won the corporate (mini) golf outing!
Friday, July 18, 2008
First annual NXLevel golf outing
won the corporate (mini) golf outing!
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
ATM Usability
So, I am driving up to an ATM the other day, in my car, and I find that I am third in line to make my transaction. The car right ahead of me is a late model volvo wagon, which could mean "older person driving" but in this case it is a youngish woman. In front of that is a Cadillac. Now, there is an interesting spread of demographic stereotypes that one might find purchasing a Cadillac so I didn't want to jump to any conclusions, but here is the thing. i was planning my morning and by looking at these cars I am attempting to guestimate the amount of time I will spend in line here. The late model volvo seems to have two customers: the ones that keep them up well and love their dependability, and then there is the person who loves talking about the dependability of Volvos in general but who's car is held together with rust and love and exits parking spots like an octopus jetisoning an oily plume of diessel smoke as if escaping some predator. Ah, but this is a stereotype and not all Volvos are dependable, and just because there isn't rust doesn't mean their isn't love. But that is another story. I digress.
The Volvo ahead of me was the former not the later. She took car of this Volvo and falls into the "efficient at the ATM" category, so the Volvo will definitely not be slowing me down. The Cadillac is, as you would guess, another story. The two major demographic groups here are: hooptified ghetto-licious owners, and Easy Riders. The hooptie group is actually a diverse group in itself including everything from "Classic car owner" to "pimp-my-cadi" lo-riders. The cadillac ahead of me didn't fall into that category. This was clearly an easy rider. By Easy Rider, I mean that the owners in this demographic buy the cadillac because it is such a boat that it can barrel down the road and smoothly pass over a pothole large enough for a Prius to fall into. Easy Riders want a ride so smooth that they can even manage to forget they are driving (they think they are at home lounging on their plastic covered couches) or so sound proof that they think they are the only car on the road (and driving accordingly.) Easy Riders also typically go by another name: Blue-hairs (a.k.a. elderly folks.) The Cadillac ahead of me was an easy ride'n Blue-hair.
Why is it that Blue-hairs take soo long at the ATM? You can see they are not simply confused (though some are)? They are typing and swiping multiple cards. I have taken less time at a keyboard writing computer programs! I am convinced that the Internet banking to the current generation is what ATMs are to the Blue-hair demographic. My bet is that if you poll Blue-hair people on the street, asking them how to record a TV show with a DVR, they wouldn't have a clue what a DVR was. BUT... if you asked them what takes them so long at the ATM, then would explain that they were "auto-banking" their five bank accounts, as well as having found some hidden menu in the ATM screens that let them chat with other Blue-hairs sitting at other ATMs across the planet!
So my morning is now running late as I watch arms come in and out of the cadillac swiping multiple ATM cards and typing furiously like a middle-school kid texting their BFF on some rediculously tiny cell phone! By the third card, I begin to throw my hands in the air and declare "Come on!" when I saw the Volvo do the exact same thing. In fact I heard it out my window, "COME ON!" Seriously, I think it is a Blue-hair prank. They know we are all in a rush, and they are not, so they text each other via ATM across the city and all converge on efficient lines everwhere in an effort to slow them down to an unreasonable pace. Whether you are just trying to get out $20, or if you are wanting a morning coffee, they are all in a conspiracy to toss wrenches into this grind of a high-speed system we are all slaves to. I love it AND I hate it. COME ON!
Finally the Cadillac leaves, and like clock work the Volvo is in and out faster than I can retrieve my banking card. I get up to the machine and position myself as close as possible to the keyboard. This never works. I can never get close enough. So with the window unrolled, I len out to start the transaction. The card is swiped! I am entering my code. I learn to hit "english" and oops!... I have selected chinese or something, which is the point of this blog entry!
Once you have selected the wrong language on an ATM, you are now screwed! Is there not a universal symbol or word for "Oops! Go Back!" Nope. There isn't I guess. So after scanning the screen for a while, finally I noticed the "cancel" button on the keyboard, which ended the transaction. At which point I had to get my card out again and swipe it... again! At which point I heard an exclamation from the car behind me...
"Come on!"
As an upside, after I heard someone yell "come on" just to piss them off some more, I found a menu on the ATM that let me write this blog entry. So, I am signing off for now, since my $20 bill just popped out. Now, how do I text on this thing?
