Friday Blogthing: Typealyzer

I ganked this from May at May's Machete. This kind of thing is very useful for those of us who like to separate everybody into nice neat little psychological categories.

The analysis indicates that the author of http://3oclockam.blogspot.com/ is of the type:

ESTP - The Doers

The active and play-ful type. They are especially attuned to people and things around them and often full of energy, talking, joking and engaging in physical out-door activities.

The Doers are happiest with action-filled work which craves their full attention and focus. They might be very impulsive and more keen on starting something new than following it through. They might have a problem with sitting still or remaining inactive for any period of time.

Analysis

This shows what parts of the brain were dominant during writing.

tagged: Friday, blogthing, personality, type, Typealyzer, doer, quiz, blog, meme

Go Elf Yourself!

Just in time for the holidays, OfficeMax is teaming up with those knuckleheads at JibJab to sponsor the ElfYourself viral campaign.

And it's obviously working, since they got me to post this ridonkulous video ecard.

Still, with cameos from such local bloggy luminaries as Shane, Chimpotle, Xavier Onassis and The D, I think the entertainment value is worth the two minutes it takes to watch. However, it's definitely NOT as cool as last year's Handbell Hero viral staring Pensive Girl.

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

tagged: Holidays, Christmas, JibJab, OfficeMax, viral, marketing, video

As seen in Kansas: Atomic Cannon

If you drive far enough west of Kansas City on 1-70, you eventually come to a bend where the highway cuts south with Fort Riley on the west side and a steep Flint Hills bluff to the east side.

If you're paying attention to the scenery instead of the traffic, you may notice at the top of the bluff just as the highway makes a westward turn, a rather large looking cannon.

And, if you've got some extra time, if you're feeling adventurous, if you need to stretch your legs and if the weather is nice, you can pull off the highway into Freedom Park and find out just what the dealio is with that rather large looking cannon anyway.

When you park, you'll see a park shelter with some historical information and a plaque describing one of the few US Army atomic cannons still in existence. You'll also see the beginning of a switch back trail that leads up to the top of the bluff for a close-up view of this nuclear titan.

As you make your way up the switch backs (which are currently riddled with washouts so watch your step), you'll see an artillery piece rise up out of the prairie grass in front of you.

This isn't the Atomic Cannon. It's a rather run of the mill (though still impressive) M1 155 mm Howitzer. There's another one up the hill, aimed roughly in the direction of south Junction City. The WWII-era gun was used widely by the U.S. through the Vietnam war and is still in use by some countries.

Anyhoo, follow the trail a few hundred yards to the top of the bluff, brace yourself against the ubiquitous Kansas gale and catch your breath.

You have arrived.

The M65 Atomic Cannon, affectionately called "Atomic Annie" by the grunts back in the day, stands guard against the Flint Hills prairie chickens and hawks.

Standing next to the impressive weapon you get a sense of scale that you simply can't appreciate when you drive by at 80 mph on I-70 a couple hundred feet below.

The engineers behind this beast had some serious damage in mind when they came up with the idea of building a cannon that could fire a nuclear-tipped shell over 20 miles.

Yes, 20 miles. In it's current position, that puts the recently tornado ravaged hamlet of Chapman, Kan, well within range. Or, you could point the barrel in the opposite direction and lob a radio active round right into downtown Manhattan, though I don't know why anyone would want to do that.

The M65 was conceived and built to defend Europe from those evil Soviet devils back in a time when people used the word "atomic" rather than "nuclear" (or "nookyoular" for that matter).

It was the army's largest artillery gun, and the one at Ft. Riley is the largest of the twenty M65's made during the cold war. Only eight are still around. The one at Ft. Riley is on permanent loan from The Smithsonian.

