May 7, 2008
color me impressed.
Got the warning message 2 weeks ago that my California driver's license was going to expire in about a month, but I wasn't going to get off easy with a mail-in renewal this time. An actual DMV visit was mandatory, for the fingerprint/photo drill and of course to soak me for some cash.
If you're anything like me, this spells disaster.
I've NEVER been in and out of a DMV in less than 2 hours for something like this (at least since moving to the Bay Area where everything's busy), so the thought of carving said chunk of time out of a rather insurmountable daytime schedule wasn't particularly thrilling. Then I saw the note at the bottom- I could set an appointment online! God bless them Intertubes. I visited their form, made a few clicks, and had an appointment set for 2pm the following Wednesday- i.e. today. After the confirmation message was displayed, I realized that I was still going to have to go to the Oakland DMV and probably sit around for an ungodly span of time just to get waited on, so have been dreading today all week. Particularly because this week has been an absolutely freakin' insane one at work.
I'm shocked. My fears were totally unfounded.
I waited for about 3 minutes to 'check in' at the front desk, and things seemed like they were headed in a Southward direction almost immediately when my name wasn't on the appointment list, a multi-page behemoth in 8-pt Helvetica the bored desk clerk listlessly scanned thru at least three times until I saw an odd entry on the third page that didn't seem like a name - ASP. Come to think of it, they did build that server app in ASP (Active Server Pages), so WTF. I had her check the confirmation number, and sure enough- it was mine. Gleeful at not being shunned at the gate, I took my number and sat alongside all the other bored-looking patrons in the waiting area with a prime view of the Keno-esque queue monitor so I wouldn't miss my number being called.
My ass was in the seat for about as long as it took me to fire up my Kindle and read the next paragraph in the book I've been devouring (Small Favor) before my number was flashing full screen above me. Much to the chagrin of my fellow wait-ees, I walked up to desk 10, handed them my form and 25 bucks, they sent me to desk 24 for a picture and thumbprint, and I was back in the Audi before I even knew what hit me, new temporary license in hand. I hit the freeway home and checked the clock as I set the parking brake- 2:25 pm.
I left the house at 1:50. That's 35 minutes, door-to-door, for a DMV appointment. May not be a record for you, but it's easily halving my next best time, which to me- is one amazing feat. I may just have to renew my faith in public services at some point here, cause I sure as f@#k didn't see that coming. With the time I saved, I could still read the rest of that chapter in the sanctity of my own home, grab a quick bite from the fridge, and get back on the clock before my belated lunch hour expired.
Now THAT'S what a DMV appointment should be like. I'm impressed.
Posted by Scott at 7:44 PM
April 11, 2008
fox news - the meter is running
Wow. Amazing.
Posted by Scott at 9:13 AM
April 9, 2008
star wars gangsta rap
NFWS, but funny as hell.
Posted by Scott at 9:07 AM
March 21, 2008
comment situation
Just a quickie- Wendy reminded me last night that my comments weren't working, which means I'd actually re-enabled them by mistake. They'll be offline for a while while I re-hack them back into submission, apparently my old spam filtering system does NOT work with Movable Type 4.1. Sigh. Hit the 'contact' link at the top of the page if you want to ping me in the meantime, sincere apologies.
Posted by Scott at 3:38 PM
scott explaining quantum physics
SxSW (South by Southwest, to the uninitiated) is my favorite event of the year, every year. Great conversations, amazing parties, and you get to meet up with all the cool people from around the globe you never see on a day-to-day basis (like Veerle Pieters and Geert Leyseele, behind me).
And apparently, riff on quantum physics. I guess when I get half a margarita in me my conversational skills increase exponentially... does that really surprise you, though?
Posted by Scott at 3:33 PM
March 14, 2008
call it, friendo.
Just got this forwarded to me via interoffice email, and found it rather funny. Funny as in 'holy shit, I guess I do look like him a bit', not 'funny/ha-ha'. Knowing that others are talking about this behind my back has me wondering if I can exploit this strange association for a little dramatic effect- and will be taking a beat-up coin to every meeting next week.
