Recompiled.org » Life

Local Coffeeshops

Joe — Tue, 06 May 2008 04:04:34 +0000

In the Starbucks world, its hard to find local coffeeshops. At least in Indianapolis it was. Here in New Jersey, its a different story. Chains are not anywhere as plentiful here. The “Mom and Pop” reigns.

We have been exploring some of the local eateries. We found two good diners. Still looking for the perfect pizza, though. This morning, I went out by myself in search for breakfast. I tried a diner that we had driven past, but it was lackluster. There isn’t a lot one can do to make bacon and eggs spectacular, but they didn’t really try. I was a little disappointed. I decided to stop at a local coffee shop called Brewed Awakenings. Nice people, the food looks and smells awesome. It has more customers in a much smaller area. The coffee is good. I think we have a winner.

I will have to come back here, for sure.

Make a trail on the ground, get charged with a felony.

Joe — Sun, 26 Aug 2007 03:51:00 +0000

A man and his sister made a trail through an IKEA parking lot with flour for a running club. Someone thought it was “the terrorist” and called 911. The two face felony charges.

Mayoral spokeswoman Jessica Mayorga said the city plans to seek restitution from the Salchows, who are due in court Sept. 14.

“You see powder connected by arrows and chalk, you never know,” she said. “It could be a terrorist, it could be something more serious. We’re thankful it wasn’t, but there were a lot of resources that went into figuring that out.”

What is wrong with people? Terrorist? Yes, the terrorists are going to sprinkle anthrax around IKEA because that’s how they roll. If they had sprinkled anthrax on the road, you’d have to get on the ground and sniff it like cocaine to catch it.

(via MSNBC)

Maybe our currency won’t be ugly forever?

Joe — Wed, 29 Nov 2006 15:38:23 +0000

As I had written about before, American money is ugly compared to foreign currency. The Bank of England website shows off the Brit’s colourful currency. The Euro is also loaded with colors. Here, we get drab, ugly banknotes.

The US Treasury has started to add “splashes” of colour to help deter counterfeiting. But, maybe big changes are on the way?

A US Federal Court judge has ordered the Treasury to make changes to the currency to help visually impaired people distinguish between bills. Other countries (including those mentioned above) use colour, size, and texture to distinguish denominations. The judge didn’t tell the government how to comply, but they needed to start working on it¹. Maybe there is hope yet…

Some of the batshit insane^TM right wing blogs out there are incorrectly relaying that the Treasury has 10 days to start working on a solution. The news stories I’ve read from news sites says the government has 10 days to appeal. Funny how a few words make a difference. ↩

Random Updates

Joe — Mon, 25 Sep 2006 18:54:46 +0000

The NAS document is coming along, but not as quickly as I’d like. I find that I sit down and load it… and nothing makes its way from my brain to my fingers. I can say that my NAS implementation has been rock solid since I put in the new USB 2.0 controller card that uses the NEC controller chip. The Wife found a 1280VA UPS at Staples for $30 (She can smell the deals as we pass the stores in the car… kinda like a sale bloodhound ). So, we’re all set now with 30 minutes of power backup for the NAS server and the network infrastructure (the cable modem and router).

Classes are coming along. I’m taking a Systems Administration course and a PHP/MySQL web programming course. The Sysadmin class looks like it’ll be a slide as I’ve done most of this stuff already (thus, writing a document on how to build a homegrown NAS). The PHP class is going to be challenging.

For those who know about the “new job,” I haven’t heard anything more. They’re still doing whatever it is they do.

McDonalds Coffee != Starbucks

Joe — Wed, 13 Sep 2006 18:41:20 +0000

I had heard from several people (although, I cannot recall who) that the new McDonald’s coffee was pretty good and that they liked it better than Starbucks. I have taken the Pepsi Challenge, and I can confirm that those people are clearly insane. I’ve had better coffee at the free breakfast bar at the Holiday Inn.

String Quartet Rendition of “The Legend of Zelda” Music

Joe — Sun, 13 Aug 2006 06:18:32 +0000

One of the neatest dorky things I’ve seen in a while. Enjoy! (via Kotaku)

For my Senior Cello Recital at James Madison University this past March, I decided that my recital needed something extra. This is the encore of my recital. If you can name all of the zelda themes used in this medley, you are as cool as me. Enjoy!

[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vs3yHJO_nT0[/video]

US backs down on charging citizens for evacuation from Lebanon

Joe — Wed, 19 Jul 2006 14:40:24 +0000

According to the State Department website:

Secretary Rice has directed the State Department in this case to waive the requirement for American citizens departing Lebanon to reimburse the United States Government for their travel costs. We want to do everything we can to facilitate the departure of American citizens from Lebanon. Today’s step removes one potential worry for our citizens at this difficult time.

Score one for the people. (Previously)

US Government to Charge for Evacuation from Lebanon

Joe — Mon, 17 Jul 2006 22:44:01 +0000

I posted this over at MetaFilter, and figured I should probably share on my blog.

The US State Department is reminding its citizens that it does not provide free transportation. It looks like it might be about $300 for the evacuation. If you can’t pay at the time, you can sign a promissory note and pay interest. It looks like other countries are not charging (or, if they are, they’re not saying so quite like the US is).

Why is the government charging to evacuate its citizens from a sudden hostile zone?

At the State Department, McCormack said the cost of a massive evacuation was beyond U.S. resources. He said evacuated Americans would be asked to pay commercial rates, and if they did not have the money to promise to pay in the future.

“Everybody who wishes to leave will be able to leave,” he promised.

The U.S. Embassy advised Americans to carry a valid passport, a birth certificate and marriage or other civil documents. Each traveler is limited to one suitcase weighing up to 30 pounds. Pets will not be allowed to travel.

Saving its citizens comes second to the almost $300 billion we’ve spent in Iraq or the overall US Debt. Cue “God Bless America…”

World Cup Start Times

Joe — Sun, 09 Jul 2006 19:04:37 +0000

So, I sit down at 2:55pm and turn on ABC-HD to watch the France vs Italy World Cup Championship, and what do I see? “We’re at halftime…” WTF! Turns out that they started the championship game earlier than they had started all of the other games. The third place match was at 3pm yesterday, but, they started earlier today. Needless to say, I’m slightly grumpy about it.

Quick Review: Starbucks Iced Coffee

Joe — Tue, 13 Jun 2006 14:13:53 +0000

I picked up a can of Starbucks Iced Coffee at the store the other day. It’s like their Double Shot, except less sweet, less creamy, and less coffee like. Woohoo.