My Shit

There is a redneck comedian who has the line, "here's your sign." It is used when people ask stupid questions.

I want to implement something similar: here's your bitch slap.

An example:
Part of Georgia 400 requires a toll. There are signs about a mile before the booths stating that drivers are approaching the booths (aka. get your $0.50 ready). Several of the booths are exact change only -- just a hopper to accept change -- and clearly marked with giant signs. Today, a man in front of me pulled up to a change only booth, got out of his car, walked over to one of the manned booths, got change, walked back to his car, got in, then pulled up to the hopper, rolled down his window and tossed in his change. This person was well dressed (suit and tie) and, presumably, could read. It was all I could to do not honk my horn the entire time or do something else totally obnoxious.

To help people think about their actions and how they may directly affect others, especially since sarcasm isn't working, I feel we need to start a nationwide campaign. If at least three witnesses believe someone else's action was in extreme arrogance of self or exceptional stupidity requiring immediate education then they will be given one bitch slap.

My amps are here! Looks like I will get to spend the better part of the afternoon and evening fabricating my mounting scheme and redoing all of the wiring! Woo.

So I had another meeting with Georgia Tech today.

I had no idea that Organizational Behavior Associate Professors made so much damn money. Check out the AACSB for yourself if you don't believe me. And GA Tech has high placement, because they are a good program, meaning even higher pay. I mean, I was getting into this because I liked the field but the pay thing sure doesn't hurt any.

I put the acceptance letter in the mail tonight. Gasp. That was difficult to do. I like the company I work for. They have done so much for me in such a short amount of time. I really feel like I am letting them down but, I've talked to them and they are really happy for me. It is something I know they knew was coming but I don't think they thought it would be this soon.

It is really too bad that entering the program can't wait but it really can't. The pay I would be passing up is about 3X what I make right now. Plus, Tech only accepts a cohort every other year. So even though all of my stuff would be on record for next year they would not be accepting people into the program and I would have to reapply for 2007. And who knows what could happen between now and 2007 that would prevent/keep me from going to get the Ph.D.

I am very excited about this and I think it is a great thing.

I believe we are, within ourselves, in a constant state of renewal. As our different personality characteristics fight their way to the front others fall behind. I don't think it is an ebb and flow where we teeter back and forth from one personality to another. More like one where different groupings of characteristics -- characteristics having always been in us at some magnitude -- come together at a specific point in time, and deal with what ever situations life may be throwing at us, in a particular method. It is less like having 10,000 personalities we are simply clicking through day by day but more like having a personality that exists for a short moment in time brought on by the current and past situations bringing out specific characteristics in us. This is how we grow, move forward as human beings, and assimilate the knowledge we have gained over time and turn it into wisdom.

To me, this constantly changing personality must be totally confusing. Things that may have been important in the past are no longer important. Things that may have seemed trivial or uninteresting are shown in a new light. Perceptions of reality change and the individual must be left to wonder what is going on in their head? Why didn't I see this before? Why don't I care about this one aspect of my life like I used to? Why do these people no longer interest me? I suspect many people repress these changes. In their mind they already know what is important to them and anytime a thought develops that might change this they put it down. While others are in a constant and steady pace of rejuvenation that may seem odd or fake to the outside world. I fully suspect that those repressing internal change display far less creativity than those accepting change -- though this is another subject all together.

This constant change strikes me rather often in little packets of perception shift. Where I maybe once had conservative thoughts I now have thoughts less so (I must use "less so" rather than "liberal" since there are no real liberals left here in the grand U.S. of A.). Sometimes I find I am more tolerant or less tolerant of a situation or weakness in another person where maybe I was once much more or much less understanding. Working on one aspect of my life and the things that make it important to me will suddenly shift, maybe due to a lack of progress -- I'm not sure -- and I will change routes. Generally these are not big shifts and could be imperceptible from an external vantage point. But on reflection they often seem huge. Why were things just fine yesterday and now I am so unsatisfied with this outcome? Am I not the same person I was yesterday? Probably not.

I doubt I will ever truly know who I really am. I also doubt anyone really does either. Those that seem so rock solid are likely repressed internally, have very low creativity or levels of external perception, or will explode some time in the future. Generally, I enjoy the trip and rediscovering who I am on a somewhat regular basis. Sometimes it is annoying. I only hope I am becoming wiser and am making better decisions about life as I move forward.

I was just kidding with my plate ideas. No one can sue me if they get pulled over!

Man With 'TIPSY' Plate Faces DUI Charges
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Published: March 16, 2005

Filed at 7:57 p.m. ET

MOORHEAD, Minn. (AP) -- Having a vanity plate that reads ``TIPSY'' may not be such a great idea after all. Josiah Johnson, 23, said his license plate might have tipped off the Clay County sheriff's deputy who pulled him over Friday after he left Coach's Sports Pub in Moorhead.

Now he faces third-degree drunken driving charges after his blood-alcohol level allegedly registered twice the legal limit.

Johnson said he bought the personalized license plate for his Jeep to describe the way it rode -- then kept it as a joke when he got a Chevy Silverado because he likes to party.

``It doesn't mean I drink and drive,'' he said. ``It just means I have a good time.''

Johnson, who was slated to appear in court March 22, said he'll never drink and drive again.

``I feel really stupid,'' he said.

I got into the Ph.D. program at Georgia Institute of Technology!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I may have found the solution to my amp issue. The first thing was finding a nice pair of amps to do the job. I found that in a pair of Alpine units (really wanted to shy away from the "all in one" amp just incase I experience another blow out). Then I found them on Crutchfield for $200 each. This was more than I wanted to pay. M suggested eBay Stores. Well, they have them for about $130 each. I went ahead and got them but I don't like the $25 per amp S&H charge at all. Still puts me at $300 though and that was more like what I wanted to pay. Now I just have to wait and see if I actually get my parts.

I got to weld today. M bought a MIG welder a few months ago but I have never tried to use it. My 'ole man has an old AC buzz box that I have used before but MIG is just about totally different.

Today I wanted to make a stand to hang little parts from so that I can paint them (see link about the Superbee as to why anyone might want something like this). I went down to the Home Despot (I can't believe I still shop at that fucking store) and purchased some small angle iron. I cut the angle iron using M's new chop saw -- huge fan -- and welded the parts together. I've never been the best welder but I get penetration (yup, penetration, that's what they call a good deep ... weld). And now I have my paint rack.

I really hope having a girlfriend doesn't ruin me from being a car guy either: a real car guy, not just someone who looks at and talks about cars. For instance, tonight after I cooked dinner while waiting for it to cool I used a 14.4v battery from my cord-less drill to test the motor for the fan for the Superbee. It is important to note that I had dinner set off to the side of the table to cool while I tested the motor, sitting at the same table and on the placemat I then used for dinner. I also washed the fan for the motor in the kitchen sink. I have a feeling that having a girlfriend around, who wants me to be all nice and clean and junk like that, will try to stop this type of activity. Woe is the man with two lovers.

I want to put a hike together for the April 1 timeframe. I need a tent, good shoes, water filtration, and a sleeping bag. Anyone want to come (note: must have tent, water filtration, and sleeping bags)?

Before, see about 9 pics down for "after."

Interesting heat sink: solid piece and the board slides down the center and the heat sinks screw on to the heat sink to hold it all in place.

"Don't make me come out of the booth."

Out of the case.

Look at all the pretty FETs and big caps.

See the slightly brown parts in the very center of the picture? Those parts cost like fractions of a cent when ordered in large quantities. These fractionally expensive parts took down a several hundred dollar amplifier.

Removing some of the "extra" boards and parts.

Always good when you need a big hammer like this to work on a printed circuit board.

Nice gold power terminals. Always wanted to know what was in the center of a ceramic resistor.

This was right before I broke the board in half.

Wednesday night is generally a good night: bachelor night. M stays down at his girlfriend's apartment and I have the run of the house. Okay, so it really isn't that different than any other night when it comes down to general operations. It happens more in the feeling.

And tonight is really one of those nights, and maybe it is mostly because I am tired, that I really dislike the slice of living I've cut out for myself. Tonight would be a good night for no responsibility, smokes, beer, and something entertaining to watch (aka. strip club) so I don't have to think about anything for a while.

Just sitting in traffic today thinking of some custom plates that might be funny.

