Lets Talk About Gas Station Etiquette...

Lets face it, we all have to go to the gas station, we all have to share the same space, we all have to get along. So lets try and be civil shall we? Simple rules apply, its not that hard lets just review:

1) If there is an open pump in front of you, pull up to it... dont park at the first pump and leave a line behind you to try and get around you. I CANT STAND NOT BEING AWARE OF WHAT IS GOING ON AROUND YOU. You are a douche, go f'n die.

2)Get off the phone. Seriously pry that piece from your over made up face. No that was not your pump that stopped it was mine, my god you still have no idea what is going on around you.

3)You are paying at the pump... Pay already. Step out of that Lexus, stop pawing in that knock -off coach purse, get your shit together and just freaking PAAAAYYYY.

4) You are trying to exit, are you seriously choosing now to re-spackle your face... are you still on the phone. I am going to ram you now.

5) Obviously you have no regard for others, but one is to merge into traffic not to interject yourself perpendicular and block traffic. Is there no end to your rudeness. I hope you are driving far far away to a land where I never have to see you again, Are you really still on the phone?

Today In the Arbor

I drove by the the Big House that is under construction, yet still looking colossal in it progression. I snapped this photo stopped 7 cars back from stadium and main heading south (back to work). One thing for sure it will be quite the imposing site when done.

For the record this little photo does not even come close to conveying the true craziness of the building.

Tanner Sleeps Peacefuly Now...

But the poor girl pulled a muscle in her front leg yesterday chasing a ball down a hill at the park. She has been limping along so bad its breaking my heart, and getting her to say inactive till it gets better is proving difficult. Plus lugging 72 lb but and down the stairs at home is not really that much fun.

Best Website EVAR!

As a do-it-yourselfer from way back I can appreciate one or two hacked up fix it jobs.

This site takes it to a whole-nother-level.

If you can appreciate a good fix in a pinch you got to see it thereifixedit.com

Short Weekends JUST SUCK

Sound Barrier - Awesome Photo

GULF OF ALASKA (June 22, 2009) An Air Force F-22 Raptor executes a supersonic flyby over the flight deck of the aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis

Photo cred to:

Sonar Technician (Surface) 1st Class Ronald Dejarnett

The dining room floor

Is coming along nicely.

Flat tire

This is what happens when you ignore a valve stem recal. At least it
made it home.

Farming in MI

I love my neighbors,I really do. They all have nicely kept lawns, they are all nice, and we get along great.

The only problem is one neighbor loves to feed the squirrels and the result is they bury all this corn all over. So in the summer I get a million little mini-corn stalks ... and every time I pull one five more show up. It is really annoying. I know in Tx they are bitching about a drought and the effect on crops. Here, I cant avoid growing corn, no matter how hard I try.

Not My Bank, but right around the corner from...

From WDIV

Ann Arbor Bank Robbed

Suspect Fled On Foot

POSTED: Thursday, June 25, 2009

UPDATED: 11:49 am EDT June 25, 2009

DETROIT -- The Ann Arbor police are asking for the public's help in finding the man who robbed a TCF Bank Wednesday.Police said the man entered the bank on Briarwood Circle at 5:40 p.m. and handed the teller a note that read "small bills."The man fled on foot with an undisclosed amount of money.No weapon was seen, but the man had his hand in his pocket and gestured to it.The bank robber is described as black, in his 40s, 6 feet 2 inches tall and weighing 200 pounds.He had on a gray T-shirt, shorts and a white bucket hat.Anyone with information is asked to call the Ann Arbor Police Department at 734-794-6390 ext. 49318.

Office Software Upgrade

Sure its a week late... Sure I have received no explanation or notice... Sure it takes a little tweaking to get things back to the way I like them.
I, for one, am happy about the new upgrade. Bringing us slowly out of the dark ages.
So there will be some grumbling around the office for a while people get used to it. Once its done, like most things, life will return to normal

Sometimes I would give up everything I know...

Sometimes I would give up everything I know...


Just to understand how she thinks.


Photo credit to : snacktime2007's

Very Funny Guys...

