Thursday, January 15, 2009

Yesterday was good...

Yesterday was a good day. I got a lot of stuff done, received a lot of stuff, and helped a lot of people. I deemed yesterday so good I feel I had to write about it. Since I do not feel like writing a couple of paragraphs right now, I feel I should write a list.

1. Got my parking permit a week before school starts to avoid crazy lines.
2. Order my textbooks online and saved a great deal of money instead of going to the bookstore.
3. Got some alone time at work and I managed to get a lot of things done.
4. Convinced a lot of potential students to come to the campus at end of January.
5. Helped many people with some problems, family included, managed to get them laughing at the end to take their minds off of it at least for a moment.
6. Got a rain check for a $60 game that went on sale for $9.99 at best buy.
7. Got another $60 game that went on sale for 9.99 at best buy.
8. Got MK vs. DC in the mail finally.
9. Got my 2009 calendars.
10. Got my Netflix DVDs of the last episodes of the great cop drama, "The Wire."

Yesterday was a good day.

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

9 Superpowers You Might Actually Want

*Friend of mine sent this to me and I thought I'd share this to those who decides to read it. Enjoy. Leave a comment if you want to add powers.


When it comes down to it, most of the superpowers you see in comic books, TV, and movies aren't the sorts of abilities you'd want to have yourself. While on the surface it might seem kick-ass to possess retractable metal claws or brain-shattering psionic abilities, powers like these tend to place a person on government watch lists or morally obligate them to fight crime. Plus, they can result in pesky accidents like stabbing your loved ones or having your body taken over by an alien lifeform. Here are some mutant abilities that might actually prove useful in your daily life without some of the more apocalyptic side effects:

1. Ultra Liver Function. With this power, you'll be able to metabolize alcohol and clean your blood at 10 times the rate of a normal human being. You can slide tequila shot after jager shot down your throat without any concern that it might come back up in the morning, and move from Power Hours to Power Centuries with no hangovers or late-night trips to the ER. This power does, however, come with one drawback: it costs a hell of a lot money to get drunk.

2. The Human Condom. This power grants you the inability to contract, carry, or transmit any sexually transmitted infection, from genital warts to HIV. Although you'll still require contraception, you can engage in sexual encounters relatively worry and health insurance-free. Plus, you'll still be able to catch non-sexually transmitted ailments and enjoy the occasional guilt-free sick day.

3. Wifi Brain. Plenty of people have wifi phones, but the wifi brain allows you to access the Internet instantly and discreetly. This is the perfect power for pub trivia, winning bets, and getting through boring meetings. The trick to this power is keeping it a secret – otherwise, your friends will constantly be asking you to check their email.

4. Gaydar. To prevent embarrassing social situations and avoid lengthy, unrequited crushes on persons of the wrong sexual orientation, gaydar would let you know the exact Kinsey number of every individual in a quarter mile radius. A corollary to this power would tell you whether a particular love-target has a significant other, and how likely they are to hook up with you.

5. Polymorph Clothing. If your clubbing clothes are out of date, you need to go to a formal dinner right after a work meeting, or you just need an awesome Halloween costume, simply morph your clothing into the perfect outfit for the occasion. Incidentally, if you happen to be one of those crime-fighting superheros, this is a much better way to hide your secret identity than wearing your spandex under your suit.

6. Pepper Spray Breath. Okay, maybe your friend is a little too fond of insulting the mothers of large, drunken men. Maybe that guy who seemed really cool downstairs is a tad too aggressive when you get him into your room. You don't really want to hurt anyone (after all, you don't want to be a superhero), but you do want to get these people away, quickly and possibly permanently. Through a small glad in the back of your mouth, you could shoot a small but painful stream of pepper spray, quickly disabling any potential assailant. The bonus is you'd have an especially high tolerance for spicy foods. The con is that TSA would probably never let you fly.

7. Humor ESP. You've got a great joke involving St. Peter, a stripper, and a tricycle, but you're not sure how it will go over with your friend's new boyfriend, whom you've only met once but get the feeling doesn't really like you. Your humor ESP will let you know whether the joke will end in laughs or a theological debate. This peculiar psychic ability also comes in handy when you want to come up with the exact line to scare off that guy at the bar who just won't leave you alone.

