Can someone please explain to me the massively overhyped popularity of the Olsen Twins?  I honestly don’t get it.

I was reminded of all this when I saw WFAA’s film critic, Gary Cogill, review their new movie this morning.  Of course, it seems as if movie critics exist to pan movies, but I’ve agreed with his assessment more often than not.  Here’s what he had to say about New York Minute.

New York Minute marks the feature film debut of the popular Olsen twins. It’s also a dreadful, irresponsible mess of a movie that sends all the wrong signals.

And that’s just the opening of the review.  I especially liked the sledgehammer bit, which is later on in the review.

It’s odd sometimes how observations seem to come together in clusters.  I’d never been to Pittsburgh before last weekend and didn’t know much about the city and didn’t give it much thought.  So when the book I was reading on the flight out and back mentioned Pittsburgh’s Seventh, Eighth, and Ninth street bridges on the return flight (which coincidentally enough were in some of the pictures I took from the convention center), it got my attention.

The same thing goes for Palomino.  I stumbled across this restaurant across the street from the Hilton (in the Gateway towers) on Sunday evening.  It was a bit pricey, but the food and service were good.  What got my attention was that I heard a commercial on the radio this morning for them.  It turns out that there’s one in Dallas.

It just seems odd to me that all these references show up just after I have been to these locations.  Of course, it’s possible that I was just aware of them now and that made them more likely to be noticed.  But I’m not entirely convinced that this is the case.

During my daily walks over the past few days I couldn’t help but notice that girls are wearing shorts now with printing on the butt.  The most common one seems to be “Cheer”.

I’m not quite sure what to think of this.  I’m not a prude by any stretch of the imagination, but it just seems a bit weird.  On the flip side of the coin, if you’re going to wear a billboard on your butt, you might want to consider if you’ve got enough ‘real estate’ for it.  I was initially perplexed by the phrase ‘hee’ until I realized that the ‘C’ and the ‘r’ were around the sides…

I’ve noticed a number of commercials on TV for some kind of chemical skin peel.  I know women will go to great lengths to look better, but I am somewhat amused that the commercial touts the fact that the product contains the highest recommended level of glycolic acid for a cosmetic product.  When you get down to it you’re putting acid on your face in order to peel off a layer of skin.  Somehow that doesn’t sound too appealing to me.

Anyhow, while it isn’t the most potent acid available, consider one of its other uses:

Glycolic acid uses both the hydroxyl and carboxylic acid groups to form five-member ring complexes (chelates) with polyvalent metals. This metal ion complexing ability is useful in dissolution of hard water scale and prevention of deposition, especially in acid cleaning applications where good rinsibility is a key factor.

I think I could live with “fine lines and wrinkles” if it meant avoiding an acid treatment…

I saw an animated banner ad on some website today (can’t recall which one at the moment) for Ready.gov.  The ad was a list of items that you should have on hand.  It flashed some items then directed you to their site for the full list.  The items specifically listed were a flashlight (I’ll give them this one; everyone should have one), a whistle (WTF?), and a radio (useful in some circumstances I suppose).  Of course they left out an important area of SHTF preparedness, specifically the ability to protect yourself.  And the most effective tool for such a purpose is the firearm.

I followed the link and looked around the site.  They had some practical advice that would be good to follow for any emergency situation (food, water, medical supplies, etc).  But not surprisingly, here’s what Ready.gov has to say on the topic:

Of course, I suppose saying nothing is better than what those GFB (Gun Fearing Bastards) would normally be inclined to say.  They’d much prefer an unarmed herd to a self-sufficient/protecting pack.  The radio and whistle are perfect giveaways to their agenda (sit back and wait for instructions; call for help from the “proper authorities”; don’t try to think/act for yourself).  Until they acknowledge that citizens are the ones who will be on the front lines of anything that happens here at home I have no choice but to conclude that the DHS is fundamentally unserious about its mission.

I seem to have the ability to pick up accents fairly quickly and without any conscious effort.  During my week in Minnesota I found myself starting to pick up the accent and I had to make a conscious effort to stop.

I’d noticed this in the past when working with people from Scotland and England.  I usually have to make an effort to stop using their accents because I don’t want people to think I’m mocking them.

As I was being tailgated by some high-school kid in his mom’s Landrover this afternoon, I was struck by an idea for an invention.  There are ultrasonic sensors that can be mounted on the back bumper of a car to help when backing up to prevent hitting objects.  Some of the more advanced models even give the distance to the offending object.  Take one of these and marry it to a small computer which is hooked up to one of those large LED message signs.  Whenever someone gets too close the computer reads the distance and flashes the message “TAILGATERS SUCK” on the sign, which is mounted in the rear window.