The bank (now we have multiple branches involved, don't think they didn't sequel on you Josh!) thought it was funny to re-visit the Joe Lo Truglio resemblance... this time with photographic evidence. I walked in to find this photo on the Wall. Super subtly done guys.
OK I get it. Can you pick out the actor from the blogger? Of course you can, but I will consed some resemblance.

Michelbob's Ribs

Tonight my girl and I were watching TV, flipping channels when the best of BBQ was on the food network. Endless display of good food, but really it reminded me of BBQ and the reminded me of Michelbob's

It must be about 20 years ago now that I accidentally ran into the some of the best ribs that ever were BBQ'd... Michelbobs ribs.
It was a hot day in Naples FL, my friend Paul and I were chasing girls and trying to figure out how to have someone buy us beer when we decided to get some ribs. We grabbed the yellow pages, jumped in the car and stumbled into the little corner of heavens kitchen. we ordered ribs, took them back and chowed. I say chowed because there we no stopping once you started. They were just that good. Since then we have had them shipped on occasion, and I highly recommend them. If you want get your wallet and appetite out and give them a call. They will be glad to overnight them to you.

Best comment of the day

Best comment of the day:

(Not from vaporlife but read on Gizmodo by reader: OMG! Ponies)

Today's word for penis is "prick". As in, "My boss is such a prick. Some days, I want to beat him to death with a shovel."

Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go buy a shovel...


Photo cred: Viola Jen

What I actually said today vs. what I wanted to say:

Sorry that we billed your account (even though you did not tell us to change anything) / Your crazy is no match for my KUNG_FU… WAAAAAAA

You can’t really compare your new price to an existing 30 year customer / You have to be shitting me…you are bitching over a couple dollars? You are wasting more money that that complaining about it here, now over the phone.

Yes I am sure the time difference is causing a problem / Look buddy, if you lie about the state you live in then live in a different state for years and fail to tell us you are lucky to get that claim covered.

Yes I realize 4^th of July is on a Saturday / OH MY GOD NO THREE DAY WEEKEND….. AHHHHHH!

Yes it is a pleasant day / If I don’t get outside soon I am going to bang my head on my desk until I fall into unconsciousness.

Ok that answer might be obvious to some… / is sarakastabitch a word?

Rates are trending up right now…/ times are tough all over: newsflash the economy is a giant crapfest, welcome to the show.

Lets just set a time to get the paperwork done/ if you reschedule on me one more time, I will hunt you down.

Yes I can see where you might think that / That is the stupidest thing I have ever heard, in fact if stupid and crazy had a retarded son it would be smarter that what you just said.

I love stress free mornings

If you are a global communications monster, say like AT&T can you get an automated system that can tell the difference between D-S-L and CANCEL. Also can you get some more personable people, I mean I know this guy is in India but for Christ sake try and make him nice. Second, you wait ¾ of the way through the call to ask me the security questions, and for some reason there one security question I cant remember and you cant tell me how long I have had the *FREEKING* account with you? Are you serious? My favorite restaurant? It is not even one of the ones I had written down. I think you just made that this up. I have fifty million other ways to verify it is me but you are done because my favorite restaurant is not on your list.

So now my modem is out of warrantee, but of course you can not tell me when it was installed…. I know because I failed the FREEKING SECURITY QUESTION.

I have a security question for you: How long do you think it will take before I go ballistic? Seriously, press another button.

I am thinking now of getting a ticket and going to find that damn call center you are in. No really thanks for all your help. I am so damn happy. Thanks for making my morning so GOD DAMN relaxing.

Cool Gear: Dynamite Box

Sunday followed Saturday with a certainty that was only rivaled by my realization that things were being added to my list of things to do faster than I was doing them .Worst of all, I was adding things faster to my list than anyone else.
In the chaos I was given this box. Boxes have always had a special place in my heart but an original dynamite box, with a Dupont label "Red Cross" certified with intricate finger joinery was a truly manly box indeed. I was thinking of making a wooden box into a high end cooler of some type. I may have found the answer in this unexpected gift.

