I crashed and all I got was an upgrade...

I'm baaaaaack! I know, I know... You thought that my month and a half vacation from blogging signaled the end of Anthony's ravings. NOT SO!! I've got more to rave about than ever!! I'm going to start with US Airways.

On January 15, 2009 there was a US Airways flight that left New York on its way to North Carolina. Flight 1549 flew right into a gaggle of geese a couple minutes after takeoff and was forced to ditch in the Hudson River. Yaaay! Not one fatality! That is great considering the airline industry recently made it through their second year without a domestic commercial airline fatality for the first time in history! What a way to start out 2009 though, eh?

The crew has been showered with praise for how they handled the event. Everyone from the pilot to the flight attendants have been put on pedastels as the best of the best having acted appropriately on all of their training in the situation. The passegers were even praised for their level headed thinking and quick action. All in all it looked like a huge lovefest for the passengers and the crew. That is, until recently...

A letter was sent to the 150 passengers of flight 1549. Here is that letter:

January 21, 2009

I hope that this letter finds you at home and taking some time to rest and recover from the events of last Thursday.

On behalf of the 34,000 employees at US Airways, I want to acknowledge your courage, the professionalism of our crew, and the outstanding rescue efforts of all of the various organizations and agencies that came together last week to assist with Flight 1549.

We would very much like to see you on a future US Airways flight soon. To that end, we are extending Chairman's Preferred status, our most coveted frequent flier level, to you through March 2010.

I know our Customer Care Team has been providing support and also communicating next steps as we work to recover and potentially return any items from the flight. In the meantime, please let us know if you have additional needs.

Again, we are grateful the events surrounding Flight 1549 ended as they did, and we will continue to applaud our crew and the actions of the first responders for many years to come.

We look forward to serving you again soon.

Sincerely,

Doug Parker
Chairman and CEO, US Airways

Hmmmmm.... That seems more like a slap in the face. You survived a plane crash, so we decided to offer you something that you might perceive to have some intrinsic value, but is actually worthless to us so you won't sue us. What a crock... US Airways may have a talented flight crew on some of their planes, but obviously the integrity of the airline is seriously lacking.

Many of the passengers have already received money for their lost baggage and other claims, and are still able to file for more losses in the future. Accepting the money for their damages doesn't waive their right to sue the airline, so after this letter I'm sure there are going to be some cases filed. Unfortunately the drama wasn't nearly severe enough for anybody to sell the movie rights to it, but I'm sure a couple books will come out of this at least. The lawsuits are what I'm really interested in.

This was a sorry sorry move for US Airways if you ask me. The crew deserve praise for sure and the passengers deserve even more praise. You can't offer them some stupid temporary honor for what they just endured. Give me a break. The NY Post wrote up a great story on this that I would recommend reading. Click Here for the article. I'll keep an eye on any developments and rant about them later.

I hacked Santa's Email!!

I didn't mean to, but it just sort of happened. I was curious to see if he actually had an email account. I guess he does. I put in the username and just guessed a couple times on what the password could be. I got it right on the second try. :) Anyway, I took a screenshot of the front page to prove it as well as opening a recent chat he had. Gmail is cool that way because it keeps track of everything. I went through and read everything and I've gotta say I've got a whole new perspective of the man... But hey, as long as he still delivers every year then I'm happy. I know I can't afford my kids' growing wish lists, so he can be as weird as he wants in his email as long as Christmas morning still happens for the kids, right? :) Click the image to get a larger view.

Finally (almost) Finished! ...sorta.

Two years ago I got a call from an artist named Erik Strelich. He found my ad on Craigslist.com and wanted me to build him a website. I sent him a couple concepts that I thought would look good, but it took months to find the right look for his style. Finally after a couple hundred hours of coding, designing, drawing, and planning it is all finished. There are over two hundred images that were edited and modified for the gallery. Erik was one talented artist, that's for sure. I'll never forget what he told me on our first conversation. He said, "I don't want to sound like I'm bragging, but there are only two people who carve glass at the caliber that I do. One is me and the other is my mentor." Although he certainly has no match in the world of glass carving, he also had an amazing eye for art. His paintings and drawings are absolutely amazing. I've been to his house and have seen some of these pieces in person. The pictures don't do them justice.