The Volvo ahead of me was the former not the later. She took car of this Volvo and falls into the "efficient at the ATM" category, so the Volvo will definitely not be slowing me down. The Cadillac is, as you would guess, another story. The two major demographic groups here are: hooptified ghetto-licious owners, and Easy Riders. The hooptie group is actually a diverse group in itself including everything from "Classic car owner" to "pimp-my-cadi" lo-riders. The cadillac ahead of me didn't fall into that category. This was clearly an easy rider. By Easy Rider, I mean that the owners in this demographic buy the cadillac because it is such a boat that it can barrel down the road and smoothly pass over a pothole large enough for a Prius to fall into. Easy Riders want a ride so smooth that they can even manage to forget they are driving (they think they are at home lounging on their plastic covered couches) or so sound proof that they think they are the only car on the road (and driving accordingly.) Easy Riders also typically go by another name: Blue-hairs (a.k.a. elderly folks.) The Cadillac ahead of me was an easy ride'n Blue-hair.
Why is it that Blue-hairs take soo long at the ATM? You can see they are not simply confused (though some are)? They are typing and swiping multiple cards. I have taken less time at a keyboard writing computer programs! I am convinced that the Internet banking to the current generation is what ATMs are to the Blue-hair demographic. My bet is that if you poll Blue-hair people on the street, asking them how to record a TV show with a DVR, they wouldn't have a clue what a DVR was. BUT... if you asked them what takes them so long at the ATM, then would explain that they were "auto-banking" their five bank accounts, as well as having found some hidden menu in the ATM screens that let them chat with other Blue-hairs sitting at other ATMs across the planet!
So my morning is now running late as I watch arms come in and out of the cadillac swiping multiple ATM cards and typing furiously like a middle-school kid texting their BFF on some rediculously tiny cell phone! By the third card, I begin to throw my hands in the air and declare "Come on!" when I saw the Volvo do the exact same thing. In fact I heard it out my window, "COME ON!" Seriously, I think it is a Blue-hair prank. They know we are all in a rush, and they are not, so they text each other via ATM across the city and all converge on efficient lines everwhere in an effort to slow them down to an unreasonable pace. Whether you are just trying to get out $20, or if you are wanting a morning coffee, they are all in a conspiracy to toss wrenches into this grind of a high-speed system we are all slaves to. I love it AND I hate it. COME ON!
Finally the Cadillac leaves, and like clock work the Volvo is in and out faster than I can retrieve my banking card. I get up to the machine and position myself as close as possible to the keyboard. This never works. I can never get close enough. So with the window unrolled, I len out to start the transaction. The card is swiped! I am entering my code. I learn to hit "english" and oops!... I have selected chinese or something, which is the point of this blog entry!
Once you have selected the wrong language on an ATM, you are now screwed! Is there not a universal symbol or word for "Oops! Go Back!" Nope. There isn't I guess. So after scanning the screen for a while, finally I noticed the "cancel" button on the keyboard, which ended the transaction. At which point I had to get my card out again and swipe it... again! At which point I heard an exclamation from the car behind me...
"Come on!"
As an upside, after I heard someone yell "come on" just to piss them off some more, I found a menu on the ATM that let me write this blog entry. So, I am signing off for now, since my $20 bill just popped out. Now, how do I text on this thing?
Sunday, July 13, 2008
End of a long day
dave" which was rediculous. Then I headed home to be greeted by a
community street event of some sort. There was a guy outside my place
DJing club music in the middle of the afternoon. I chatted with a few
people on the street (who almost convinced me to throw a cookout for
them) and ended up reading in a lawn chair on my deck! For lunch...
Hotdogs and raspberry tea! Did I ever mention my passion for Brisk
brand raspberry tea? So now I am waking up from a late nap on the
couch having slept my way through Extreme Home Makeover just in time
to head to bed! A good lazy day!
Saturday, July 12, 2008
Thursday, July 10, 2008
Flip-flopping politicians?
Yes. This is yet another blog entry out on the web that is curiously questioning what is going on inside the mind of Barack Obama.
