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Archive for the ‘Observations’ Category

Man, you just GOTTA love government bureaucracy

Monday, 28 June 2010 (3:00 pm) Steve No comments

Last year, my family and I applied for passports. We got ‘em and used ‘em, so no big deal, right? Recently, though, I was looking at mine and noticed that, inexplicably, my gender was marked as “F” instead of the correct “M.” Ha-ha, very funny, but I have a clearly male name, my photo shows [...]

Categories: Observations, Stupids Tags:

Back in the saddle again

Friday, 4 June 2010 (12:39 pm) Steve No comments

Huh. After a few months of working at home, I’ve just finished two days working in the client’s office and rediscovered several annoying things I’d forgotten: People with loud and/or annoying ringtones who let the phones ring and ring (and RING) while they decide whether to answer the call. You know, you CAN silence the [...]

Categories: Observations, Rude, Work Tags:

A tale of two Sci-Fi movies

Thursday, 4 February 2010 (5:31 pm) Steve No comments

Now that the Avatar juggernaut is heading into the Oscars, I thought I’d post a quick note about two very different SF movies: Avatar and Moon. I saw  Avatar the week after it opened, in 3D. Having actively avoided the 3D versions of movies the past several years, I was somewhat apprehensive about seeing this in RealD [...]

Categories: In the media, Observations Tags:

Blinded by the (LED) light

Tuesday, 2 February 2010 (9:22 pm) Steve 1 comment

I know that LED lights are becoming more and more popular for cars, especially for tail and brake lights (I seem to recall reading that the brighter LEDs cause people to react some-tenths of a second more quickly), but I would like to register a complaint: They’re freaking annoying. I’m sure they’re phenomenal in the [...]

Categories: Cars, Observations Tags:

On endurance racing and not giving up

Monday, 19 October 2009 (4:59 pm) Steve No comments

The car racing organization that I run with holds two endurance races each year, one in the spring before the regular season starts and one right after it ends. This past week-end saw the 34th running of the “12 Hours of the Cascades” at Portland International Raceway in Portland, OR. Our “regular” enduro team was [...]

Categories: Driving, Observations Tags:

What the…? When did THAT happen?

Friday, 4 September 2009 (9:36 pm) Steve 1 comment

Huh. I don’t know why I’ve never noticed it before, but being both a homeowner and a parent has meant that many of the crap jobs I’ve had over the years have made surreptitious returns… although now I get to do them for free: daycare (obviously) landscaping janitorial carpet cleaning customer service working both the [...]

Categories: Observations Tags:

Where have all the parents gone?

Wednesday, 2 September 2009 (12:04 pm) Steve No comments

Heh. Turns out I was about to create a re-post. Still true, tho’.

Categories: Observations Tags:

A brief moment of brilliance

Thursday, 18 June 2009 (3:59 pm) Steve No comments

Barry, one of the two people I share an office with, returned from a trip to the kitchen and expressed this quietly brilliant nugget of wisdom: I just realized this place is like a casino: There are no clocks, it’s hard to find the exits, the drinks are free, and if you stay here long [...]

Categories: Humor, Observations, Work Tags:

One of the worst company slogans EVER

Monday, 15 June 2009 (2:50 pm) Steve No comments

Okay, so this is probably fundamentally old news to just about everyone, and I’d bet my left… upper incisor that it’s been covered ad nauseam before, but I just noticed “Sara Lee’s” slogan on a truck the other day. Like a lot of people (according to the relevant Wikipedia entry), I’d always thought the slogan [...]

Categories: Observations, Writing Tags:

Random observation of the day

Tuesday, 17 March 2009 (3:59 pm) Steve No comments

Touch-typing with a bulky bandage on your fingertip is made even more difficult when the finger in question is the slightly-balky pinky.

Categories: Observations Tags:

More odd bathroom behavior

Tuesday, 10 March 2009 (1:57 pm) Steve No comments

I was washing up in the sink at work and a guy who had just used a urinal was literally pacing around the room, clearly waiting for me to finish using the sink. There’s two sinks, both with water, soap, paper towels, etc., and I couldn’t figure out what the deal was. Unlike the other [...]

Categories: Observations, Work Tags:

Maybe the lights confuse them?

Tuesday, 10 February 2009 (11:32 am) Steve No comments

I’ve noticed something that seems to be true at least 99% of the time, which is: The same people who let their cars creep, creep, creep forward while waiting at a red light will then… WAIT once the light turns green. (And I’m not talking about a short pause, either.) What the hell?!!

Categories: Driving, Observations Tags:

Can someone explain to me…

Friday, 1 August 2008 (4:54 pm) Steve No comments

Why one of those itty-bitty smart cars needs back-up sensors? I mean, really?

Categories: Cars, Observations Tags:

Low-ballers piss me off

Wednesday, 21 May 2008 (2:39 pm) Steve No comments

Almost every time I post an ad to eBay or Craigslist, one or more loser low-ballers asks me some variation of “What’s your lowest price?” If this is your idea of negotiation, it really sucks. Hey! Here’s an idea: Make me an offer and see if I go for it. Hell, even a low-ball offer [...]

Categories: Observations, Stupids Tags:

So Danica won? Eh.

Thursday, 1 May 2008 (1:45 pm) Steve No comments

I know I’m about 10 days behind the curve on this, but I just had this conversation with my sister and thought it worth posting here. The title of this entry accurately reflects my reaction to news that Danica Patrick had won the IRL race at the Twin-Ring Motegi circuit in Japan. Ooh, you’re just [...]

Categories: In the media, Observations Tags: