The Smarmy Carny is now proudly using Wordpress 2.0!
Thankfully, the upgrade was painless. This did give me a chance to upgrade all of the plugins I was using (and eliminate those that I was not using). If you notice any erratic behavior, feel free to mention it.
What does baby Jesus have in common with garden gnomes? Both are stolen from lawns.
A Vista city worker found over a dozen baby Jesus figurines on a public baseball field.
The best I can tell is that he found 13 or 14 baby Jesus figurines . . . and by "figurines," I refer to large nativity scene characters, some as large as three feet tall.
Reports vary regarding the number of figurines and their condition. One article states that "none of them had been damaged," while another mentions that some were "unblemished, some were broken, and some had damages that may have predated the heists."
Top-notch detectives assume this is the work of teenagers. Ya think?!? On the other hand, they don't give enough credit to the college students in the area.
The parks supervisor for the area? Chuck Crist. It was meant to be.
Redbox offers self-service DVD rental machines. The rental fee? $1 per night. That's right . . . it's the sweet price when you don't have to pay an employee to stock DVDs, handle returns, etc.
Currently, the site lists over 750 locations, but they are concentrated in only the eight urban areas of Hartford, Baltimore/Washington D.C., St. Louis, Houston, Denver, Las Vegas, Salt Lake City, and the Twin Cities.
Common Redbox locations are McDonalds, restaurants, gas stations, and grocery stores. The downside to this is that many of these locations are not open 24 hours, so if you want to return your DVD at 1 am, you may be out of luck. That said, the movies you take out are due back the next night at 10 pm (before these locations close). So, if you want to return the DVD at 1 am, chances are you're already paying your late fee anyway. Holidays, however, are the exception. You might actually be forced to pay a whole $2 for a movie because your location is closed! Even still, unlike Blockbuster, you can return these DVDs to any kiosk location, so even if your grocery store is closed on New Year's when you want to return the item, that gas station on the other side of town might be open 24-7.
Redbox frequently gives out codes for a free DVD rental. Sure, it's only a $1 value, but that's still one free night! To be sure you receive offers, sign up on the Redbox offers page. Many codes are also wonderfully consolidated and listed at Inside Redbox, a new blog that discusses Redbox.
If you're interested in a franchise, you can simply use their contact form to request information. I don't even get a dime (a.k.a. 10% off a rental), but feel free to let them know where you heard about Redbox!
On my way out of town to celebrate Christmas, I passed the Karate Barber Shop location (currently featured in the header image), only to find out that it is no more.
Unfortunately, it now seems to merely be a Dollar Store Barber Shop, which is not nearly as much fun.
What next? Signs saying "You may now block the box."?!?!?
This post has been re-posted at Random Fodder, Novac's personal blog.
I'm going to find my 43 Things to do in 2006.
When the new year of 2006 hits, my list will be published. Yes, at midnight, EST. As I am a procrastinator, I will hopefully have this list finished by then. (Don't be surprised if you see "Stop Procrastinating" on the list.)
43 Things first caught my eye because its name was somewhat similar to the blog's former name of "Fifty-three More Things to Do in Zero Gravity." I finally looked into the site, and here's its self-explanation:
. . . getting your goals in writing can help you clarify what you really want to do. You might find you have some important and some frivolous goals. That is OK. You’ve got space for 43 Things on your list. Not every one of them has to change the world (but save room for the ones that might).
Not only can you create your own list, but you can also see profiles for people who share your goals. You can use these groups however you like, but in theory, you could quickly join a group of people trying to quit smoking or visit all seven continents. Alternately, you could grumble and complain alongside a group of people trying to become more cheerful.
After starting this task, I have realized that 43 things is a lot to come up with. Up to this moment, I have written down 18 items, and that's not even halfway. Partially, this is annoying because when you're publically posting your list at "43 Things," you kind of like to have . . . you guessed it! 43 Things. In addition to being annoying, it is also a relief, because I can include silly entries as well, though I hope that it will be about a 50/50 mix between serious and silly. We'll see on 1 January how it has worked itself out.
In the meantime, I will work on a separate page devoted solely to my 43 Things, and I invite you to head to 43 Things and create a list of your own! We can compare our lists at the end of 2006.
This post has been re-posted at Random Fodder, Novac's personal blog.
When you receive the bulletin at church, it's a simple format: Several pieces of 8 1/2 x 10 pieces of paper folded and stapled to make a little 5 x 8 1/2 booklet.
Over the years, I have seen plenty of people open these booklets up and fold them backwards so that one of the inside pages is then the "cover." Apparently this is useful for paying attention to the order of service (if your church has one) or a particular announcement. I have even seen people fold the bulletins in half horizontally in order to drape them over the pew in front of them, for the purpose of reading the chorus/hymn lyrics.
When it comes to books (and, yes, booklets), I'm very particular. I don't like messing with the spine on books particularly, but this preference translates to booklets as well. I avoid folding my bulleting incorrectly at all costs. In fact, I'm one of those people who, when folding pieces of papers in half, takes the time to very carefully make sure that each set of corners matches up perfectly, and I cringe when I receive a folded paper that is clearly asymmetrical.
So, on Sunday, when I showed the order of service to someone, they folded my bulletin backwards and handed it back to me. Of course, I gasped — not because it bothered me, but because I knew that this person was also the type of person who had to have everything just so . . . but apparently, he either let loose this day or his anal retentiveness doesn't translate to church bulletins.
I can hear you asking, "Why are you ranting about this? Are you really this petty?" To answer your second question: Yes, I am that petty, but that's not why I'm "ranting" about this. I really don't care, except for the fact that this person followed his action up with "I'm sure I'll read all about it on your blog." I assured them that they would. Mission accomplished.
Some stories don't have a moral, or even a purpose.
Still looking for that perfect gift for that special someone? If you are (or know) a girl who has (or plans to get) breast implants, here's a gift you just can't resist!
The Register reports that BT Laboratories is considering developing an MP3 player that would sit inside a breast implant. The player would theoretically go in one side, and the storage disk in the other. The wireless (of course) signal would be relayed to headphones and a wristband of some sort would control the device.
Don't even ask about upgrades . . .
Of course, there's always the package gift of the MP3 player along with breast implants . . .
The question is: When will they be able to leave an MP3 player behind when they remove tonsils or an appendix? I'm just hoping this doesn't mean you're going to see plenty of male twenty-something techies walking around with breast implants, just so they can stay on the bleeding edge of technology!
