Aquada

AquadaThis might be slightly old news, but I still think it’s cool. Check out the Gibbs Aquada, a new British amphibious car capable of 100mph on land and 30mph on the water. It looks like it’s only available in Europe initially; I wonder if it will make it over here…

Comments Server Down

As you’ve probably noticed for a couple of days now, comments are not working, and according to Hossein Sharifi over at YACCS the server may not be up and running until Monday the 8th. After some initial growing pains with the comments system, things have been working pretty smoothly for the most part, and this extended outage is a rare exception. Thanks for your patience, and I look forward to seeing all of your pent-up comments once things are up and running!

Johnny Depp On The U.S.

CNN reports that according to Johnny Depp, “America is dumb, it’s like a dumb puppy that has big teeth that can bite and hurt you, aggressive.” I’m not sure that I can totally go with the metaphor, but it’s an amusing one, if nothing else. Depp goes on to say that he was “ecstatic [when] they re-named ‘French Fries’ as ‘Freedom Fries.’ Grown men and women in positions of power in the U.S. government showing themselves as idiots.” On that note I totally agree…

Class of 2007 – Born in 1985!?

Following last year’s post on the Class of 2006, I now report on this year’s incoming Class of 2007. As I mentioned last Spring, “In order to help its faculty better relate to new generations of students arriving on campus, Beloit College has been distributing Mindset Lists that serve as a ‘reminder that the world view of today’s new college students is significantly different from the intellectual framework of those students who entered only a few years earlier.’” For example, this year’s Class of 2007 Mindset List reminds us that:

Bert and Ernie are old enough to be their parents.

Computers have always fit in their backpacks.

Datsuns have never been made.

Rock and Roll has always been a force for social good.

Paul Newman has always made salad dressing.

Take a look at the full list and you’ll see how differently this year’s class will be looking at things. Man, and I thought I felt old before this post…

Worst Birthday Ever?

I know I haven’t posted for a couple of days, but this time I have a pretty good excuse. This past Monday was Labor Day, and most Americans enjoyed a nice long weekend. For me, it was also my birthday (31st – dammit, I’m not getting any younger), but I definitely did not enjoy my day off. In fact, as far as I can remember, it’s probably the worst birthday ever. You see, I contracted some kind of stomach virus or food poisoning, so I was spewing out of both ends every hour (fairly precisely, I’m told) for most of the night and part of the day. The scourge of this attack on my body was compounded with the soreness I was feeling from playing tennis the day before for the first time in about a year, making my miserable existence that much more painful. I’ve been recuperating for the past couple of days, subsisting on toast, noodles, and lots of liquids. I hope to be back to my usual diet of fried foods and pizza soon, although my wife is delaying that inevitability for as long as possible. 😉

Back to the main crux of my post, though. I want my birthday back, dammit! Everyone else got to spend a lovely September day (one of the first sunny days we’ve had in a while around here), and I spent it in bed hurling every hour. That just sucks…