Posted by Scott at 4:33 PM
meme of the day
Yep, it's good ol' blog meme time again. This go-round it's an enthralling take on your personal details, as defined by one's middle name, and you can thank Dawnne for screwing me with this particular meme. Rules need to go first, before answers, so like a good lemming I'll indulge them first:
- You have to post the rules before you give your answers.
- You must list one fact about yourself beginning with each letter of your middle name. (If you don’t have a middle name, use your maiden name or your mother’s maiden name).
- At the end of your blog post, you need to tag one person (or blogger of another species) for each letter of your middle name. (Be sure to leave them a comment telling them they’ve been tagged.)
So here's the answers, so I can get back to my rather insane Friday and still leave the office at a reasonable hour. Didn't think I'd be doing this on my own hours, did you?
My middle name is, believe it or not, Scott. Feel free to guess my real first name.
- S = sarcastic. I'm not sure I'd have a communication style at all if sarcasm didn't exist. If you didn't see that one coming, be very careful in crosswalks.
- C = cat lover. Had one dog - a golden retriever named Tarka - who was absolutely amazing, but also the most needy companion I've ever had in my life. She passed painlessly of natural causes when I was about 27, and in honor of her storied life I'll never own another dog again. Cats are much more self-sufficient and snarky, which (if you caught the first bullet point) is more my speed these days.
- O = overloaded. I always have more going on than I've physical and mental bandwidth to process. This has been either the direct or indirect cause of every failed relationship I've ever had, and the reason I take things way too seriously at times.
- T = terror on 4 strings. Just throw me a bass guitar, and I'll rock the house into shambles. Seriously. If I could pick one thing I do better than anything else in my bag 'o skills, it's thumping a bass. Only problem- I fucking HATE the music industry, so rock stardom was something I took a pass on years ago. Sorry, ladies.
- T = total clean freak. I can't leave the kitchen until all the dishes are done and either put away or in the washer, I can't leave the living room until my empty drink glass and coaster are returned to their places of origin, and I'm compelled to pick up trash, close open cabinets and doors, and Windex counters should they stray beyond the general range of cleanliness. Oddly enough, closets are the only exception to this rule, and I basically use 'em as junk drawers to get random personal items out of sight while I figure out what to do with them. Step at least a few paces back should you open my office closet, or I'm not responsible for injury.
- Y = Y the fuck am I still typing this? I've got work to do. (this is a bonus letter, as I still - for some unfathomable reason - get called 'Scotty' on a regular basis. Ugh.)
As the curse of these memes is to tag someone else to play along in chain-letter fashion (and god knows I have no patience for chain letters and pyramid schemes), I'll simply tag someone who has bit on these hooks before, and break the rules of 'one per letter' with wanton abandon. Plus, she's expecting her first child in short order, so probably has some pent-up editorial angst to work out.
Wendy, you're up!
(note: apologies that you can't even complain directly, as comments are currently disabled here while I sort out my latest Movable Type upgrade nightmare. Hah!)
Posted by Scott at 4:11 PM
March 9, 2008
on scientology and tom cruise
Wow. Now I'd heard about these videos a month or two back when the Church of Scientology was trying to sue to have them brought down, but couldn't really bring myself to watch them until now. The fact that The Church wasn't able to use their formidable and consistent powers of overwhelming litigation to remove the videos is impressive on it's own merits, but the reality of said videos is impressive in a very different, real and very frightening way. If you've ever wondered just how absolutely batshit-insane Tom Cruise really is (and if there's legions of Scientologists behind him with similar delusions of grandeur, omniscience and self-importance), just check these out yourself.
[From Tom Cruise Uncut: The Freedom Medal Award Ceremony]
What a colossal asshat, that guy.
And I'd thought his Oprah appearance was the creepiest thing I'd seen before now...but yikes.
