i thunk so

In early September, my sister and her kids came to visit from Colorado. They love the backyard pool, so I was trying to impress them with “uncle hijinx.” I did the cannonball one too many times. I guess I must have landed just sideways enough to send a killer rush of air into my left ear canal. I spent the next 3-4 days with a swollen face and loads of pain. After awhile, though, the inflammation went down, but the hearing never came back.

Well, I just went to the ENT doc this morning, and he let me know my left eardrum is at about 75%. I punched a major hole in it. The doctor says that it is a simple surgery to fix, though. He’s giving it 3 more months to heal itself; and if it doesn’t, they will do a sort of plastic surgery on the eardrum to patch it up.

Filed by JP at 9:39 pm under Personal Drama
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Time to upgrade my digital cam. I have an embarassing Fuji 3.2-megapixel cam right now (it was a gift from my very cool brother-in-law, so I can’t complain about the price). I’ve settled on a Canon SD500 ELPH series. See the detailed review at dpreview.com if you care.

I’m basing my decision on several reviews and a brief experience with a friend’s SD400. The sharpness of the pictures and the impressive speed of the SD400 made me take notice. I opted for the 500 because it offers 7.1-megapixels and 640×480 video. The body size is an incredible 3.5 x 2.2 x 1.1 in That’s barely bigger then a business card. It is pretty much the same size as my iriver.

It is en route from NewEgg as I write this. I will let you know how it performs for me. Who knows, maybe I’ll finally update my flickr account.

Filed by JP at 1:50 am under Design, Personal Drama
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I highly recommend that you check out this incredible anomaly which appears to show some sort of coolant being injected into the eye of hurricane Wilma. It’s a big animated gif, but what you’re looking for is near the beginning, so watch closely as it loads frame-by-frame. The grab you see above is one in a series of significant frames.

There are only a few conspiracy theories that I subscribe to. Weather manipulation–at least on this scale–didn’t used to be one of them, but this evidence is pretty compelling. The trajectory of the “beam” would also suggest that it is tracking from somewhere in orbit. It also can’t be a glitch because you can see the pattern as it gets swept around through the bands of the hurricane and eventually disappears. Even if it’s nothing, it’s still fun to imagine that such a technology exists.

Filed by JP at 4:33 pm under Conspiracy
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Hey Big Oil,

Don’t act like you’re doing me a favor because gas prices are down $0.20 from last week. Quit crying that you don’t have enough refineries when you haven’t invested a penny in building a new refinery in the US for decades. What’s your excuse du jour? Hurricane ____? War in ____? Holiday driving? Labor strike? Global warming? El Niño?

The truth is, the last thing you want is for gas to be affordable; and you certainly wouldn’t want the supply to be greater…that might dent your record profits.

You know when I’ll be happy? I’ll be happy when we’re all pumping hydrogen technology that we invented; and all of those hostage-taking, turban-wearing third-world countries turn back into the useless piles of dust that they are. Until then, I’ll settle for $1.20 a gallon.

Filed by JP at 2:05 pm under Rants, Government
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This is the kind of nonsense that makes me want to stockpile firearms and just wait for the government to take down my front door with a battering ram…and I don’t even own a color laser printer.

Via: Electronic Frontier Foundation

Filed by JP at 1:57 pm under Rants, News Clippings, Government, Conspiracy
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I swear to you all now that I have a sweet idea for a movie. I know what you’re saying: “You have incredible ideas daily. Why would we even raise an eyebrow now that you’ve thought of a movie?” I understand, but I’m telling you it’s a winner.

Genre? Oh, I’d say a cross between sci-fi, futuristic thriller, social commentary, etc. It deals with many social paradoxes.

If you’re a screenwriter looking for a break, maybe I’ll consider sharing co-author credit. At the least, you’ll be in for a nice piece of the action.

Filed by JP at 8:12 pm under Ideas
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