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#2: My Caterpillar Boots

In 10 years, I’m on my second pair of Caterpillar boots. They are probably the most comfortable shoes I’ve ever owned. They’re also some of the best looking and certainly the most durable.
I just found out today that the actual product name is the Second Shift Steel Toe. I got my first pair sometime before spring of 1998. I know I had them then because I wore them to my Junior Prom. In 1999 I wore them to my job washing cars because they were better at keeping my feet dry than Gore-Tex hiking boots. In 2000, I wore them to hike to the base of the Grand Canyon and back.
Did I mention they have a steel toe? Yes. My most comfortable pair of shoes has a steel shank and steel toe. They performed superbly on one of the hardest hikes I’ve ever made.
I’m not sure when the sole started to wear through, but when I started catching rocks inside the heel, I bought another pair. Same shoe, half a size larger. It seems like I wear them daily. Probably not, but they’re certainly not collecting dust. Think work with everything from holey work jeans to dress slacks. The two sets of speed laces up top also make them the shoe I slide on when I just need to run down stairs to check the mail.
Oh yeah, I still have the first pair I owned. They’re a bit too dirty and scuffed up for the office, but they get a good workout with any painting or heavy work I do.

You know how carbonated drinks are all full of suspended carbon dioxide (CO₂)? What about oxygenated drinks? Could they suspend oxygen in the same way? Wouldn’t that be better tasting and better for you? It would be a little bit like the oxygen-bar effect, except with caffeine. Is there some problem with suspending O₂ in H₂O that I would know about if I had paid more attention in Mrs. Batton’s AP Chemistry?

I’m staying home today and catching up on all kinds of work. I started hearing some loud noises this afternoon and didn’t think much of it at first. There’s a lot of traffic around here, and a lot of aircraft fly nearby. I hear a lot of noises and can’t figure out what they are. But the noises continued. My first thought was that it sounded like cannon fire. Then I thought maybe fireworks. For about half an hour, the explosions continued, so I decided to investigate. So, to the best of my ability, I ran across the permafrost that is covering Northern Virginia to find out what was going on. Right across the street from my building, there was a Revolutionary War reenactment.

And then there was this random snow storm.

This begins a brief series detailing a few products, services, and such that I absolutely love.

#1: My Oakley Half Jacket sunglasses

I typically couldn’t justify spending over $100 on a fashion accessory. I can make an exception for Oakley sunglasses though. The frames look great, especially the Bronze/Titanium Iridium in brown/black which goes well with most anything I wear. They fit my face perfectly and the “UNOBTAINIUM

The ice pellets are here, dialog on global warming has been postponed, the busses are all stuck, the roads are all jammed, and my truck is in the shop. I will be at home.

I just read this article in the NY Times that uses the new Virgin Earth Challenge prize as a jumping off point to talk about global climate change. There’s a lot of talk about the report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, and compares the work of their real scientists to the sensationalism proposed by Al Gore.

That’s the last time I drive to Philadelphia without knowing how to get back.

I always carry bottled water in my car. It’s snowing and it’s 17 degrees outside. So I’m thirsty.

This begins to sum up my feelings about Macs. Particularly the Mac vs PC ads.

I’m reading this article and I can’t figure out what was in the air that day over Boston to make people act so dumb. Somebody hung up Lite Brites around the city. They hung them up in 10 cities, and apparently they had been there for weeks. Granted, this isn’t a good idea, just from the perspective of vandalism, littering, or violation of solicitation laws. But in all those cities except Boston, people reacted rationally. Police officers, maintenance workers, and all said, “Hey, look at this junk. Let’s throw it away.”
In Boston, the Massachusetts Attorney General, Martha Coakley, said “It had a very sinister appearance. It had a battery behind it, and wires.” You can’t get much more sinister than batteries and wires. Shut down the subway! Call out the bomb squad!

Sean Stevens … and Peter Berdovsky are charged with placing a hoax device that causes panic. They told reporters they would answer questions only about hair.
… When a reporter accused them of not taking the situation seriously, Stevens responded, “We’re taking it very seriously.” Asked another question about the case, Stevens reiterated they were answering questions only about hair and accused the reporter of not taking him and Berdovsky seriously.

People need to relax a little.

John Cage’s 4’33”

Trailer for Koyaanisqatsi