Posted by Scott at 6:55 PM
March 5, 2008
galactica season 4 preview
The writers' strike is finally over, and the fourth, final season of Battlestar Galactica is closing on the horizon less than a month away - the premiere debuting on Friday, April 4th. I'd been slighly reserved during the strike given the uncertain future of the final season - but this recent preview clip from Hypaspace has me in full-tilt fanboy mode now. Frackin' A!
Galactica = the best show on TV, no question about it. It's rare to find a sci-fi show that doesn't lean completely on trickery and special effects, and completely masks it's own genre with stellar writing, supporting flawed yet brilliant characters portrayed by some top-notch talent. And I say that as someone who felt the original '70s version sucked harder than a black hole, no less- it was no small feat to turn me around to BSG.
Posted by Scott at 3:53 PM
March 3, 2008
the fail blog
I'm not sure I've laughed this hard at a photoblog since the first lolcat purred into my inbox. Ladies and gentlemen, witness The FAIL Blog. Epic!
Posted by Scott at 5:31 PM
March 1, 2008
apple stores = meat markets
Hey, ladies- if you're looking for the best places to meet quality guys, Cosmopolitan recommends you take a swing by your local Apple store first. Seriously! I never knew my tech bias was a game-changer in this respect. Note to Apple marketing: I'm sure there's a Mac vs. PC ad in this, somehow.
[From Best Places to Meet a Guy - Apple Store - Cosmopolitan.com]And me thinking that Cosmo was completely worthless... sheesh.
Posted by Scott at 9:27 PM
search-jacked
FYI, the upgrade to MT 4.1 hosed my custom search/tag search templates, so you'll be stuck with the horrid default Movable Type 'red stripe' layout for searching or navigating via tags for the next day or two until I get a bit of extra time to reconfigure it all again. I guess things could have gone far worse, but honestly a 4.0 -> 4.1 upgrade should have been seamless (god knows I follow the instructions to the letter each time).
Sorry for the hiccups, promise I'll dust off my l33t CSS skillz and re-facelift the search templates shortly. They're still fully functional, just butt-ugly for the moment.
Posted by Scott at 8:27 PM
blue snowball
I'm a bit of a mic snob when recording real tracks, but often need a good travel mic that doesn't require as much associated hardware to get into my CPU- so I did a little shopping around to see if there was a good alternative to carrying around condensor mics and an audio interface. And boy, did I score- for just $99 the Blue Snowball is probably the coolest, hippest, cleanest sounding USB interface/mic I've ever heard. I also plunked down for the Blue Ringer Universal Shockmount to get a little vibration protection from the desk, and it really does make a difference. If you need a great sounding, inexpensive USB mic, I strongly recommend this little sucker.
Posted by Scott at 10:02 AM
February 28, 2008
t-pain can't sing
Yeah, it's a bit of a slam on T-Pain, but it's also true. Hell, with AutoTune running, ANYONE could slam out as many tracks in a year as T-Pain does. Witness this tubby cracker go from painful to production-ready with the push of a button:
Yeah- go ahead and call me a hater, but that's some funny shit, mainly cause it's for real.
Posted by Scott at 4:28 PM
February 22, 2008
that's my boy.
Devin's favorite 'toys' around the house these days are pretty much all the personal items I swore I'd never let my kids play with. Mainly my guitars. He's gotten quite good at plinking strings and just recently learned how the volume knob works. Amazing.
What's even funnier is when I play the bass (or guitar) and let him mash buttons on my footswitches. He again really loves the volume pedal (very obvious he's making changes), but recently discovered my distortion pedal, which is a new fave.
I can only hope that he retains all of this learning until his finger dexterity (and body size) is a bit more amenable to actually PLAYING the instruments. I'm already proud as hell that he's taken a specific interest in music, but if he shows any inclination/interest I'll do whatever it takes to make sure he grows up with an instrument in his hands. :D
Posted by Scott at 10:59 AM