Fathers Day

Fathers day is always a little melancholy for me.

Happy Fathers day Pops, and to all the fathers out there enjoy your day.

Photo cred to;

Mark Interrante

Condensation Pump

Among the yard work, cleaning the gutters, fixing a lamp, installing new door sweeps, and a million other things, I noticed that there was water in the basement. Apparently the pump that moves the condensation from furnace/air was on the fritz. Instead of pumping it out , it was overfilling onto the floor.

So call Stadium Hardware, of course they have one, (thank god for them) so I had to stop everything and run over to get it. I don't know why shit like this has to happen when I am in the middle of 50 million other things. Drive to the hardware, get the stuff, drive home, remove the old pump, put in the new one. Wire it up, make sure it works. So being the crazy bastard I am, I took the old pump apart, cleaned it, put it back together and put some power to it and sure as hell it fired right up. Damn, should have done that before I spent 65 bucks on a new one. Well now I have two I guess.

Mowing The Wet Grass

It's been raining here but the grass still has to be cut. After this a
million other chores await.

Eeek! Were Surrounded

Were Surrounded by thunder storms.

After a long day... really all the storms seem like a nice reprieve . We were able to get a quick takeout meal and walk downtown for a art exhibit befor the rain started coming down. What a nice night.

I hate Busy Fridays

When work is so busy everything is a blur!

Photo cred:

dcassaa

Kitty watches as the Trash Guys pass our house

This morning: Kittty barely cares enough to open her eyes as she sits in her cushy window seat as the world goes by...

This post paid for by the committee for equal time for Cats.

The Garbage Man Hates Me… And other tales of a small town.

Perhaps its because I almost always forget to tip the garbage guys during the holidays or maybe is because once I hid in a trash can and scared the begesies out of them (ok I just made up that last part) but for some reason for the first time in 10 years the garbage man started coming at the crack of dawn… BEFORE I CAN GET THE TRASH OUT THERE.

This little shift in my routine is proving to be a problem as, I don’t set out the trash the night before as a wayward raccoon may help themselves and buying a study trash can seems out of the questions as that would be money I could spend on any number of fun things. For now I will have to start getting up EARLY on trash days or brining my trash to work and tossing in the dumpster. What a drag.

Tanner checks in

Tanner is super excited about the new iPhone software. You can see here here feigning interest in her tennis ball that rolled under the desk when clearly she is super excited about all things Apple. Silly Girl.

New iPhone Software today!

New software upgrades today!
New software upgrades today!
New software upgrades today!

Im excited, mostly because its free.

Now lets just see if I can get my hands on it this afternoon as I a pretty sure the tubes on the interweb will be clogged with others trying to update as well.

Cool Gear: Olympus E-P1

I really, really , really want this camera.
This from engadget:

It's official, Olympus' first MIcro Four Thirds camera is up and dancing upon the global stage. Dubbed, E-P1 "digital Pen" (reflecting the camera's Olympus Pen-series heritage) this MFT shooter aligns with the looks and specs that came our way yesterday in leaked format. In other words, we're looking at an image stabilized (sensor-shift) 12.3 megapixel Live MOS sensor with TruePic V image processing, ISO 100-6400 sensitivity, a 3-inch LCD, 20 shooting modes (5 exposure, i-Auto, and 14 automatic scenes), an SDHC slot, and HDMI TV-out for playback of 720p (1280x720 pixel) recorded video at 30fps. The 14-42 lens kit retracts into the barrel when not in use and Olympus' Supersonic Wave Filter helps keep dust under control when swapping-out the lens for Micro Four Thirds, Four Thirds, or OM lenses. A few advanced previews of the E-P1 are already available -- peep those in the read links below if you can't wait for the July launch or the full-blown reviews due in a few weeks.

A random blast from the past

On a totally random note...

An ex-coworker/employee called me at random today to let me know that I looked exactly like Joe Lo Truglio (AKA 'The Driver" of Superbad fame).