Here are a few other fun facts about Atomic Annie:

• At 47 tons, the gun was transported at a top speed of 35 mph by two tractors which brought the total weight to 83 tons. The army considered it "highly mobile" in comparison to the strategic atomic weapons of the day.
• The drivers of the vehicles communicated with each other by means of a built-in telephone system.
• The 11-inch projectile fired by the gun weighed in at 550 pounds.
• The atomic cannon first went into service in 1952, and was deactivated in 1963.

tagged: gun, artillary, cold war, Atomic Cannon, Soviet, nuclear, Fort Riley, Kansas, Howitzer, Army, Military

Small change

This just in from The Guardian, Clinton to accept offer of secretary of state job:

Hillary Clinton plans to accept the job of secretary of state offered by Barack Obama, who is reaching out to former rivals to build a broad coalition administration, the Guardian has learned.
...
Clinton, who still harbours hopes of a future presidential run, had to weigh up whether she would be better placed by staying in the Senate, which offers a platform for life, or making the more uncertain career move to the state department.

Obviously this won't happen until it happens, but let's just to make sure we're all on the same page here: Obama's definition of "change" is hiring a bunch of Clinton-era retreads (or, actual Clintons themselves).

tagged: politics, Clinton, Change, Obama, Secretary fo State

YouTube Tuesday: Peter Schiff and his Magical Time Machine

I was mildly blown away when I saw this clip posted by Nick Sloan.



Schiff is almost as prescient as El Borak. Almost.

tagged: Peter Schiff, recession, financial, economy, video, You Tube

It's gotta be the shoes

This has been a really strange day.

It started this morning when I left the house without my wallet. So after dropping the kid off at school, I went a few blocks out of the way to stop by my house to pick it up so I'd have cash for hookers and blow this afternoon.

So then, 10 minutes later I parked in the garage at work and was making my way to the door of my building when I realized I'd forgotten my work ID/key card. So back in the car, 10 minute drive back home, up to my bedroom to get my key card, back in the car, another 10 minutes to the garage, park (I get the same parking place I had the first time), and finally up to my desk.

So I'm starting work late, my computer's acting all up and stuff and it just feels like thing the world in general is out of sync with me and I can't figure out why.

Then it hits me. I bought some new shoes Saturday.

I've been in need of new shoes for a while, and I'm kind of a picky shoe buyer, embracing as I do the importance of comfortable kicks. As Cliff Claven rightly pointed out, all great civilizations had, at their base, comfortable footwear.

Anyway, it takes me a lot of shopping before I can settle on a pair of shoes fit for my soles. But Saturday I stumble into a suitably comfy pair of shoes from Johnston & Murphy.

So today I'm wearing my new Sandro Moscolonis and, while they are indeed cozy (they were "hand made in Brazil" so of course they're comfortable), they just don't feel like my shoes yet.

So that's what I attribute the mild imbalance too. You gotta feel good from the feet up or your day will just seem a little off kilter.

tagged: shoes, Johnston & Murphy, Sandro Moscoloni, shopping

Beet down in the OP Streets

From the Overland Park Public Works department comes this little green tidbit:

Starting this snow season, the Public Works Department is going to experiment with beet juice to treat streets. This organic agriculture by-product is created from desugared beets. It has a sweet smell but is not sticky.

The beet juice, which is mixed with liquid magnesium chloride, will be tested on thoroughfares south of 143rd Street and on residential streets between 119th and 135th streets, from Metcalf west to Antioch.

It is anticipated that use of the juice will reduce overall costs and benefit the environment.

At first, I thought this was some kind of cockamamie scheme cooked up by the powerful beet lobby. But it turns out many states and municipalities have been testing this new solution for the last couple of years.

It works by lowering the freezing temperature of the brine that's used to pretreat roads, experts say. And it's made from a waste product that was dumped down the drain before this new use was discovered.

I've also learned that Kansas City, Mo., will be trying something similar, except instead of beet juice they'll be putting giant steel plates on their roads.

tagged: Johnson County, Overland Park, Kansas, Kansas City, beet juice, streets, environmentalist

Friday Blogthing: King me

You Are Checkers

You are very logical and rational. You are able to understand what is and isn't a factor. You're able to compartmentalize and focus on the essentials. You appreciate simplicity. You can see the layers of complexity and beauty in anything. You are also playful and good natured. You don't take life too seriously!

