As I have mentioned in previous blogs, I do about three hours of driving a day. I have picked up a habit of noticing what people are doing while they are driving. I have seen many strange things. The most common thing I have seen is talking on cell phones. No matter what road I'm on, I see somebody talking on a cell phone and driving. Texting is very common too. Next is smoking. I always see people smoking while driving, either cigarettes, cigars, or marijuana. I've seen people smoking pot while driving several times. I also notice people rocking out while in the car. Most of the time they are by themselves, but I have seen a group rock out session before. It is pretty funny, because they think that they're alone and are really getting into their music (guilty). I have driven behind my girlfriend before, and she does this all the time. She will even dance while driving. I have Sirius Satellite Radio in my car, and I often listen to the comedy station. I know people have driven by me and seen me laughing hysterically. Hopefully, they noticed the antenna on the top of my car, and realized that I'm not insane. I always see people eating too. I don't get the fascination with eating and driving. I've tried it before, and it is very hard to do.
Now for the really strange stuff. Constantly I see people picking their nose while driving. I think it is because they think that they are alone that it is OK. However, they fail to realize that people can see through their windshields. All the time I see people knuckle deep, picking a winner. The other day, I was coming home from work, and there was a cute girl driving in front of me. I saw her face through her rear view mirror. She then casually picked her nose and then ate it. I started laughing hysterically. The weirdest thing I ever noticed was when I was driving with my mom a few years ago. We were behind this car, and we noticed a small shoe fly out of the back window. A couple miles later, we saw another shoe fly out the window. Eventually we got next to a car at a red light. We noticed a small child in the back seat that seemed to be very happy after throwing his shoes out the window. Then we noticed why the mother did not realize what the child had done. The mother was sewing while she was driving.
Monday, December 14, 2009
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Un-Plowed Roads
Today, I had to risk my life driving to work on unplowed roads, while my girlfriend sat at home because of a snow day. If the roads are too dangerous for kids to go to school, then work should be canceled also. I live in Oneida, and work near Utica. Normally it takes me about 25 minutes to get to work, depending on traffic. This morning it took me almost 50 minutes to get to work. The roads were not plowed until I got to Kirkland, which is about 5 minutes away from wear I work. The drive is normally all 55 mph. This morning I did not go over 35mph, and I was fish-tailing everywhere.
How is it that everytime we get the first snow of the season, the roads are never plowed? This year the snow came late, and all of the plow people were just sitting around waiting for it to snow. WHY THE HELL WERE THE ROADS NOT PLOWED!!!! I was 30 minutes late for work this morning, but my boss understood because the weather was really bad. Twice a week I have to be into work at 5am, the roads are never plowed that early. The other 3 days a week I have to be in at 7, the roads should be plowed by 6:30 when I'm on the road. 7am seems like a normal time for people to go to work, there is always a lot of traffic on the roads. I would think that towns would want to have a clear, safe path for people to travel in the morning.
How is it that everytime we get the first snow of the season, the roads are never plowed? This year the snow came late, and all of the plow people were just sitting around waiting for it to snow. WHY THE HELL WERE THE ROADS NOT PLOWED!!!! I was 30 minutes late for work this morning, but my boss understood because the weather was really bad. Twice a week I have to be into work at 5am, the roads are never plowed that early. The other 3 days a week I have to be in at 7, the roads should be plowed by 6:30 when I'm on the road. 7am seems like a normal time for people to go to work, there is always a lot of traffic on the roads. I would think that towns would want to have a clear, safe path for people to travel in the morning.
Yankees Picked up Granderson
Last night The New York Yankees agreed in principle to a three team deal that would land all-star center fielder, Curtis Granderson in NY. This is a great move for the Yankees. Granderson hit 30 homeruns last year with Detroit. Next year should be an even better offensive season for Granderson because of the short porch in right field. The young left hander will make a great addition to an already potent lineup.
The Yankees gave up pitchers Phil Coke and Ian Kennedy. They also gave up one of their top prospects, Austin Jackson. This was the one part of the trade that I didn't like. Jackson is supposed to be the next big thing in the Yankees minor league system. Trading away prospects seems to be one of Brian Cashman's (Yankees GM)favorite hobbies. Trading away prospects got the Yankees into trouble a few years ago. It seemed like Cashman traded away all of the Yankees top prospects for aging talent in the early part of this decade. Doing this let the team get old, and Joe Torre was to blame for the lack of production, when the blame should have landed on Cashman's head. However, this time he traded away a prospect for a young, proven all-star.
Where does this leave Johnny Damon and Hideki Matsui? I believe that the Yankees will resign Damon and put him in the DH spot. I think that Matsui will end up signing with Seattle to play out the rest of his career with Ichiro. The Yankees also resigned Andy Pettite to a 1 year deal. Even though Pettite is aging, he is still a big game performer, as he proved this post season. All in all, the Yankees look to be among the top teams in the American League again this season. The Hot Stove League, as the winter meetings are called, is one of the most exciting times of the year. This is when all of the teams meet and make deals. The Winter Meetings have just begun and there are plenty more deals to be made.
