Adventures in Nerdville

I got this as an email forward from my friend Jeff. It seemed an appropriate posting for this politically charged atmosphere.

Today on my way to lunch I passed a homeless guy with a sign that read “Vote Obama, I need the money.” I laughed.

Once in the restaurant my server had on a “Obama 08″ tie. Again I laughed as he had given away his political preference–just imagine the coincidence.

When the bill came I decided not to tip the server and explained to him that I was exploring the Obama redistribution of wealth concept. He stood there in disbelief while I told him that I was going to redistribute his tip to someone who I deemed more in need–the homeless guy outside. The server angrily stormed from my sight.

I went outside, gave the homeless guy $10 and told him to thank the server inside as I’ve decided he could use the money more. The homeless guy was grateful.

At the end of my rather unscientific redistribution experiment I realized the homeless guy was grateful for the money he did not earn, but the waiter was pretty angry that I gave away the money he did earn even though the actual recipient deserved money more.

I guess redistribution of wealth is an easier thing to swallow in concept than in practical application.

‘Body Of Christ’ Snatched From Church, Held Hostage By UCF Student - News Story - WFTV Orlando

Being a recovering catholic, this about made me just about die laughing. Rather than sit here and come up with some more jokes (which wouldn’t be that hard), I just suggest you read the article. It is funny enough on it’s own.

I wonder why a company with a speech recognition phone system, online tracking and all these fancy tech features haven’t figured out something as fundamentally important as routing protocols. Case in point. Two weeks ago, Toledo, OH got flooded. I ordered some vitamins a week ago and they were shipped from Nevada this past Monday. For two days, my package has been stuck in the UPS center outside of Toledo, where they sent it to from Nevada. (more…)

I am not nerdy enough to do geocaching (read about it on geocaching.org… it’s basically a scavenger hunt using GPS), although I have thought about it. Upon reading xkcd (an online geek comic strip) one day, I saw a comic called geohashing. It was funny, although unless you are a geek, you propably won’t get it (as is the case with pretty much anything on xkcd). The algorithm calculates coordinates within ~100 miles of you based on the date and the dow jones average.  The whole thing got seriously out of hand. I won’t go into it further, but you can see this link to understand the depth of ridiculousness. I wouldn’t recommend actually going geohashing, but I find it amusing that an entire online community is forming around it.

I knew those old things were good for something.

A mental exercise for advocates of gun ‘control’

http://www.upcool.com/amazing/DIY_Ghost

Must see pictures

• A million dollar cruse missle just blew up your five dollar tent
• You end every sentence with ‘or somebody dies…’
• A ‘Pest Control’ company has had a van outside your house for over a week
• You recently exploded in a crowded bus
• You told your driving instructor not to bother teaching you how to park
• You live in a country that has oil
• You currently live in a small cage in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba
• You own a pair of exploding shoes
• The United States Government refuses to negotiate with you
• You notice that your backpack contains ball bearings and black powder

We all know how annoying squirrels on birdfeeders can be… well, I don’t since I think the birds can find plenty of food without me… but if I did feed birds and was annoyed by squirrels, I would definitely buy one of these to watch the squirrels go rocketing off. Maybe I will decide to feed birds just to abuse squirrels.