the way beats their first attempt at the slogan: Bring less, pay less, fuck you.)
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, although this time I’ll say it differently. When I was a kid, I absolutely loved everything about flying. After taking someone to the airport, my family would walk to the window and we’d watch (from the gate) as our loved one’s plane taxied out to the runway and would stay until we saw that plane leave the ground and take off into the sky. When I’d actually get to fly, I looked forward to it. I’d pick out a good magazine, try to get a pillow, and look forward to some pretzels and a nice drink.
Continue Reading »No, You Cannot Scan My ID
Posted . ~3min read.
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On a recent trip to Target, I decided to add some compressed air to my cart. Working in electronics, I find compressed air to be almost a necessity. The servers, computers, switches, and other equipment I use routinely need a good “spritz” of compressed air to keep the dust from accumulating.
But I digress.
When I went to check out, my cashier advised that I needed to scan my ID to purchase the compressed air. Not just show her my ID, but rather have my driver’s license scanned into their register. This of course allows Target to scan, read, and store my personally identifiable information. Although just someone’s full name fulfills the criteria of personally identifiable information, a Driver’s License barcode and/or magnetic stripe contains much more. By scanning the driver’s license, Target retains my full name, date of birth, address, gender, race, driver’s license number, license information (restrictions, endorsements), organ donation, and issue date.
First, let’s look at the obvious…
Continue Reading »High Fructose Corn Syrup is Worse Than Sugar
Posted . ~6min read.
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I’ve been saying this for years… and so has many other people. Lot’s of times, friends just said it was a conspiracy theory or some BS thought… but now scientists from Princeton University have conducted research on High Fructose Corn Syrup. The results? Increased weight gain with High Fructose Corn Syrup versus Sugar. Calorie intake was the same, but High Fructose Corn Syrup caused increased weight gain.
Continue Reading »A sweet problem: Princeton researchers find that high-fructose corn syrup prompts considerably more weight gain
by Hilary Parker
A Princeton University research team has demonstrated that all sweeteners are not equal when it comes to weight gain: Rats with access to high-fructose corn syrup gained significantly more weight than those with access to table sugar, even when their overall caloric intake was the same.
In addition to causing significant weight gain in lab animals, long-term consumption of high-fructose corn syrup also led to abnormal increases in body fat, especially in the abdomen, and a rise in circulating blood fats called triglycerides. The researchers say the work sheds light on the factors contributing to obesity trends in the United States.
March Summary
Posted . ~1min read.
Where has the time gone? To paraphrase the Princess Bride, which Yes, is still one of my favorite movies — there is to much to explain, let me sum up.
Continue Reading »Google Search Scares Me
Posted . ~1min read.
I’m sure you’ve googled. Who hasn’t. Well, based of course on the popularity of what others across our great world are searching, Google often “suggests” what you might want to search for; based on what you’ve typed in that google search box. Well… what others are searching for doesn’t just scare me, it scares the bejesus out of me. But now I understand exactly where we may be heading.
Today I made the mistake of typing why does in the google search… and well, I was presented with:
][1]Don’t get me wrong. I love poop questions as much as the next guy… but really? So then I started to see what others were looking for and well, here’s a few examples:
Continue Reading »Ok… starting to freak out a little…
Posted . ~1min read.
The movers were supposed to call and let us know what time they’d be here… hasn’t happened. We called the moving company yesterday and they were certain we’d get the call last night. Never happened. So far, no truck.
Continue Reading »So Many Boxes…
Posted . ~1min read.
We’re packing away… although “we” is mostly just Yeni; who is packing like a woman possessed. We’re heading out on Wednesday and looking forward to a change of view. We’re trying to spend as much time with family and friends as possible — taking the time to eat at out favorite spots “one more time” as well as try some new places we had neglected.
Continue Reading »UF President Bernie Machen Wants Your Voice
Posted . ~3min read.
I’ve had a few dealings with UF and money over the last few months. Basically, many (many, many, many) calls to the house asking for donations, etc. When one of my favorite teachers had left UF, I had donated money to help start a scholarship in his name. I was not happy with the way it was handled, and have been reluctant to donate money to the school since (not to mention, I’m not impressed with the way the college is handling money — or my personal information — whatsoever).
Today, I received an email (posted below) from Florida President Bernie Machen asking for my voice. Seems they have created a new organization to lobby the Florida legislature for issues important to the school. To me, I am always offended when someone making 750k a year (including bonuses), gripes about a lack of funding. Simply put, Machen needs to lead by example.
Continue Reading »Too late…
Posted . ~1min read.
I thought this was a very neat idea and well done.
Continue Reading »Thanks neighbor!
Posted . ~2min read.
Can you guess which WiFi network is mine?
I’m no stranger to the fun and joy that comes from dog ownership. Let’s not forget that Forrest was 115lbs and as regular as could be. We tried (well, he couldn’t care actually, more realistically I tried) to be very considerate of private property when making our rounds. Now I don’t want to go off on a rant here, but…
Continue Reading »