8. Mute Button. Silence crying babies, Lyndon LaRouche supporters, and cell phones that play "Fergalicious" by rendering them temporarily mute. Tragically, this power would only work in person, meaning that morning talk show hosts, cable news pundits, and televangelists must still be silenced through conventional technological methods.

9. Gravity-Defying Body Parts. Some superheroes can fly. The rest of us need those gravity-defying powers to touch only certain parts of our body, such as booty, breasts, abs, and face. It seems that drag queens, Farah Fawcett, and certain cosplayers have already harnessed this power for hair, but simply won't share the technology.

Missing Plates


Yesterday morning, I walked to my car so I can drive to work as I normally do. When I got closer, I noticed my rear license plate was gone. I canvased the immediate area to see if it fell off somewhere nearby when I arrived last night but I still did not find it. I checked the time and noticed that I still had thirty minutes to make it to work so I decided to go back to my friend's house to see if it fell off around the area where I parked.

Along the way, I called my parents. They both said that I needed to go to the DMV (Department of Motor Vehicles) immediately to get some new plates. I told them that I needed to talk to my superiors first and I'll head right over. Sure enough, I'm driving from my friend's house to work and a cop car pulls up behind me. I took a deep breath and patiently waited for them to flag me over but instead, they just pulled up beside me and told me to roll down my driver's side window.

Cop: Hey buddy, you know you're missing a license plate, right?
Me: Yeah, I'm going to DMV to report it stolen after I clear it with my boss.
Cop: Good.

They drove off. I parked my car in the campus university and talked to my bosses about the situation and they told me to get it taken care of. I went online and found a location and then drove to one of the most dreaded places in the state. For those who have not been to the DMV, the place is loud, busy, and time-consuming. Now if you made an appointment, you could get a sort of reprieve. Since I didn't have one, I could expect to stand in a long line before I could even get helped.

When I got there, the line was literally moving. I didn't know if it was because of a weekday or if it was still early but I wasn't going to complain. I got to the front and they told me I had to do some paperwork and turn in the front plate (I still had it). I sighed because I would have to go home, get some tools to pry the plate off, and then drive back to DMV. I walked to my car and examined the front plate. I noticed that the screws have been tampered with which confirmes that the rear plate was stolen and they were going for the front plate as well. I managed to unscrew the screws with my hand and I got the plate off quite easily.

I walked in with the completed paperwork and the plate. They gave me a number and they told me to wait in the lobby with everyone else. I found a chair, turned on my iPod, and I looked at the screen so I can see the numbers that were being called. Twenty minutes later, my number was called and I walked up to the station and presented the paperwork and front license plate. The lady gave me papers which were my new vehicle's registration and a brown envelope containing my plates and tags. I paid $19.00 flat and that was that.

Overall, I'm surprised that I didn't feel pissed off about the whole ordeal. I guess I'm thinking that I learned something new. If my plates get stolen, I now know the necessary steps to take. My parents told me later that the longer I didn't report the plates stolen, the people that took them could have done something illegal and the police would have seen the plate and I would have been a suspect or something. Go figure.

Wednesday, January 7, 2009

8 Ways To Prevent Theft

I was out of town on a friend's computer and msn's home page popped up when I opened up the browser. The article, "8 Easy Ways to Prevent Home Theft" jumped out at me and I decided to take a look. Below are the ways, take them for what it's worth.

1. Put up a sign that says you have a home security system when you really don't.
2. Have garages closed. When items are on display, you're advertising what you have.
3. Neighbor interaction. (if they see something out of the ordinary, they're more inclined to act on your part)
4. Keep valuables outside the bedroom. (Master bedrooms are commonly the first spot for a burglar.)
5. No land escaping. (pretty much means places with less shrubbery and more open spaces aren't appealing targets)
6. Install motion sensors (great deterrent for nighttime break-ins)
7. Radio running (Let you think that someone is still in house)
8. Free police inventory. (which I find kind of suspect but the theory is that they'll come out for free and give you advice on how to improve your home. But is that wise?)

Just food for thought.