BEERMAN

DUI GUY

DUI KING

DUI MAN

DRNK DRVR

DRNK ONE

I LUV FOP

NOT SPDNG

I SHOOT

I AIM 4 YOU

I bet you couldn't use any one of those. I think the regulations don't let you use any cuss words, anything suggestive, or anything derogatory.

Too bad "Slow traffic keep right" or "Keep right except to pass" are too long to fit on a plate!

I am currently watching the first F1 race of the season. So excited I can't even type.

Today I took my Infinity 255a out of my Monte Carlo. Before I took it out I hooked it back up to test it. The subwoofer never moved and the rears sounded awful. I hooked the rears up to the head unit and they sounded much better. One of the 40A fuses for the amp was blown out. I was also very scared that the amp had blown up the sub when the amp failed. I tested the sub and it checked out with a solid 2ohms -- whew.

I then began the deconstruction of the amplifier. I am an electrical engineer for goodness sakes and I had to see what was up with this thing. I took several pictures while I totally destroyed the amp. I've had nothing but trouble from the day I bought it, had to have it fixed once, and am tired of dealing with the problems. I thought I would at least take a look at it. Once I got the amp apart it was clear that some surface mount components in the sub amp section were blown out. I don't have the time, patience, or skill to fix surface mount components especially on an amp that has had so many problems.

At least I didn't blow the sub.

Tonight was just about a total bust.

I tried going to Lens Crafters first. I had an apt at 6:30pm. I went to the mall where I thought the store was located, since it was 6:30 I didn't drive around the mall looking for it, I went straight in and looked at the director -- no Lens Crafters listed. I left the mall, drove around, I had the address, and the mall was pretty much the only place it could be, so I went back. Drove around the mall this time and sure enough it was there. I went it but now it is like 6:40 - 6:45pm. I waited about 10min inside the store and no one ever came to me to ask if I needed help. Finally, I notice there are people around a corner, well, this turns out to be the eye doctors office located within the Lens Crafters' store. I tell her who I am and she basically tells me they close at 7pm, the eye doctor took another patient and could I schedule for another date. I tell her that I waited in the store for 10min without anyone asking me if I need help, this was my one day off work, and there are other Lens Crafter stores in the state that will likely get my business. Grrrr. And I need the exam (probably $130 or so), contacts (no less than $100 I'm sure), and glasses (guessing another $200). They lost out on over $400 worth of business. Good job.

Then I went down to the Mall of Georgia area to look for new amplifiers since the one in my car decided to try to destroy my sub woofer. I went to Hi Fi Buys, Best Buy, and H.H. Greg to no avail. I know I am looking for something special but I am surprised at how little seems to be out on the market these days in quality amplifiers. I refuse to buy junk and no one seems to carry the high end Rockford Fosgate, PPI, or other good brands. I am also surprised at the lack of versatility of the Alpine line -- I remember when these were top notch. I want an 4 channel amp where I can run 2 speakers at 4ohms then bridge the other two channels and run it a 2ohms. I am either going to have to get a 5 channel amp (which is fine because I can run the front speakers with the amp rather than the head unit like I do now) or get two amplifiers, one for the rears and one for the sub. Both of these options add up to big bucks that I really do not have to spend right now on an amplifier (read above about the eye doctor). What a pain in the ass.

So there I was, sitting in the back of a police car thinking to myself, "how did I get myself into this mess."

Sound like an interesting story? Well, it isn't really.

I was in an accident on Georgia 400 today. Georgia 400 is probably the WORST highway I have ever driven -- and that says a lot since I have lived in southern New England, been in New York City, LA, and driven through Chicago (at rush hour) many times. I was only about 4 miles from home. It was at the first traffic light just south of where I turn onto GA400. I was traveling in the travel lane and the light was red for traffic traveling on GA400. The light turned green for GA400 and since there was a small pickup stopped in the travel lane I changed lanes to the passing lane so I could maintain speed. A semi truck then went through the red light for the cross road. I kept on the accelerator, somewhat ticked at the disregard of the semi (I've called these bastards in before for doing stuff like that). I approached the intersection at a speed near the speed limit of 55mph. Then out of the corner of my eye I see a silver SUV. It keeps coming and I slam my brakes. I thought for sure I'd get my work truck stopped in time. But I was wrong. I hit the car soft enough that my air bag didn't blow but hard enough to bend the bumper back into the driver side tire and possibly even bent the front clip (the "front clip" is the front frame of a car/truck -- I believe I bent it because the plastic guard around the radiator fan, or fan shroud, was touching the fan blades).

