Webs’ Random Ideas

Life From a Grad Student’s Perspective

Archive for the ‘Misc’


Surviving the Storm

So I finally get Internet and then 90+ MPH winds screw up everything. Damn Mother Nature!

Driving into work looked like a “war zone”. It was crazy with leafs and branches everywhere. Not to mention the trees uprooted, split, and torn down. I got to work okay and my wife and I are fine. But the food in our refrigerator and freezer is done. I really hope the meat in my separate freezer makes it as I have roughly $200 worth in there at least.

My co-worker’s Dad asked him if he needed to borrow a generator for the food in his fridge. He said, “Why? To keep the beer cold? I’m a bachelor Dad!” My boss had his brick chimney pulled out of his roof. Most people here seem to be okay though. Too bad about that beer…

The State of the Internet 2008

Click here for a laugh!

Found via Pete

Illinois Work Zone Fines

Just got an email about this and thought I should pass it along…

ILLINOIS DRIVING INFORMATION for

WORK ZONES

Illinois will begin using photo radar in freeway work zones starting July 2008.
The State of Illinois will use speed cameras in areas designated as
‘Work Zones’ on major freeways. Anyone caught by these devices will be
mailed a $375.00 ticket for the FIRST offense, but the SECOND offense
will cost $1,000.00 and comes with a 90-Day suspension.

Drivers will also receive demerit points against their license, which
allows insurance companies to raise their rates.

This represents the harshest penalty structure yet for a city or state
using PHOTO enforcement’s. The State will begin with TWO camera vans
issuing tickets in work zones with speed limits lowered to 45 MPH.

Photographs of both the Driver’s face and License plate are taken.

Pass this on to everyone you know.

Link for more info

Mediacom Sucks! Yes, more so than Comcast

Been living at the new place over a week and still no Internet. Mediacom knew about the installation 2 weeks before they were scheduled to come out. Plenty of time to prepare and plenty of time to figure out what was needed to get us set up.

I made sure they knew that we had no existing cable lines in the place, but last Monday when the installer came out he froze and said he couldn’t get us hooked up. We needed the person that can run cable to come out. The whole thing pisses me off, because there is plenty of cable running through the building. Hell I have ran cable, put in wall boxes, and hooked up people before. None of it is all that complicated.

Anyways I have no idea when I will be able to write again, so I’ll be back when I can.

Still Busy

We are moved into the new place and boxes are still everywhere. Things are slowly getting unpacked and everyday we are discovering new things (well we are finding where the movers put our stuff :) ). I still have no time to write even though I have plenty to write about. I plan to attempt something this weekend about the new job, area, and apartment.

More big News

So besides moving and starting a new job, I am also getting married. As if my life wasn’t crazy enough :P .

The wedding is this weekend on the 14th and I’m really getting excited and looking forward to it. I plan to attempt to get some pictures up when I can, but for now posting may be light.

Love you baby, can’t wait till Saturday :)

Late Night Music: David Jacobs-Strain

This guy is amazing! I have written about him before here

Moving Again

Three jobs before my current one, back in 03, I had to leave my job to finish a 4 year degree at a University (the one I work for now and have went to school at). On my way out a close coworker of mine said to me, “Now don’t you become a ghost around here.” I told him with strong intentions, “I don’t plan to.”

How many times did I go back and visit over the years? Less than 10, probably more around 7 or 8 though. Was this intentional? No. And I do miss those people a lot. But I guess I’m just moving on and with that comes new friends, new events, and missed opportunities to hang with those from the past.

Jump forward to now. I am going to be starting a new corporate job in about 2 weeks. When I passed along this news a couple months ago to my current boss he sent me a VERY nice email about how he will miss me and truly miss the skills I brought with me to this job.

He also said something that has still stuck with me, “I am not looking forward to the loss of the personal relationship I hope we have developed.” I replied back to his message and told him I have no intentions of dropping my personal relationship with anyone in the office. Which I firmly stand by.

But now I wonder, is it possible to not lose or at least have a diminished relationship with someone you work with and move away from? My boss and I are close, as is all my coworkers, but the only person I have hung out with outside of work is DOF. So I can’t help but think about and worry what will happen with my relationship with my boss and other coworkers.

It’s the only thing I regret about taking this job. But I know it’s important for my long term career and for my fiance (soon to be wife) and I. I need something with a little more permanence right now so I can build up some savings and get ready for other future things.

So I do look forward to what’s ahead, but I will miss the present.

12,000 Cyclists and Skaters Take Over a Highway

Go check out this article

The Worst Iced Coffee EVA!!

If you have the urge to go to McDonalds and get an Ice Coffee, I have a better idea for ya. Give your good friend $2.15 and let him punch you in the face. Then you can say, “Wow that punch in the face hurt, but was way better than the McDonalds Iced Coffee!”

Needless to say I attempted one of those iced coffees this morning and it was disgusting. The McDonalds employee grabs a cup fills it up with ice, then about 1/4 of the way with creamer (bleghhh!) and possibly sugar (I think so but missed it), then adds flavor syrup (who the hell knows what’s in that), and then the iced coffee from a separate container. How long the coffee sits and congeals in that container I have no idea, nor do I want to know?

What happened to just a cup of ice with Coffee added to it?

I was walking back with my coworkers and just threw the thing out in a dumpster. They both looked at me and I said, “Well at least a multi-billion dollar corporation got $2.15 from me…” While DOF said, “I could of told you it was terrible.” Thanks! Great timing ;)

I get the sense that McDonalds thinks they can add sugar to anything and make it taste good. Boy could that be farther from reality. The thing was disgusting and I’m sucking on TicTacs trying to get the taste out of my mouth.