According to MSNBC news, over the past few weeks Obama has made a few moves that are getting him labeled as a flip-flopper. (As well, so that people don't accuse MSNBC of being a conservative media perspective, here is Bob Herbert of the New York Times questioning Obama's politics!) For example, do you recall the heat he and Sen. Hilary Clinton got into when Hillary talked about a need to get out of Iraq, but Obama said that she landed way to far into the conservative political perspective on that point? He was all about making it a priority to get out of Iraq. The devil in the details, he more recently revealed a plan / recommendation that got us out of Iraq in 16 months (so 1.33 years after he would theoretically get into office.) Now, he saying that he doesn't want to undervalue the progress that is being made in Iraq, the "gains" that we are working hard to establish, so he is ready to be more flexible on when we leave in hopes that even more progress is made toward stability. Wait? He claimed we shouldn't be there to begin with? And he has been screaming "get out" for more than a year now. I know people who are ready to vote for Obama almost completely on this issue alone! Suddenly progress is happening, so he jumps on board and getting the troops home is less of a priority? At best, this leaves people wondering what his priorities and motivation really are here. Apparently, knowing his rhetoric isn't nearly enough. He was raging against a "stay the course" conservative proposal, and now suddenly he seems to support it.
In addition to that, he recently supported an augmented surveillance intelligence bill. This was a bit of a shocker to most, in that he is suddenly running against the majority opinion of his party.
As well, Barack had a fairly firm position about thoughts on the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) has suddenly softened and at the same time he publicly supported the Supreme Courts ruling in favor of upholding citizen gun owning laws (this was about the Supreme Court overturning a hand gun ban in DC) as well as landing in a more conservative perspective on the death penalty. Wow! Who is this guy? (Actually, the issue of being OK with the death penalty in the case of intense issues like "child rape" is a known issue that Obama somewhat supported before. It was only recently that is has become a political opportunity to re-brand him as a more politically moderate candidate. That doesn't stop press folks like Bob Herbert from calling his support of the death penalty in any form "barbaric.")
Now, a naive person might (only might) think that "this is the true perspective" of Obama finally coming through. Or they might ask the question, "Wouldn't this mean that He is a candidate that more people can get behind?" but really I think it begs another question altogether.
I think the question is, if these more recent political moves reflect a side to Obama we are only now being exposed to (he never voted like this in his previous years of politics -- he always voted the party line, nearly 100% of the time), then is his short run in federal politics significant enough to really throw our weight behind in an election? Said another way, if these decisions blur our political view and understanding of him (and the experts say it raises reasonable questions) then how do we back him, if we are not honestly sure how he truly stands on these issues? I would grant enough grace to the general population in that I don't think people could have imagined that he would be doing and saying some of the stuff he is siding with these days, so they could reasonably question this whole "change" rhetoric and at this point not be accused of flip-flopping themselves.
Personally, I think we can see with more certainty the positions of McCain and Clinton. It has me wondering if the Democratic party might want to reconsider the candidate they are backing. Or in reality, they likely will not reconsider. Why? Because Washington already knows he is a politician like all of them. The best we could hope for is a good guess on how they will truly act and react as president. In the case of Obama, he can motivate you and make you feel you are on the team, but the question is, where is this team going, really.
In conclusion, I think that this significantly raises into question what sort of "change" Obama has been imagining, if he is now siding with stuff that we imagined he previously wanted to change. Or are these recent political decisions reducing his "change" speeches into hype-rhetoric to get people excited (i.e. "Hey, I want change and he wants change. We must want the same change!? Go Obama, go!"). Maybe what we are seeing is a man who wants votes so he is compromising his values to gain more middle-ground? Who knows, and that is the problem. As Markos Moutlisas writes in his blog entry on July 8th, Obama is "now acting like every other politician. For those who thought he was something 'new' and 'different', fact is, he's behaving like every other politician before him."
I would love to hear peoples thoughts on this. If anyone wants to blog their own explanations of what this is really all about, write about it on your blog and add a link to the blog entry in my comments on my blog here!