I've still got a few tweaks to make as of today, but I'm pleased to say that the site that I see right now is basically what the site will look like totally finished. :) I'm very pleased with it and it is a great example of what I can do I think. My only regret is that it took two years to complete. You see, Erik died a little over a year ago of a heart condition that he suffered with his whole life. Just as we had settled on a final design, he was taken from everybody. His widow Angie has worked with me to complete the website. I only hope that it represents accurately what Erik would have wanted.

Why you should check...

Do you check your kid's homework before they turn it in? Well, you should. When a teacher gave her students an assignment to draw a picture of what their mommy or daddy did for a living, my guess is that she learned a little more than she planned on. This is what one student turned in. What do you think their mommy does at her work?





She works for Home Despot. This is a picture of her selling snow shovels. The teacher thought their mommy was a pole dancer. BWAHAHAHAHAHAHHAA!!!!

You wanna know who sucks?!

I'll tell you who sucks. People who walk through parking lots like they can't be touched suck. They suck even more when they get all indignant and yell at you when they get caught walking in your blind spot and feel the heat from your exhaust on their legs. I say GOOD! Maybe they should get hit once in awhile so they aren't walking around in their little haze thinking that they are immortal. I hate those little packs of teens that like to walk through the parking lot in a wall too. They just must be walking shoulder to shoulder, don't they? What is the point of that? Seriously, someone should just drive by and door them one of these days so they get the picture. Or maybe less illegal, someone should go school to school teaching students how NOT to be assholes as they grow up. Where is the "don't be an asshole 101" class being taught anyway? I want to sign some people up.

Here is another thing that sucks. When you... You know what, forget it. These people that suck don't deserve to know that they irritate me so much. I will say this. A lifetime of behavior by me has been justified by a few short years of action by these people. And yet they wonder why I am the way I am...

Let's see... who else sucks? Oh, I have one. FEEDBACK SUCKS! I'm so sick of that word! I think I've mentioned that recently. People at my work use 'feedback' as an excuse to look important. What they are saying to you may have absolutely no ground in reality, but since they are the ones calling the meeting, it becomes something you have to change. So anything that someone notices and brings to your attention is something that needs to be changed in my office, should any of you decide to come work there. And if you try defending yourself or explaining why their perception is wrong, then you just get called 'argumentative' and they get to have a whole new perception of you.

You know what I'd really like? My office is doing layoffs in January again and it is very possible that it is going to hit my department. It is somewhat possible that I would be impacted, but less likely me than others. I am one of three permenant trainers in my department and there are two interns that would be cut before me. There are even more coaches that would be cut, so I'm fairly safe as far as that goes. However, if I do get laid off I would be paid eight weeks of severance and keep my benefits for eight weeks. That is plenty of time to find another job. In that time I would also be able to finish working on my website that so desperately needs to get finished. I've got big plans for that thing and I just lack the time to finish it up. I'm taking next term off from school just in case I get laid off and won't be able to submit for tuition reimbursement at the end. I think I'll keep my same study schedule and finish the website anyway. It just needs to be done...

Ok, so that was my rant for the day. On a brighter note I have to say my family (meaning MY family) does not suck. My son just turned five yesterday and he was so much fun. My daugther is two and a half and is the absolutely most beautiful girl in the world. I have the pleasure of having the cutest little seven month old boy too. All of my kids should have been child models, but I'm too selfish to let anyone else enjoy them but me. And to top it all off I have the most perfect and beautiful wife that could ever exist. Sure we have our issues just like any couple has, but in the end we are still going to be together forever. I can't think of anyone I would rather spend forever with than these three kids and that perfect woman. Sometimes we are far luckier than we deserve to be...

