You can’t fix stupid (Headlines)
Posted on November 18, 2008
Some hilarious headlines my friend Emily sent me.
Alton attorney accidentally sues himself
County to spend $250,000 to advertise lack of funds
Volunteers search for old civil war planes
Army Vehicle disappears
Caskets found as workers demolish mausoleum
I wouldn’t do it again, she’s been a pain this week
Ten Commandments - Supreme court says some ok, others not
Utah Poison control center reminds everyone not to take poison
Please, if you’ve seen this man
Federal agents raid gun shop, find weapons
Statistics show that teen pregnancy drops off significantly after age 25
One armed man applauds the kindness of strangers
The All New Canon XSi
Posted on January 24, 2008
I haven’t been able to try it out yet but the new Canon XSi looks to be a nice upgrade from the Xti. The enhancement to 12mp and the move to SD media alone is worth it, not to mention the other enhancements.
Maybe this will be my first step into the world of DSLRs instead of the 40D I want so badly? We’ll see, although at this point I think I’d outgrow the XSi much too quickly to warrant the purchase now instead of waiting a little longer to purchase the one I really want (the 40D).
Details below to save you the jump.
- 12.2 effective Megapixel CMOS sensor
- Supports all EF and EF-S lenses
- Uses new 14-bit A/D converter, improved AF sensor (still 9-point), and DIGIC III image processor
- 3-inch LCD display (230k pixels) with live view and contrast detect autofocus
- Full manual controls; ISO range of 100 - 1600
- Can shoot at 3.5 frames/second for up to 6 RAW or 45 JPEGs
- Auto Lighting Optimizer corrects image brightness and contrast automatically
- New spot metering (4%) option
- Same dust reduction system as the XTi
- Uses SD/SDHC memory cards (instead of CompactFlash)
- Optional battery grip
- Uses LP-E5 lithium-ion battery; 500 shots per charge
- USB 2.0 High Speed support
- Shipping in April for $799 body only, and $899 with the new 18-55 IS lens; comes in silver and black
Save Money Flying With Yapta
Posted on January 23, 2008
Planning a trip? Yapta can in two big ways.
- While you’re looking for flights. Yapta has a firefox plugin which allows you to tag flights across multiple websites in order to compare prices and track their price changes before purchase.
- After you’ve purchased your tickets. This is the best feature in my mind. Much like what PriceProtectr does for common online retail stores, Yapta allows you to list tickets you’ve purchased and at what prices so that it can monitor price drops.
Something you probably didn’t know about most airlines is many offer reimbursements for price drops on air flights. The old saying that everyone on your flight paid a different price no longer applies. Everyone can pay the same price if you’re using Yapta!
Direct from Yapta’s FAQ here’s a list of some of the vouchers and refunds available:
| Each airline has a different set of rules and regulations. However, here is a quick look at the policies for each airline. Click each of the airlines for the specifics. |
| Airline | How much it will cost to get a travel voucher? | How much it will cost to get a “cash refund” for a non-refundable ticket? |
|---|---|---|
| AirTran | $75.00 | Not Offered |
| Alaska | Free | $50.00 |
| American | $100.00 | Not Offered |
| ATA | $60.00 Domestic $100.00 Hawaii |
Not Offered |
| Continental | $100.00 | Not Offered |
| Delta | $75.00 | Not Offered |
| Frontier | $100.00 | Not Offered |
| JetBlue | $40.00 | Not Offered |
| Midwest | Free within 7 days of purchase $100.00 after 7 days |
Not Offered |
| United | Free | $100.00 |
| US Airways / America West | $100.00 | Not Offered |
Some Hope In Todays World
Posted on November 15, 2007
Something reminded me today of a story from when Rachel and I were at the Grand Canyon. Well, actually this particular story is from the Hoover Dam.
The parking at the Dam sucks. If you want to visit you need to park along the east side of the canyon. I’m sure you’re aware that the Dam is pretty large and as such, getting to the entrance (which happens to be on the west side of the canyon) is quite a hike from the parking lot(s).
We’d been camping in Williams Arizona for roughly a week at this point. I’d been faithfully (like the good ol’ boyscout I am) carrying my knife the whole trip. This particular day was no exception. As we walked up to the entrance there was a sign that stated, among other things:
No Knifes Allowed
Well crap. As I shuffled my way back to the walkway to take my knife back to the car, one of the many vendors setup outside the entrance called me over. She darted her eyes around to check if anyone was looking and said:
Act cool, just hand me your knife. When you come out give me 5 bucks and it’s yours again.
Thoroughly puzzled (and entirely not cool) I said “you mean you can’t just hold it for me.” After some more quick glances around she told me that this is government property and they’ll fine you if they catch you with them. She could get fined simply for holding them if they find out. “Ok, $5 is worth saving the walk” and I handed it over.
It’s a good thing I did. There are metal detectors right inside the entrance and we would have been up a creek. A gentleman got pulled aside ahead of us and shown a knife he had placed in the bucket before going through the machine. I’m not sure what happened (they were still there talking with the security guards as we left the room) but I’m sure it wasn’t good.
I paid my 5 bucks when we got out and the government was non the wiser.
Originally I was writing this thinking about the helpful actions of the woman vender. After writing it though I also realize that I’m also thankful for the actions of the security guard and their no knife policies.
Chase Cafe
Posted on November 10, 2007
Today while debating where to go for lunch my good friend Randy T mentioned a place I had never been before. The Chase Cafe. Its on the 2nd floor of the Chase building (pictured) in downtown Rochester. It reminds me of a smaller version of the Bausch & Lomb Cafe. A very nice thing about it was that it was quiet. It was completely out of the way, not very well advertised and practically hidden. Because of all of that, while the eating area was relatively large, there was only maybe 3 or 4 other groups there. The prices were decent too. I had Some sort of Mexican Tilapia with a side of vegitables and mac & cheese and a chocolate chip cookie all for $5.75. I think the Chase Cafe might become a new regular stop.
We’re always trying to figure out where to eat downtown and there’s really not that many good places. Some of our usual stops are:
- The Pizza Stop - easily the best pizzaria in Rochester
- Gallaria - Chicago style pizza shop which serves wings and subs as well
- The Stock Exchange - bar & gril
- Wild Bar & Grill - chinese buffet
- Dinosaur Barbequeue - A real honky tonk rib joint
- Grill and Greens - wraps, salads and other sandwhiches (great chicken tenders)
- Bausch & Lomb Cafe -lots of different food stations
- Subway - sub shop
If anyone has any other ideas please let us know. We’re always looking for some new ones.