It might not stop tailgaters, but it would at least give me the satisfaction of letting them know when they’re being assholes.

Of course, my next idea was for an “upgrade” model that includes rear-firing missiles…

The other day I stopped by Target to pick up a power-strip/surge protector and a desk lamp.  While making my way through the store I was accosted by a store employee who wanted me to open a Target Visa account.  I got the same thing from the young woman at the checkout (who tried to dangle a 10% discount in front of me as an enticement).  Frankly, given that I’ve just bought a house, opening a new credit account is the last thing I need to be doing.  But in general I prefer to go about my business without being accosted by people pushing various things at me. 

At home I can put up a “No Solicitors” sign to tell people to leave me alone (and to not bother wasting their time and mine with a sales pitch that will just piss me off).  It occurred to me that it would be convenient if we had a button that was understood by convention to mean that this person isn’t interested in sales pitches.  It could be as simple as a button that says “No Thanks!”  That way, the customer isn’t bothered by sales pitches and the salespeople won’t waste their time on people who aren’t going to respond to the pitch.  Of course, this doesn’t apply to actual sales scenarios.  If someone is looking at a product, then it’s understood that they’re fair game for a salesperson to approach them.  The whole point here is to be able to deflect unwanted sales pitches and avoid irritating customers like me (who may choose to avoid a store if it does too much unsolicited marketing).

After work yesterday a coworker and I went to the range at Bass Pro.  We took separate vehicles and upon arrival he announced to me that there had been almost no traffic on the way (especially at the 635-Bass Pro exit) (we’ve all been discussing the traffic situation a lot here now that we’re in this new office).  My perception had been that while cars were still moving (albeit slowly) that there was too much traffic.  The main difference between us is that he was raised in Chicago and I grew up in the country (where the biggest traffic hassle was the occasional loose cow or a slow-moving tractor).  I think what bugs me the most about these situations is the squirrely stupidity that a lot of drivers exhibit.  There’s a lot of jockeying for position and last second (unannounced) lane changes (like the idiot this morning who crossed FOUR LANES of traffic on 114 to try to get on the exit for 635).

Anyhow, I suppose it’s all about how we perceive these things.  In terms of distance my commute to the new location isn’t that much further than I used to have from Denton to the old office (22 miles vs. 18 miles).  However they couldn’t be more different in terms of quality of driving.  The old commute was mostly in the country while the new one is all in town.  Further, it didn’t really matter what time of day I left on the old commute, while with the new one I have to leave at the butt-crack of dawn (i.e. 6:15am or so) or it turns into a hellish stop-and-go nightmare.  Anyone who lives in the Southlake/Keller area and who has driven 1709 in the morning or evening knows what I’m talking about.

This whole commuting business has me seriously considering working from home full time.  The only benefits I see to working in the office are the network (i.e. true high-speed networking without any silly upload speed cap) and having contact with some of my coworkers.  If I worked at home I wouldn’t have to drive amongst the Andretti-wannabes, I wouldn’t have to dress in uncomfortable clothes (I think I mentioned previously that I hate tucked-in shirts), and I wouldn’t waste an hour or more each day commuting.  The downside is that I imagine that I’d start to get a bit stir-crazy spending at least 9 hours per day in my home office (my company requires me to bill at least this much to a project to meet their “productivity” quotas; it’s really to support all the management overhead).  Maybe I could get a dog to keep me company during the day.  At least the dog would let me vent about some of the stupid policies I encounter…

I’m going to give this location another month or two to see if I get used to it.  In the meantime I’m going to be doing a few things to make my home office more useful for those days I work there (i.e. getting a second phone line, etc).  If I’m still pissed off from dealing with traffic and getting up early I may just start working from home full time early next year.

I really must be getting to bed, but I have to share a couple of links before I do.

I was listening to the 90’s channel on XM radio, which is called 90’s on 9 (well, because it’s on channel 9).  The DJ was a guy named Kane and he pointed us to his page on the site for this.  It’s a Britney Spears lookalike.  I know, normally that wouldn’t be anything worth posting about.  Just scroll down and you’ll understand.  Holy hell! 

Then, a little further down on Kane’s page, I came across something called Nippits, which are nipple concealment strips.  And I thought the headlight look was in.  I guess I’m behind the times…