What Board Game Are You?

tagged: Friday, blogthing, checkers, board, game, quiz, blog, meme

Gadget Review: SBH700 Bluetooth Headset from Samsung

I was in the market for a new Bluetooth headset for quite some time. I'd had one before (this one, from Cardo) that I was really happy with. Unfortunately, it was so small and convenient, that I lost it (natch).

So in my quest for a replacement, I had a few requirements:

• I'm not going to spend more than 80 bucks. I'm not made of money, and unfortunately I don't see Pelosi and Crew lining up to give me any kind of financial bailout anytime soon.
• It had to be un-dorky looking. Actually, scratch that. They're all dorky looking.
• I wanted a two-ear stereo version. I always had trouble hearing people with the one-ear Bluetooth headset.

So I spent some time on Amazon, read some reviews, checked some prices and finally decided on the SBH700 Headset from Samsung.

I felt pretty good with the decision, not the least because I've always had really good luck with Samsung electronics. My TV, VCR, phone, video camera, are all from Samsung and all have worked flawlessly with no complaints.

For the most part, I'm getting the same results with the SBH700. The audio quality is great. I can listen to music and video from my phone (mobile YouTube RULZ!) and I've had no complaints about my audio quality coming though the line to the other parties on the call.

The headset was easy to set up, it took about three minutes for me to pair it with my phone and start using it. It's also easy to use, which is important for numbskulls like me who don't like to read the instruction manual.

But there are some drawbacks that are serious enough to keep me from recommending this headset.

For one thing, this gadget is pretty heavy compared to other Bluetooth headsets. I'm not sure whether this is a function of the two-ear nature of the device or just the added electronics needed to make it stereo.

It's much heavier than the single ear Cardo and Motorola Bluetooth headsets I've used before, and you definitely know when you have it on.

It's also too small for my head. Now granted, I have a gigantic noggin. I mean, my dome has been known to generate its own weather patterns. This is why I don't wear sweaters, because my head stretches out the neck-hole so badly when I put them on.

It would probably be fine for someone with a normal sized head, but for me the wires connecting each ear piece are too short. The ear pieces themselves are too large (even for my humongous ears) and lack adequate padding.

All of this leads to the most serious problem with the device, it's very uncomfortable.

The added weight and the sheer gargantuan size of my melon combine with the design of the ear pieces make it difficult to wear this headset for more than a few minutes. Any conference call (or cell phone porn watching session) that lasts more than 10 minutes makes my ears begin to ache to the point where I'd rather just send smoke signals than talk on the phone.

It's a solid device, and would probably be great for the non-cranially challenged. But due to the lack of comfort, I'm going to have to give it a regretful thumbs down.

SBH700 Bluetooth Headset from Samsung
Pro: Great audio quality, easy to use and set up, Samsung reputation.
Con: Uncomfortable ear pieces, too small for my head.

tagged: gadget, review, Bluetooth, Samsung, headset, Cardo, SBH700

Four out of five Alec Baldwins agree

A lot of my commenters, friends, family members, coworkers and casual acquaintances have been busting my chops pretty hard lately for being a little too hard on Obama since his historical election last week.

Seems I'm not being supportive enough of the new president. Evidently, according to many people, if you're not FOR Obama, you have to be FOR Bush.

I don't buy it, but I understand where this logical fallacy comes from. Both political parties in addition to the media have been conditioning the voting public to think this way for years.

But I don't see a problem with holding a candidate responsible for the promises they make (not that I'm under any illusion that the promises will actually be kept, or that the candidates actually know/care what they're promising).

Still, I was a little surprised to see that crazy, batty Alec Baldwin actually (says he) agrees with me in this regard:

The greatest thing we can do now, those of us who support Obama, is hold him to the same standards to which we held Bush.

Let's face it. We've worked Bush over pretty badly these past few years. It is time for us to face that reality from conservatives, especially with the Triple Crown in place.

Props to Baldwin for the "worked Bush over pretty badly" line.

tagged: election, Obama, Alec Baldwin, logical fallacy, Bush, bandwagon