Personally I don't really see it, ok maybe a little but I am pretty sure from the history of the person and the constant laughter of the phone conversation that she was watching the movie with her friend Mary Jane... if you get my drift.
Altered perception aside, I guess after looking at some photos of him playing in Reno 911 with a little facial hair I can see some resemblance.

Comments?

Thanks to everyone for the clicking on vaporlife! This month alone 1181 hits on the blog, thank you. Its only mid month! I would like to remind you that you can leave a comment, come on now dont be scared. You know you want to. All the cool kids are doing it!
Just hit the Comments button under the post and make some sort of remark.
Come on you can even do it anonymously!

HIL-AR-I-US ADD!

This add for an Chicago Liquor store is do damn funny, well you are just going to have to see it for yourself.

If you cant see it embedded below you can check it out *here* at adrants.com


Find more videos like this on AdGabber

Thoughts on Predator 2 (updated)

Possibly one of the greatest action movies ever. I am not sure why it is not more recognized as the greatest movie ever. It has all the best elements:

1) A super and perpetually shiny Danny Glover

2) Cheesy one liners

3) 80's cop attire.

4) Alien(s)

5) Unnecessary violence FTW!

** updated** ZOMG I FORGOT TO MENTION GARY BUSEY! ANY MOVE WITH GARY BUSEY IS AN INSTANT CLASSIC**

Maybe in the future it will get the recognition it deserves!

Mailbox Re-purposed

This weekend, after working on Saturday,and on my regular list of chores, I re-purposed the the Pete and Ann's mail box to a garden tool storage box out by the arb in the rear of their yard. Apparently it was to nice to be used as a an actual mail receptacle. Since they thought the danger of vandalism or theft was to great it will likely live its life in the back in quite service.

Geese on Parade

A quick trip to the park with Tanner, meant a slight delay as we waited for a gaggle of geese as they crossed to road. Click to enlarge this one.

Digital Transition

Is it me or did anyone else see a commercial saying dont call 911 if you loose you TV signal!

Thanks Gizmodo.

Drunk dude at dinner.

We started watching the game tonight on the patio at Mac’s and this dude was totally wasted. Here you seem him explaining that this is what he ordered but not really what he wanted to eat. Confused? So was his server.

Suffice it to say he was quite a spectacle.

To bad it was the best part of the game. Oh well there is always next year.

Uncrate

If you are a man, know a man, or someday inspire to be a man, Uncrate a good website to bookmark.

If you really want some advice from men, about men issues check out Uncrate Answers or click *here*. There is a lot of info in here (like 16 pages keep reading chief) and some of it is a little metro for me (How should I condition my beard hair? You sir should be stripped of your facial hair!) If nothing else it makes for a good read this weekend as you bask in the glow of the Red Wings victory over Pittsburg tonight at Joe Louis arena.

Best question/ answer I found:

Q: What is the best way to drink whiskey?

A: Often

Yesterday At the Park:

It pretty much rained all day as the cool wet spring seems to be a pleasant departure from the Michigan usual "jump right into summer" routine we are all used to . I will say I do not mind a bit. The weather has caused the rivers to remain high, and you can see here, at Curtis park.

Speaking The Bank…

I guess there was some big fiasco this morning when a Brinks truck lost a couple bags of money while going down the freeway this morning near I 75 and Clay rd this morning in Detroit.

Imagine what that scene looked like, I guess money was flying around. It sparked a debate on the radio: would you grab money and run with it or give it back? Its really hard to tell what you might do in that situation, but it reminded me of a story from my youth.

When I was about 10, I was crossing Michigan Ave coming back from speedway getting some soda or candy or something when I stumbled across a wallet just sitting there in the middle of the road. The best part there was CASH in it. I could not tell you how much now but at the time it was a princely sum, at least to me. So what did I do? Well the right thing of course. I found his info, called him and told him I found his wallet. Needless to say he was happy and he came over, some teenager, and he thanked me…. and left. I admit I was kind of hoping I would get some little token of thanks . Oh well.

A couple of days went by, and some woman called me. It was his mother, she thanked me and said she could not believe but he had forgot to give me a reward but assured me he would be right by with a reward.