According to MSNBC news, over the past few weeks Obama has made a few moves that are getting him labeled as a flip-flopper. (As well, so that people don't accuse MSNBC of being a conservative media perspective, here is Bob Herbert of the New York Times questioning Obama's politics!) For example, do you recall the heat he and Sen. Hilary Clinton got into when Hillary talked about a need to get out of Iraq, but Obama said that she landed way to far into the conservative political perspective on that point? He was all about making it a priority to get out of Iraq. The devil in the details, he more recently revealed a plan / recommendation that got us out of Iraq in 16 months (so 1.33 years after he would theoretically get into office.) Now, he saying that he doesn't want to undervalue the progress that is being made in Iraq, the "gains" that we are working hard to establish, so he is ready to be more flexible on when we leave in hopes that even more progress is made toward stability. Wait? He claimed we shouldn't be there to begin with? And he has been screaming "get out" for more than a year now. I know people who are ready to vote for Obama almost completely on this issue alone! Suddenly progress is happening, so he jumps on board and getting the troops home is less of a priority? At best, this leaves people wondering what his priorities and motivation really are here. Apparently, knowing his rhetoric isn't nearly enough. He was raging against a "stay the course" conservative proposal, and now suddenly he seems to support it.
In addition to that, he recently supported an augmented surveillance intelligence bill. This was a bit of a shocker to most, in that he is suddenly running against the majority opinion of his party.
As well, Barack had a fairly firm position about thoughts on the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) has suddenly softened and at the same time he publicly supported the Supreme Courts ruling in favor of upholding citizen gun owning laws (this was about the Supreme Court overturning a hand gun ban in DC) as well as landing in a more conservative perspective on the death penalty. Wow! Who is this guy? (Actually, the issue of being OK with the death penalty in the case of intense issues like "child rape" is a known issue that Obama somewhat supported before. It was only recently that is has become a political opportunity to re-brand him as a more politically moderate candidate. That doesn't stop press folks like Bob Herbert from calling his support of the death penalty in any form "barbaric.")
Now, a naive person might (only might) think that "this is the true perspective" of Obama finally coming through. Or they might ask the question, "Wouldn't this mean that He is a candidate that more people can get behind?" but really I think it begs another question altogether.
I think the question is, if these more recent political moves reflect a side to Obama we are only now being exposed to (he never voted like this in his previous years of politics -- he always voted the party line, nearly 100% of the time), then is his short run in federal politics significant enough to really throw our weight behind in an election? Said another way, if these decisions blur our political view and understanding of him (and the experts say it raises reasonable questions) then how do we back him, if we are not honestly sure how he truly stands on these issues? I would grant enough grace to the general population in that I don't think people could have imagined that he would be doing and saying some of the stuff he is siding with these days, so they could reasonably question this whole "change" rhetoric and at this point not be accused of flip-flopping themselves.
Personally, I think we can see with more certainty the positions of McCain and Clinton. It has me wondering if the Democratic party might want to reconsider the candidate they are backing. Or in reality, they likely will not reconsider. Why? Because Washington already knows he is a politician like all of them. The best we could hope for is a good guess on how they will truly act and react as president. In the case of Obama, he can motivate you and make you feel you are on the team, but the question is, where is this team going, really.
In conclusion, I think that this significantly raises into question what sort of "change" Obama has been imagining, if he is now siding with stuff that we imagined he previously wanted to change. Or are these recent political decisions reducing his "change" speeches into hype-rhetoric to get people excited (i.e. "Hey, I want change and he wants change. We must want the same change!? Go Obama, go!"). Maybe what we are seeing is a man who wants votes so he is compromising his values to gain more middle-ground? Who knows, and that is the problem. As Markos Moutlisas writes in his blog entry on July 8th, Obama is "now acting like every other politician. For those who thought he was something 'new' and 'different', fact is, he's behaving like every other politician before him."
I would love to hear peoples thoughts on this. If anyone wants to blog their own explanations of what this is really all about, write about it on your blog and add a link to the blog entry in my comments on my blog here!
Monday, July 7, 2008
Selling the Jeep (Part III: Final Chapter) -- Driving is Fun again
Three quick pictures for you: Driving is fun again! Just about the time I was ready to finally sell the Jeep, gas prices were beginning to rise. In New Jersey, we were at around $3.70 for a gallon of regular. While my motivation wasn't completely fuel related, selling the Jeep almost assured that my miles per gallon situation was going to improve. Now, understanding that Jeeps typically make just into the double digets when it comes to MPG, you can see how the first picture here makes driving fun again!
Picture #2: George Washington Bridge into New York at around Columbia University and "the Cotton Club."
