Well, for everyone who has been wondering what I have been planning for a career, here it is. I decided that I want to be a truck driver. I’ve done a lot of investigating over the past few months into the trucking business and decided that it would be something I’d like to do. I still have to pass my physical and go to school and pass that and get hired, but I’ve already started working on all of that and I hope to be on the road by mid October. Anyway, wish me luck and I’ll update this page as things progress.
Archive for August, 2007
Check out my health blog. I’m trying to take better care of my self and you can track my progress there. I’m hoping it will be informative and I’m hoping that you will all help to hold me accountable for leading a more healthy life.
The launch on August 8, 2007 of the Space Shuttle Endeavour went well. I had a pretty good viewing area right across from the cape in Titusville, FL. They won’t let you get very close to the pad. I messed up because there are two launch pads that the shuttle is launched from. It was hazy and they were just on the horizon, so I didn’t know which one to look at. I picked the wrong one and missed about the first second. The launch happens very quickly. That thing was up and out of sight in about 3 minutes and that’s with high power binoculars. The exhaust is also much brighter than it seems on TV. When it was low to the ground it almost hurt my eyes through the binoculars. The sound is odd too. Since you are far away the thing is pretty high before you hear anything, then it is a low rumbling that gets louder and shakes. It’s hard to describe as I’ve never heard anything like it. It is at a very low frequency. Here is a slideshow of the few pictures I was able to take.
It’s long been a dream of mine to see the launch of a space vehicle. I came pretty close back in 2003. I just happened to be in Florida in late June when I discovered that the second Mars rover, Opportunity, was set to launch. The night of the launch I waited on the beach along with about 50 or 60 other people, but a line of storms was moving in and the launch got scrubbed. I was gone by the time the launch actually happened.
Yesterday I was watching television and realized that the Space Shuttle Endeavour is set to launch this Wednesday. Since I am currently jobless and I don’t really have anything to do, I decided that it would be a perfect time to make the trip and see a launch. So I’ll be leaving out tomorrow morning and I hope to be there around mid-day on Tuesday.
In case you’ve been living under a rock or perhaps you’re just finding this blog, you no doubt know of my “boycott” of retail giant Wal-Mart. Well, it’s all over. I’ve decided that boycotting Wal-Mart is like boycotting ExxonMobil or Royal Dutch Shell… pointless. Me not shopping at Wal-Mart isn’t going to bring manufacturing jobs back to the US nor is it going to bring back local mom and pop stores. I’ve decided that it’s time to recognize that the US economy is changing and I need to stop living in the past.
To break my boycott I went to Wal-Mart and made my first purchase there in over 2 years. I bought a softball bat (clearance priced at $15), some wrist weights to wear when I walk, an apple pie, and some fried chicken from the deli. The bat and weights are great, but the pie was undercooked and had nasty hard bits in it and the fried chicken made me sick to my stomach. People have since told me to stay away from the food at Wal-Mart and just buy the name brand stuff. A little late for me (and my stomach), but good advice nonetheless.
Speaking of brand named foods, one thing I’ve noticed a lot lately is that many foods are now offered in 100 calorie packets. This is something I’ve been wanting for a while now. It makes it much easier to watch what I eat. My only problem is not eating too may of the food packets at once. I would be happy to see more foods offered in these smaller portions.
I came across this post at Wired blogs detailing a top 10 list of reasons to throw away your cell phone. Most of the reasons listed are self induced and completely avoidable. I’ll just comment on a few.
First is the one about “perpetual availability.” One of my friends gets mad just about every time her cell phone rings. She always says she is tired of people calling her all the time. I always say, “Just turn if off,” or if she’s particularly mad, “Don’t bitch about it anymore if you’re going to leave it on.” But she refuses to turn it off or even leave it at home or in the car stating that she might miss something important. My solution to this problem of “perpetual availability” is to completely ignore my phone most of the time. I turn it off when I don’t want to answer it. I leave it at home if I don’t think I’ll need it. I usually check my messages only once a day and sometimes only once a week. And if it rings and I don’t want to be bothered, I just don’t answer it. Pretty simple.
I’ll also comment on cell phones being “horribly expensive.” I’ll admit that my cell phone costs me more than a land line, but only just a few dollars more. I have the lowest plan Verizon offers. Most of the people I talk to have Verizon, so those calls cost nothing extra. And I rarely use all of my 450 minutes or 100 text messages. My phone was a bit expensive, but you can get a good phone free of charge if you sign a long contract.
And why not sign a contract? All the cell phone providers cost about the same and as long as the service is good, there’s really no difference between them as far as I can tell. Verizon coverage is excellent. I get coverage even when I’m off in B.F.E. as long as I stick to the main roads. When my contract was up last year I searched around at other providers, but they all cost about the same. Since I haven’t had any problems with Verizon, I see no reason not to stick with them. That being said, the contracts are a bit silly and are clearly just a money grab on the cell phone providers part.
Maybe I’m the wrong person to be talking about this since I rarely talk on the phone. I just think people worry about their phones way too much. They are tools for our convenience, not our overlords. People just need to relax and realize that if you turn it off, calls go straight to voice mail.
