Funny Spoof

For all of us who have endured the Viagra commercials over the last several years, this spoof is really funny:



Enjoy

The Danger of iPods and other MP3 players

I saw this on another site a few minutes ago. The New South Wales Police Dept (Yes, in Australia) has embarked on an interesting campaign to remind people to be aware when listening to music on headphones. I especially like the body outline.

Post CES: Lots of great stuff...

... and a sore knee to finish it off.

I got a lot of cool swag at the show. The usual promo stuff, pens and the like. A lot of USB drives, including a few 1GB models. Tshirts (not many, these appear to be out of fashion now). Some product, including WeatherDirect, a cellular emergency power system, a cellular extender, a speaker for MP3's, headphones (3 different types), and a Jawbone (it is a Bluetooth headset given out to ANYONE presenting and abandoning their old BT headset to the folk handing it out). Pics to be taken soon, and I will post them at that time.

My knee on the other hand may have been aggravated by the 9+ hour ride home (My bad for wanting my Jeep in Las Vegas). Dunno, but it started getting seriously sore on Wednesday during the show. Sore enough that by the time I left a party Wed night, I seriously considered dipping into a more potent painkiller that I brought for my elbow (Which did surprisingly well, probably because I didn't carry anything with my left hand for long.). By Thursday night, I was in a lot of pain. Ice packs and pain meds got me through the night, and I was able to drive home yesterday. Again, by the end of the trip, I hurt BAD. I am still sitting here taking it easy today, going through the swag. Tomorrow will also be a "take it easy" day.

A little history: I had a problem with knee pain as a teenager and young adult. Had knee arthroscopy in 1986, which showed my knee in good shape. The lateral collateral ligament on the outside of the knee was WAY too short, and it was lengthened in that surgery. My knee has been in good shape until last Wed... overuse? Underexercise? Dunno... but I have to get it feeling better ASAP.

CES was a blast, however! I love going every year... even if I end up hurting.

Addendum: After speaking with several people at my work, it appears a bug might have been the culprit for my knee pain. When I got sick earlier in the week, it may have been the start of a virus that finished out nailing my knee. On the 15th, it was fine again, like nothing had happened.

CES

I have been here in Las Vegas at the 2008 Consumer Electronics Show. I *LOVE* this show. This is my (cough) 26th (cough cough) year attending this show, first as a teenager who technically wasn't allowed on the show floor, and now as a member of what seems to be a very elite class of attendees. Those old enough to remember programming on old DEC PDP systems running RSTS (look that one up kiddies), but young enough that we aren't allowed (nor want) to retire. I am 44 years old, after all.

This show affords me the opportunity to see upcoming hardware, software, accessories, publications, meet new friends, update old friends (And say goodbye to others who have passed on.), attend parties (I've been invited to so many, I actually turned several famous ones down.), see family, and generally have a good time. I get to play, after all. I am here on my FIRST EVER PAID VACATION. Yep, 44 years old, and I only now get to enjoy vacation time I have accrued.

OK, so what have I seen?

• 150 inch plasma TV
• Bill Gates announce his last keynote speech
• New backup gadgets for my laptop, my phone, even my camera!
• Bill Gates announce his retirement from full-time work (Yeah, right)
• Emergency power for my cell phone that actually WORKS for my Treo
• My laptop melt down (It seems to slowly be dying)
• 1.5 inch OLED electronic picture keyfob (This is actually cute - and functional)
• A new weather alert system designed to utilize the WiFi in the home (I could have used this last week during the storms in Northern CA where I live)
• Yahoo! attempt to stay alive amidst Google killing them

... And so much more!


I will post more, but here are a few pics from the show:

This bike is KILLER! It is made of carbon fiber and Kevlar. Price: A mere $7000. As outfitted, $11,000.














Skulls are in. So is Barbie, ironically enough.

















Yes, that is Penn Gillette, of Penn and Teller fame!






















This TV isn't the largest one at the show... the biggest is 150 inches!
















So many trophies... but for what???

Batten down the hatches!

In case you don't know, there is a series of MAJOR storms due to hit here in the western US. Northern CA is expected to take a significant hit, including 3-6 inches of rain, up to 10 FEET of snow in the higher Sierra elevations, winds 40-60 MPH (or higher), and well, enough potential of street flooding to make me grateful that I own a Jeep.

Nice map, huh? (Source: My Weather via KCRA.com)

Oh, in the midst of this, on Saturday, I am due to drive to Las Vegas... I think no matter which way I go, I am in for a wild ride.

Stupidity

Doing the dishes doesn't usually involve being stupid. However, I managed to do just that. While doing dishes this morning, I set a pan to soak. No biggee. However, this is a HEAVY stainless steel 12" diameter frying pan. I then set it on the counter and stacked a few more items on top of that. Did a bunch of dishes. Still had more to do, but I went to work on other stuff to allow the ones I did to dry.

Fast forward a few hours. I put the dishes away I washed earlier. I reached to close the dish cabinet, and managed to knock the stack I created earlier off the counter. Yeah, the one with the frying pan full of water. It all landed squarely on my foot, right at the base of my big toe. OUCH! It bruised instantly, reminding me of the encounter I had with a brake rotor on my big toe (other foot) over 10 years ago. In that one, I had a nasty fracture (The doc didn't believe it at first, since the big toe has a THICK bone to it). It healed eventually. The whole thing hitting my foot and the floor eventually made a very loud noise.

I just stood there and Diana yelled if I was ok. I told her I wasn't sure. She came out, and I warned her it was wet all over there (including my pants that got splashed back on). I also told her I wasn't sure if a glass bowl was broken or not, since I knew she was also barefoot like I was. I grabbed some frozen corn for an ice pack, and made it over to the living room and iced it for a while. Finally called to get an x-ray to rule out a fracture.

A little over 2 hours later, I got the news... NO FRACTURE! Just a nasty bruise, thankfully. Still doesn't diminish how much it hurts, but at least it isn't broken. Thank God! With a conference to go to next week, and some EMS work later this week, I couldn't afford to have a broken foot. So, I managed to do something very stupid, and got lucky.

Don't do what I did kiddies. Make sure if you stack stuff up, it won't bite you back for not being careful.