So during a season where we are supposed to be thankful for stuff, let me just say that I'm thankful for people that suck because they make my little family look that much better. I'm also thankful for natural selection that takes care of most of the things that suck in this life. I'm thankful for a job that sucks because if I lost it I would probably do anything to have another crappy job. I'm thankful for a clean house that may be borderline OCD organized, but at least it isn't a pigsty. I'm thankful for great friends, and even though I only have a couple of them, they are loyal and very generous. I'm thankful for the health that I have and for the opportunities my talents have brought me. And most of all I'm thankful for the spirits who have been given to me as children and a wife. Take everything from me, but let me keep them. People who only have their iPods and Audis to keep them alive make me sad. I get to wake up and work to provide for the best people in the world every single day. Screw iPods... I've got something that even Mac can't duplicate. :)

Sweet Christmas Gifts

I have the lovely problem of having to birthday shop for my wife at the same time that I'm Christmas shopping for her. It is the joy of her birthday being a week before Christmas. I'll figure something out... In the meantime I have found a few things that would make great gifts for the geek in your life that I thought I'd share just in case anyone else is having problems finding that unique gift for someone on your list.

1. Cell Phone Alert Charm

When I'm at work I usually just put my cell phone on the desk and hope I see it blinking when it goes off. With this device you can set it somewhere in your field of vision and will be notified when your cell phone starts ringing. It is pretty clever actually. There are other devices out there like this that may be cheaper, so it is worth checking out. I saw a few that were under $10 while looking around. It is the concept that will be appreciated.



2. Noise Isolating Headset

Everybody drives and talks on the phone these days. The problem is that not all of the bluetooth devices out there are very good at blocking out the sounds of your car or other distractions. This is a sweet little headset that actually blocks out all other noise around you in that ear making for the best sound possible. It isn't bluetooth, but I know a lot of people who just don't care about that. They only want a headset that they can actually hear out of and if it has a wire then sobeit. I can't hardly hear anything out of one of my ears, so this is a great device for people like me and I'm sure others will appreciate it just as much.

3. Stereo Noise Canceling Cell Phone Headset

This is a similar concept to that one above, only this one is stereo. It is a 3.5 mm jack that will fit many cell phones and a 2.5 mm adapter can easily be purchased seperately. Now days where so many cell phones are also media players, it is great to finally have people making high quality headsets for them. Shure has been making the best noise canceling headphones for years and these are no exception to the quality you would expect. I don't have a set personally, but I've seen and heard them and it is amazing!

For you bluetooth lovers out there who want to complain that this sucks because you still have to be tethered to your phone, I invite you to look at #4 on this list and that should ease your mind. It is a great thing to spend that Christmas money you got from your grandma or something though. These aren't the most expensive noise canceling headphones you can buy, but they are certianly some of the best.

4. Bluetooth Adapter for 2.5 mm Headsets

The reason this device is so cool is because you can get wireless stereo performance out of your cell phone media player at last! If you have a rockin headset that works great with your cell phone, but unfortunately it is not an A2DP (stereo bluetooth) phone, then up till now you just have had to deal with being tethered to the phone to hear your tunes in stereo. Now just connect your cell phone via bluetooth to this dog tag looking unit and plug your headset in there and VIOLA! You are all set to go. This and those Shure headphones are on my wish list someday in the future for sure. I am frequently in a position where I don't need cords hanging all over me trying to get to the cell phone in my pocket. This is a great invention that will help a lot of people who are frustrated with their current headsets right now.

5. Flying Alarm Clock

This one is great! When the alarm goes off it launches the little helicopter. The alarm won't turn off until you find the helicopter and replace it on the base. Now that ought to get someone out of bed! Perfect for the one who has everything!

So there you have it. At least 5 good ideas for the person who is hard to shop for. These are sweet little techie toys that you can be fairly sure they don't already have. And to top it off, you can be sure that they are going to love and appreciate them as gifts. Happy Holidays!

Tootsie Rolls!!!

If you love them as much as I do, then here is a recipe a coworker sent to me. I can't wait to make these!!

Tootsie Rolls

3 T butter or margerine
2 squares unsweetened baking chocolate
---OR---
4 T butter or margerine
8 T cocoa

Melt the first two ingredients, then add to the following:

1/2 c light Karo syrup
1 t vanilla
3/4 c powdered milk, sifted until not grainy
3 c powdered sugar

Knead together, working in small amounts, until well mixed. Roll into rolls (snakes) then cut as needed.

*For a sour burst of flavor substitute 1 package Kook-Aid for the chocolate.

I like to store the kneaded candy in an airtight container, and roll out as needed. Wrap in wax paper squares if desired.