I'm going to hell...

I wonder if anyone has ever discovered the cure for Alzheimer's and promptly forgotten it. The only thing worse than not finding the cure is not remembering it. Imagine. It's right there, you had it! You were just about to write it down... But now it's gone.

The people most likely to develop a cure are those directly affected by the disease. For example, Michael J. Fox's Parkinson's research or Christopher Reeve's paralysis research. In the case of Alzheimer's, someone suffering from its affects wouldn't be a prime candidate for the research team. It would suck to start every day thinking, "I'm finally going to start on that research," only to find that you'd already started... Several hundred times. You plumb forgot.

Sure, family members of an Alzheimer's victim might be good candidates for research, but think about it... Why would you cure something that makes it so easy to screw with your loved ones? Who doesn't get a good laugh when grandpa forgets to wear pants? Hell, I'd try to convince him that pants went out of style years ago!

Where was I going with this...?

Almond Joy's got nuts

Did you know it was possible to unearth mounds? Seriously, have a look: Ancient burial mounds unearthed in Armenia. Yeah, I was shocked too. I'd have thought that a mound, once covered, couldn't so much be unearthed. Think about it. How? How do you know you unearthed a mound? It's a freaking mound! You add dirt to a mound, and it becomes... A BIGGER MOUND! Unearthing a mound is like leveling a mountain and saying "Hey, look, we've unearthed a hill!"

How does someone explain that they've unearthed a mound, anyway? I'm assuming the conversation goes a bit like this:

Guy: Friend, get over here!
Friend: What is it, Guy?
Guy: I've unearthed a mound!
Friend: Then I suppose you've still got some digging to do...
Guy: No, there is a dead body under there!
Friend: How the crap do you know that?
Guy: Because it's a mound!
Friend: It was a bigger mound when we started... you didn't know there was a dead guy under there two hours ago.
Guy: But I do now.
Friend: Bloody How?
Guy: It's a mound! what else would be under there?

I wonder if you can unearth a crater...

Service Industry

There is an interesting phenomenon that I’ve noticed about the service industry. If you’re a seasoned veteran, you’ve likely complained about this many times.

Lies. Customers are liars. Ok, not all of them, and they don’t always know they’re lying, but the vast majority of them are doing it straight to your face. This is an excerpt from a conversation I overheard today:

“I haven’t used the computer since you gave it back to me 3 weeks ago.”

“Have you installed any programs on it?”

“No, I haven’t.”

Pointing to the screen, “Did you install THIS program?”

“Yes, I did.”

How are you supposed to troubleshoot a problem for someone who lies to you? I feel sorry for doctors, especially. I’m sure they get this more than anyone. People make an appointment with their physician and when asked, “Have you had any sexual activity within the past 3 weeks?” reply, “No, doctor, I didn’t sleep with multiple partners today… o-o-or yesterday. …or last week.”

Come on! You’re only making the problem worse. Just be honest. Don’t lie to the auto shop guy. He’s going to figure out how you screwed up your car. It’s only a matter of time. You’re going to feel so much dumber when he calls saying, “Yeah, we found the problem with your Ford Pinto. It seems there were some chunks of animal lodged in your wheel well. It may have been caused by hitting a dog, or perhaps multiple dogs. It’s hard to tell how many different animals these chunks came from.” Now the only excuse available to you is, “Yeah, I was really drunk that night and there were so many dogs on the street. I had to hit them all!”

Munchies

Are you ever up at 1:30 am wondering why you're hungry. That's the case with me right now. I am wondering why I'm hungry. I mean, come on. I've had 2 meals today. That's twice my usual daily food intake. I don't understand why I'm suddenly getting hunger pains. I'd eat, but I'm tired and I'll likely head off to bed soon. They say it's not good to eat just before bed. What do you think?

Let's say that you go all day without eating. Does that justify eating just before you go to bed? Which is worse for you... eating just before bed or not eating at all? All this talk about not eating is making me hungrier. I'm going to grab a snack and then it's straight to bed!

Words to live by

I feel inspired when I hear or read Apple's mantra...

Here's to the crazy ones.

The misfits.

The rebels.

The troublemakers.

The round pegs in the square holes.

The ones who see things differently.

They're not fond of rules

And they have no respect for the status quo.

You can praise them, quote them, disagree with them

disbelieve them, glorify or vilify them.

About the only thing that you can't do is ignore them.

Because they change things.

They invent. They imagine. They heal.

They explore. They create. They inspire.

They push the human race forward.

Maybe they have to be crazy.

How else can you stare at an empty canvas and see a work of art?

Or sit in silence and hear a song that's never been written?

Or gaze at a red planet and see a laboratory on wheels?

We make tools for these kinds of people.

While some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius.

Because the people who are crazy enough to think that they can change the world, are the ones who do.

Apple
Think Different

Photos

Photography fascinates me. A Photo, reflected light channeled through a lens and captured by chemical or electronic means, is very powerful . Photos can invoke a broad range of emotions. Often, they remind us of the past. Perhaps you're thinking "sure they do, photos are records of the past." ...and you're right, but that's not what I'm getting at.

When I see a photo of a beautiful landscape, foreign or otherwise, something in my brain kicks into motion. Hypothetical gears mesh and drive my thoughts forward (or backwards as the case may be). I'm often reminded of my 2004 trip to Japan. More to the point, I am reminded of Mount Fuji. The picture could be of the rocky mountains in 1932, but through the power of photography, a trick of the light, I am reminded of my own past.

Photography has a powerful hold on me. I love taking photos. I love being in photos. I love viewing photos. These impressions, records, what ever you want to call them, they are precious. They are sacred.

iGoogle

iGoogle (the google personalized homepage) is awesome. There are so many great things about iGoogle, it is difficult to pick one feature that stands out as the best. This having been said, I think the best feature (shut up) is the ability to add Google Reader to the page. Google Reader is one of the best tools available on the internet. It singlehandedly gathers all of my favorite blogs, comics and news feeds into one location... it even sorts them and allows me to view them without going to their respective websites. This tool saves me time and reminds me when it's time to read a new entry. My only complaint is that not everyone has RSS feeds, but that isn't google's fault... some people are just stupid.

There is, however, a feature I am dying to see made available for iGoogle. As of yet, there is no iGoogle gadget that directly integrates Blogger... See, if I want to put up a new post, I've got to go to Blogger... I can't just type what I want into a text box in my homepage and then post from there. Please, for the love of god, someone program this gadget before I have to learn how to do it myself!