About a week went by before I finally lost hope. He obviously told his mother one thing and did not see the need to thank me any more than he had. Ironically, this did not sour me from doing “the right thing”. I am still the one that gives back the extra change, or tells my girl she should point out the mistake they made in her paycheck. I suppose this answers my question about the Brinks truck. I guess I would have to give the money back.

Overheard at the bank today:

Banker one: (As customer walks in) “I just mistook you for a woman.”

Bearded man in suit: (blink, blink) “Whaaat?”

Banker one: “There is a Lady with a van just like yours so when I saw it…”

Bearded man in suit: “A lady with a Beard?”

Banker one: “No she has the exact same van”

Banker two: “ Don’t Worry Mr. XXXX I think you look manly”

Me: “ Just walk away dude… Just walk away.”

Fall in love again.... with your mower.

Sure we may not have our flying cars, or our jet pack yet (hint: someone please make me a flying car and/or jetpack) but that did not stop Husqvarna from designing the lawnmower of the future.

Not only is it green (electric) but its hi tech:

"Husqvarna Panthera Leo is a hybrid made up of two ride-on mowers, Rider and Zero-Turn. A battery that can be charged at any electrical outlet has replaced the traditional gas engine. Five powerful electrical motors partnered with a sound absorbing cutting deck, allow the Husqvarna Panthera Leo to glide effortlessly and silently across your lawn. The three individually suspended cutting decks enables this mower to mow smoothly over bumpier parts of your garden, avoiding lawn scalping. The cutting decks each have razor sharp blades for a close cut finish and can be controlled to suit wide or narrow lawns (from 85cm up to 120cm). "

Its almost enough to make me enjoy mowing the lawn again. Too bad they are looking at 5 years until production. Thanks *jalopnik* for this one.

Some days it's not worth chewing through the straps:

So far today, I had to call a plumber who proceeded to tell me how much they were going to extort me for. Then they told me just how long I had to wait for them to do it.

Then

I spent another hour arguing with AT&T about my dsl modem here at work re-setting itself to factory settings. (really I can clear my cookies AGAIN but I am telling you it’s a hardware issue damn it)

And its not even lunch time yet.

(photo credit flicker user it_grrl)

Apple Stuff- New announcements

If you like new product and software announcements from Apple like I do (shit I am officially a fanboy) and/or creepy photos of Steve Jobs then today is your lucky day.

Today at 1:00pm (EDT) new Apple announcements.... I can hardly wait.... new iPhone software, new iPhone, perhaps an Apple tablet?

Damn I really need to get out more.

Apparently...

Apparently that StopWatch program runs in the back ground.... on my iPhone anyway.

I was playing with my stop watch program last night (actually trying to get my resting heart rate because of a story we were watching on the news) and I must have left it running. This morning after I dropped off the sander(s) I checked the phone it was still ticking away.

According to last night calculations, not taking into account my heart rate likely slowed while sleeping, this was about 46,000 heartbeats later.

Weekend Project

This weekend we sanded the hardwood floor in the dining room. Oh and the kitchen too!

Here is a thought: list of things I hate doing more then sanding floors down to a perfect unfinished surface: Nothing.

More Michigan Movie Madness

I heard today more celebrity sitings, again in local Ypsilanti, MI .

Apparently DeNiro and Ed Norton have been seen gallivanting around lately filming their new movie "Stone".

Fish Friday

A special treat Taka Don at Godiako In Ann Arbor. Yum!

Dilemma

So do you wake up the neighbors in the middle of the night by calling
them to let them know they left the dome light on?....or.... Do you
ignore offer to help them jump start in the morning?
Consider older couple ( for sure asleep ) and car locked.

I choose to wake them. Better then having them call a tow truck and
making a claim, right?

Kumon

This just in:

Turns out working next to a Kumon Learning Center might be the most effective form of Birth control on the planet.

Those that forget the pasta are doomed to reheat it.

Its bad enough I had to brown bag a lunch today (not this pasta ham samich but this picture by flicker user nosia went with my pun) but ...


I just spent all day on a huge project that just got shot down.