The Yankees gave up pitchers Phil Coke and Ian Kennedy. They also gave up one of their top prospects, Austin Jackson. This was the one part of the trade that I didn't like. Jackson is supposed to be the next big thing in the Yankees minor league system. Trading away prospects seems to be one of Brian Cashman's (Yankees GM)favorite hobbies. Trading away prospects got the Yankees into trouble a few years ago. It seemed like Cashman traded away all of the Yankees top prospects for aging talent in the early part of this decade. Doing this let the team get old, and Joe Torre was to blame for the lack of production, when the blame should have landed on Cashman's head. However, this time he traded away a prospect for a young, proven all-star.
Where does this leave Johnny Damon and Hideki Matsui? I believe that the Yankees will resign Damon and put him in the DH spot. I think that Matsui will end up signing with Seattle to play out the rest of his career with Ichiro. The Yankees also resigned Andy Pettite to a 1 year deal. Even though Pettite is aging, he is still a big game performer, as he proved this post season. All in all, the Yankees look to be among the top teams in the American League again this season. The Hot Stove League, as the winter meetings are called, is one of the most exciting times of the year. This is when all of the teams meet and make deals. The Winter Meetings have just begun and there are plenty more deals to be made.
Thursday, December 3, 2009
Pearl Jam
Pearl Jam is one of my favorite bands, but by all practical reasons they should not still be around. They have made many decisions that would have been catastrophic for other bands.
First, look at their debut album. Ten was one of the greatest albums ever recorded. Normally when a band's debut record is a smash hit, they struggle to do it again. I could be wrong, but I believe all ten songs were released as singles. Either way, it is still one of the best rock albums ever, and if you haven't listened to it do yourself a favor and pick it up. The repeated success is uncommon, but Pearl Jam successfully produced albums for almost 20 years now.
Next, look at music videos. During the 1990's music videos were still a very popular medium for music. Every band that released a single created a music video, that is just how the industry was working at the time. During the entire decade, Pearl Jam released only two music videos, and there were years apart. Their first video, "Jeremy" (off the Ten album) was a huge success. It is also regarded as one of the better music videos ever made. The band then went years before producing another music video. I'm not sure if it was because they thought they could not repeat the success of the first video or if it was just Eddie Vedder taking a stand against the music industry. Their second video was "Do the Evolution," off of the Yield album released in the late 1990s. This video was entirely animated and was not as big of a success as "Jeremy." Pearl Jam was still one of the largest selling rock bands in the 1990's even through the lack of music videos.
Next, look at the Ticket Master feud. Pearl Jam began to boycott Ticket Master, because they believed that they had a monopoly on the ticket industry. Pearl Jam then sold tickets to their concerts through local ticketing outlets and box offices. The band decided not to be associated with the biggest ticketing firm in the country and still survived. The band sacrificed the availability of their tickets for their beliefs.
Any band could most likely survive one of these incidents alone, but there is no practical reason for Pearl Jam to still be around, having survived all three. They recently released their newest album and it debuted at the top of the charts. There is either something very special about Pearl Jam, or they made a deal with the devil, I'm not sure which.
First, look at their debut album. Ten was one of the greatest albums ever recorded. Normally when a band's debut record is a smash hit, they struggle to do it again. I could be wrong, but I believe all ten songs were released as singles. Either way, it is still one of the best rock albums ever, and if you haven't listened to it do yourself a favor and pick it up. The repeated success is uncommon, but Pearl Jam successfully produced albums for almost 20 years now.
Next, look at music videos. During the 1990's music videos were still a very popular medium for music. Every band that released a single created a music video, that is just how the industry was working at the time. During the entire decade, Pearl Jam released only two music videos, and there were years apart. Their first video, "Jeremy" (off the Ten album) was a huge success. It is also regarded as one of the better music videos ever made. The band then went years before producing another music video. I'm not sure if it was because they thought they could not repeat the success of the first video or if it was just Eddie Vedder taking a stand against the music industry. Their second video was "Do the Evolution," off of the Yield album released in the late 1990s. This video was entirely animated and was not as big of a success as "Jeremy." Pearl Jam was still one of the largest selling rock bands in the 1990's even through the lack of music videos.
Next, look at the Ticket Master feud. Pearl Jam began to boycott Ticket Master, because they believed that they had a monopoly on the ticket industry. Pearl Jam then sold tickets to their concerts through local ticketing outlets and box offices. The band decided not to be associated with the biggest ticketing firm in the country and still survived. The band sacrificed the availability of their tickets for their beliefs.
Any band could most likely survive one of these incidents alone, but there is no practical reason for Pearl Jam to still be around, having survived all three. They recently released their newest album and it debuted at the top of the charts. There is either something very special about Pearl Jam, or they made a deal with the devil, I'm not sure which.
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