The next hour or so was less than fun. No one was seriously hurt. My neck, back, and shoulders hurt but they always hurt. I am also surprised how bad my chest hurts. I had on my seat belt and it did its job for sure but my chest feels funny, almost like I have a chest cold. There is just a slight pain when I breath, maybe like I've been punched there, from where the seat belt caught me and I am sure it will go away in a couple of days -- either that or I am getting a chest cold. I had to call the owners of my company, the project managers for various jobs I was working on, and at least a half dozen other people to clue them into the happenings. The officer filled out the reports and then we waited on tow trucks. It was interesting hearing the lady say to the officer that she didn't see the light because of the semi truck. The officer looked at the lady, who had just been handed a ticket for running a red light, and she said to her, "so you want me to write you a ticket for following to close too?" If it would have been a situation I wasn't involved in I would have laughed out loud right there. For the record, there is no way that this lady's vision was blocked by the semi. The semi turned, the little truck I mentioned before went through the intersection, then I t-boned the silver SUV. She had tons of space between herself and the semi: really, she just spaced out.

So why was I in the back of a police car? Simply, I needed a ride home. I have been in the back of a police car once before. I was 5 years old and the Harrison County police had showed up at my dad's place to pick me up and place me in my mom's custody (growing up was fun). From that one experience I at least remembered that it would be impossible for me to open the door for myself for the inside (yes, I had to ride in back, the front seat was full of computers and stuff). Note: there is very little room in the back seat of a police car.

So how was your day?

Many of the hits to my blog are from people searching Yahoo! for Home Depot hot water heaters. I hope people reading about our horrible experience hurts their business. M finally had to get his credit card company to get his money back.

After several unanswered phone calls and e-mails he finally took his last option. You can complain about the interest the credit card companies charge but damn, when you say "I didn't get the product associated with this credit" they go after the bastards.

I think M was also tired of calling the Home Depot help line and getting someone in Bangalore, India. Home Depot is an Atlanta company and we are located just 50 miles north of Atlanta but the service desk is 3000 miles away.

I would flame them even more but I still shop there. We don't have a Lowes in town yet, though one is coming soon, and they have some very cute checkout girls (and some cornfed hillbilly rednecks too -- but that is beside the point).

I have an iBook and I love it. Some argue that the interface has too much bling and the operating system is setup for stupid people. I personally like the interface, enjoy having the power of Unix in the background, and don't care if OSX developers think I am a total dumbass. There is a chance I am, there is a chance they are right, and since the fall of 2003 they have protected me from my own ignorance. Thank God!

My work machine is, however, a Windows machine: Windows 2000 Professional to be exact. Today I was trying to setup file sharing. Somehow, with just a few clicks of the mouse I managed to lock myself out of this idiot box. I guess there are ways to decompile the password file, which I will be trying to do shortly, but this is not any kind of trouble I needed for this evening. Today has been a mess.

I started today and with little sleep and it has simply not gotten any better. One of the owners of my company showed up late for our 6:30am meeting (I have to get up at 4:50am to be there on time) then after the meeting he proceeded to explain to me how important it is that I be at work on time. This is rather ironic and hypocritical of him since he was late this morning and I was not. And he seems to be the only person who notices what time I, a salaried exempt employee (aka I don't play by the time clock), show up for work. This same owner then dumped all of his work on me and the other owner. Then a pissed of customer called, one who has yelled wolf too many times but we still have to go running, and fucked my schedule for the week. Then on the way home from work a huge cardboard box flew across the interstate and into my truck. Luckily it didn't break anything and I was so tired I didn't even react so I didn't swerve into any traffic. I need to go do my grocery shopping for the week but I'm afraid to leave the house.

I do, dear reader, have to take care of other matters. Laundry and grocery shopping are calling to me. I think I'm going to go to the store and get some beer. Beer should go well with a one chance only task of decompiling and recompiling a Windows password file using a Linux disk.

A poem:
Go hackers
Sit in the dark drinking Mountain Dew and eating pizza all night
Y'all rock