Umbral Echoes Blog

• 12:33 Firefox 3 Release Candidate 1 is the awesome. If only all of my plugins worked with it. #

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Ah, New Yorkers.  This is yet one more reason why the people in Jersey look down on you so.  The 2nd generation iPhone is likely going to be released on June 9th, or shortly thereafter.  Well apparently, a bunch of New Yorkers already started lining up at Apple’s flagship store yesterday.  And most of those in line didn’t even really know what they were waiting for.  People are such sheep.

• 00:56 @burtlo What about the person who does their Brazilian wax job? #
• 19:56 Random cool photo: tinyurl.com/5huxoc #

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• 11:06 For the LOST fans out there. Or at least, the Sawyer fans. tinyurl.com/3bhlf8 #

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• 19:23 There is apparently a tornado warning in Atlanta. That explains the thunder & wind as I was grilling. Last such warning in ATL was bad news. #

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• 12:51 I am amused. Someone found my blog using the following search string: "amputee stripper" -mcgowan -lohan #

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Last night, I went out with some friends.  Had some drinks at the Highlander, then the party moved on to some bar which ended up being a gay bar having karaoke night (keep your cock garage shut, sis), and then onto some other place that had a dart board.  Alcohol + sharp pointies, always entertaining times.  However, I was responsible — I spaced out my drinks, making sure I’d be able to drive.  Had a total of 2 drinks over the last 4 hours we were out.  It was time to go home, everything is peachy.  I wasn’t sure exactly where I was at, but I have a GPS.  No problem.

At this point, it’s important to know that the suction cup on the GPS got screwed up some time back and is non-functional.  So I had set it on the dash, and while it was taking its sweet time finding where I was, I went ahead and started going toward the nearest highway.  I took a left turn, the GPS slides off the dash.  Reflexively, I lunge for it.  And I catch it!  Ninja skillz, yo.  Unfortunately, this reflexive action also caused me to hit a curb.  Hard.  Front tire goes flat immediately, I pull off into a parking lot.  Back tire is leaking air, too.

So both the passenger-side tires are flat, and the rims will need repair at the very least, and possibly replacement.  A call to Kirstie got me home all right (it’s good to have friends who will pick your sorry ass up at 3am), and this morning I called Geico, who set me up with a tow truck.  Of course, the VW dealership is closed on Sunday, so they towed me to a storage facility, and will get it to the dealership tomorrow.  But I have places to go, people to see, so I rented a car.

Called around, Budget had the best prices by a big margin.  Also, the man on the phone was, bar none, the fastest talker I have ever heard.  Just as fast as that Micro Machines guy, and I am not exaggerating.  I’m fairly sure he was Mexican, except speaking in English as fast as he would in Spanish.  For those of you who don’t know much about the Latino world, Mexicans speak really fast.  Even Spaniards have trouble understanding them.  They’re like New Yorkers on speed.

So I arrange for the cheapest car they have.  I get there, and they try to make me drive this:

My response was, “Ma’am, I must regretfully inform you that I have testicles, and will therefore be unable to operate that vehicle.  Do you perhaps have something in non-heterosexually-challenged?”  I proceeded to look out on the lot, point, and say, “That one.  I want that one.”

So for the next few days I am driving a Charger.  It’s not nearly as powerful as I’d hoped — my turbo 4-cylinder accelerates noticeably faster — and it’s an automatic, but I likes it regardless.

Hopefully the wheels can be replaced in short order, and maybe Geico will even pay for the rental (possibly not, since I arranged for it on my own, but they’ve been pretty damn helpful so far).  I swear my car’s wheels and tires are cursed.  After this is all said and done, I’ll probably have spent a total of about $3k on wheels and tires over the life of the car.

• 13:06 I hate it when I get so involved in work that I forget to eat. #
• 16:41 Working from the deck on my laptop, siting on my comfy Coleman chair, and listening to the birds. It’s gorgeous out. #

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• 08:24 Taking Kayla to the vet to get her leg checked out — it’s been getting worse for the past year. Wish me (or rather, her) luck! #
• 10:42 Dog getting x-rayed. Site mother’s day promotion is bogging down the website. #
• 10:42 The server… she canna’ take any more, capt’n! #
• 10:45 @nevlow Diverting power from firewall shields! No, wait… maybe I shouldn’t have done that. #
• 19:13 Every time I jog, I go a little further. Come a little closer to losing my lunch. Some day, it will happen. #
• 21:02 Hope you heal up quickly, Dru. My thoughts are with ya. #

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I bought a digital camera for my mother for Mother’s Day — got her a Kodak EasyShare based on the advice of friends (thanks guys!).  I love technology, and I love finding just the right tool for the job.  So this is a post for all the geeks* out there.  Below is a list of programs, services, and mashups (like Twitter + Jott/Facebook, or WordPress + Livejournal/MySpace) that I use on a daily basis. You probably know about a lot of these things, but maybe not all.  I love to try out new things.  I love to tinker, so every blue moon** I make a post like this.  If any of you out there have anything to add, then by all means leave a comment and tell me what your technological must-haves are.

Being a tech reviewer would be my dream job — I absolutely love testing out gadgets and programs.  I could write a few pages on each of these things, but I tried to keep it as short as possible.  Information below the cut.

* I use the term “geek” in a positive way.  I have never used, nor taken, any such word in a derogatory fashion, even if it was meant that way.  To me, “geek” means “someone who is considerably more intelligent than the average person, so much so that they are constantly using their brain.”

** I had a discussion recently wherein I was told that a lot of people don’t know what a “blue moon” is.  I find this notion staggering.

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