Thursday, February 17, 2005

Wet box

Wait, wait, wait. Don't go jamming for the back button on your browser, this update is 100% safe for work--or is it, now that I've pointed out the double entendre in the title?

Last week, I was checking out one of my favorite sites, SlickDeals (which is now in my Links section) when I came across a deal that was too good to pass up: Call of Duty, a World War II combat game that got rave reviews from my online gaming pals, for $15, including shipping. So I ordered it, and went about my business for the next few days.

Fast forward to yesterday afternoon. The package with my new game arrives, and it's too big to fit in my mailbox. It's pouring rain out--what's a postal carrier to do? Did he set the package inside the storm door to my enclosed front porch? That would be ideal--it'd stay nice and dry, plus all the unsupervised delinquent little punks in my neighborhood wouldn't be able to stare at the package and have several hours between the time the package arrives and the time I get home from work to figure out the best way to steal it. (My suggestion: walk up, grab it, calmly walk away. My house sits empty, after all, and it's not like my neighbors would give a crap--they'd just be happy the little hellspawns were messing with someone else.) But no, that would be too easy and too convenient for me. Did he leave one of those little notes on my door for me to go pick it up at the post office? Of course not--that'd keep it safe and dry, and while it wouldn't be quite so convenient, the post office is only a couple of blocks away.

No, this waste of space of a mail carrier leaves the package sitting right outside on my front steps. For anyone in the world to pick up and walk away with. In the pouring rain. I don't know if it's because I didn't leave him a Christmas bribe tip or what, but just look at the condition I found my package in when I got home from work last night.


The outer box after several hours of exposure to the rain.


The invoice. Wet through despite being wrapped in plastic.


The inner box got so wet that the bottom edges began to curl up and tear.


So wet you can easily see the water still on it.

It was bad enough that they forgot to restart my mail after my Christmas vacation (when I complained while picking up the mail, the person at the desk said that was on the carrier too), but this is ridiculous. I'm headed over there after work with these photos to complain. The only reason to be nice at all is that the game itself was shrinkwrapped and in a plastic CD case, and installed and played just fine. Nothing pisses me off more than incompetence (deliberate or not).

Wednesday, February 16, 2005

More computer bling

I thought the fans would be enough to stop my "media center" computer from overheating and shutting down. I was wrong.

So I went out last night on my way home from work, and I bought a new power supply. Got it home, popped it in, it worked beautifully--all systems returned to normal. But imagine my surprise when I discover a blue glow emanating from the rear of the computer. Yep, my new power supply has a blue LED to go along with the red LEDs on my fans. Without ever intending to, I've built a bling computer.

Monday, February 14, 2005

Blogger profile

I found this on Squidly, who found it on Cruft. Looked like fun.

1. What is your full name? Joel Leon Pease
2. What color pants are you wearing? Navy blue
3. What are you listening to right now? A replay of Opie and Anthony
4. What was the last thing you ate? A turkey sub from Subway with a bag of cheddar Sun Chips
5. Do you wish on stars? No
6. If you were a crayon, what color would you be? Grey
7. How is the weather right now? Raining and 41 degrees, but the former makes the latter seem much colder.
8. Last person you spoke to on the phone? Our head server admin at work
9. Do you like the person who sent this to you? I found it on a website, but I like the person whose blog it is.
10. How old are you today? 26 years, 1 month, two days
11. Favorite drink? Microbrewed beers--too many favorites to pick one, but two of my favorite breweries are Dogfish Head and Victory
12. Favorite sports? To watch, baseball and football; to play, paintball
13. Hair color? Light brown
14. Do you wear contacts? Yes
15. Siblings? Brother Matthew
16. Favorite month? May
17. Favorite food? Toss-up between Italian and Cajun
18. What was the last movie you watched? The Forgotten--in a word, forgettable.
19. Favorite day of the year? Thanksgiving
20. What do you do to vent anger? Fire my paintball gun in my basement "range"; yell at idiot drivers on the road; take it out on computer game characters
21. What was your favorite toy as a child? Game Boy
22. Summer or winter? Summer
23. Hugs or kisses? Kisses
24. Chocolate or Vanilla? Chocolate
25. Do you want your friends to email you back? Yes.
26. Who is most likely to respond? Mike R.
27. Who is least likely to respond? Matt
28. Living arrangements? A whole house all to myself
29. When was the last time you cried? When a very close long-term relationship ended unexpectedly (at least to me)
30. What is under your bed? Dust bunnies; a small baseball bat
31. Who is the friend you have had the longest? Matt (aka Faxman) and Mike R.--both have been my friends since elementary school
32. What did you do last night? Played World of Warcraft, watched Law and Order: Criminal Intent
33. Favorite smell? Dinner--whatever it may be
34. What inspires you? The chance to make the world a better or safer place--my favorite tasks at work are those involving security
35. What are you afraid of? Heights
36. Plain, buttered or salted popcorn? Buttered
37. Favorite car? Dodge Viper
38. Favorite Flower? Tulips
39. Number of keys on your key ring? 8 on the ring I always carry, 9 more on a second ring in my desk.
40. How many years at your current job? 5
41. Favorite day of the week? Saturday
42. What did you do on your last birthday? Worked, then went to a bar with a friend
43. How many states have you lived in? 3
44. Have many cities have you lived in? 4

Computer bling

I never intended to add bling to my computer, especially not the one I keep in the living room. After all, its primary function is to upmix my TV's audio into 5.1 surround, and its secondary function is to play music and DVDs. And it spends most of its time enclosed in an armoire with the doors closed. But when I went to the local CompUSA to buy a fan, the CompUSA brand black case fan was actually a dollar more expensive than the red LED Antec fan...so what choice did I have? I have a bling'd-out computer--completely unintentionally!

Thursday, February 03, 2005

New site feature

OK, by this point, it's not that new any more, but I want to point it out anyway. Sometimes I'll read, see, or hear something so exceptional that I'll want to dedicate a post to talk about it. But I read a lot of books, listen to a lot of music, and watch a lot of movies, so I've added a new section called "Recent Experiences" to showcase my recent entertainment choices. I'll still talk about them when they're really good or really bad (or so bad they're good), but there'll be a lot of things ending up in that lil' sidebar that won't get any other mention on the site.

Something special in the air...

Flight attendant sentenced for giving Xanax to crying baby

To paraphrase the great Chris Rock, "I ain't sayin' he shoulda done it...but I understand." There's nothing more annoying than a screaming baby on a long plane ride, but at least the mother in this case was trying to get a bottle together and get the kid to shut it.