I really like this bridge. While the traffic can be backed up getting on the bridge (not to mention that you might have the pleasure of seeing an entire car on fire!), once you are on the bridge it is fairly smooth sailing and delivers a nice view of the city. Again, not having to wory about the Jeep breaking down, or getting warm because the air conditioning can't keep up with the city heat makes driving fun again.
Picture #3: And while we are on the topics of bridges, I was driving to a friends place the other weekend and had to ride over this lift bridge. Now, I have driven this route a couple of times now, so I got my camera out quickly! The thing about lift bridges is that there are (or at least I was told there are) not many in the world. In fact, an old friend used to swear that the Lift Bridge in Duluth, MN, was only one of three on the planet. Well, unless the other two are in New Jersey (I've driven over two different lift bridges) then that dude was sorely misinformed! Here is the proof of one, equally as large if not larger than the one in Duluth, and in a fairly obscure and simple two lane road.
Saturday, July 5, 2008
Fourth of July Weekend
Well, the weekend started out by running south to about 30 minutes outside of Philli to hang out at a coworkers house for a little fourth 'o July party. It was fun. We grilled, we ate, enjoyed a few libations,... I introduced the left-coasters to beer-soaked brats and we sat around playing games, listening to music, laughing and joking around until many late hours into the evening sitting around a table on his porch. Mike, it was yet another enjoyable time... even if you didn't get the "Rock Band" game for the Wii you were talking about for days... anyway!
On Saturday I got up a little later than normal (sleeping in doesn't happen too often these days) and ate a late breakfast while watching Gattaca on BlueRay. Gattaca is an old-ish movie about fears surrounding the future of genetic-descrimination. I always just liked it because it depicted the future from a very 50s mindset (which makes for a cool looking movie.) After watching the movie and doing a hort-load of laundry I jumped into the shower and a fresh set of crispy-clean clothing and headed across to my friend / co-worker Claudine's place where the two of us ran up to the Hoboken area to check out the newly refurbished Liberty Science Center. It, as you could expect, it really geared for kids, so naturally, that was right up my alley! They did have a very interesting exhibition on Architecture and specifically urban skyscrapers and in the middle of it a display of some steel that was taken from the rubble of the Twin Towers across the river.
It is quite amazing to acklowedge the amount of steel-bending pressure that came down to the earth that day.
After the science museum we headed into Hoboken for dinner. The next photo is of the water side of the Erie Lakawanna Subway / Train station. For those of you who know my parents story about how they met, how or when my father proposed to my mother, then you may remember the significance of this location in their story (if you don't know the story, well, I will get my dad to write it down and I will blog that another day.)
The remain photos are of our after dinner walk, including a few shots across the Hudson River aimed at the NYC skyline. Enjoy! (Better yet, if you aren't living around here, you need to come check it out for yourself some day!) Some of the color in the pictures are a little off (the light was going dim fast and all I had for a camera was the iPhone...)
On Saturday I got up a little later than normal (sleeping in doesn't happen too often these days) and ate a late breakfast while watching Gattaca on BlueRay. Gattaca is an old-ish movie about fears surrounding the future of genetic-descrimination. I always just liked it because it depicted the future from a very 50s mindset (which makes for a cool looking movie.) After watching the movie and doing a hort-load of laundry I jumped into the shower and a fresh set of crispy-clean clothing and headed across to my friend / co-worker Claudine's place where the two of us ran up to the Hoboken area to check out the newly refurbished Liberty Science Center. It, as you could expect, it really geared for kids, so naturally, that was right up my alley! They did have a very interesting exhibition on Architecture and specifically urban skyscrapers and in the middle of it a display of some steel that was taken from the rubble of the Twin Towers across the river.
It is quite amazing to acklowedge the amount of steel-bending pressure that came down to the earth that day.
After the science museum we headed into Hoboken for dinner. The next photo is of the water side of the Erie Lakawanna Subway / Train station. For those of you who know my parents story about how they met, how or when my father proposed to my mother, then you may remember the significance of this location in their story (if you don't know the story, well, I will get my dad to write it down and I will blog that another day.)
The remain photos are of our after dinner walk, including a few shots across the Hudson River aimed at the NYC skyline. Enjoy! (Better yet, if you aren't living around here, you need to come check it out for yourself some day!) Some of the color in the pictures are a little off (the light was going dim fast and all I had for a camera was the iPhone...)
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