Roman
the Museum
March 15, 2012
I was roaming the museum, imagining everything in
chronological order... or at least in order of complexity.
I slowed down to study Sumerian clay tablets. Are those M16 bullet
holes? I didn't know the Sumerians had
semi-automatic rifles.
Some say the Sumerians started addition, that before the
Sumerians, everything was separate purchases.
"You just sold me an egg for
ten grains of salt. Now you're charging me twelve?"
"The price went up."
The adjoining room has the busts of Julius Caesar, Marcus Brutus,
Publius Servilius Casca Longus, and other Romans.
I turned my back on them for a moment, when crash!
Someone busted the bust of Julius Caesar and on today of all
days.
Music Association: Young MC -
Bust A Move
Wait
March 14, 2012
I pushed the pedestrian crossing button at
an intersection recently.
A mechanical voice repeatedly said, "Wait."
"Wait."
"Wait."
Music Association: The Beatles -
Wait
Stylish
March 13, 2012
Quick Response (QR) Codes are 2D barcodes meant to be scanned
to
send more information to your phone (if it has a scanner). Instead of
reading information on a movie poster or a box of cereal, the same
information can be uploaded to your phone.
Virus information might also be uploaded and private information
downloaded, according to the SANS
Institute and the Security
News Daily.
By having a QR Code on a product, the product is identifying itself as
new and hip, whether or not the audience is the 25% using mobile
devices to access the Internet, and whether or not the QR Codes are
actually scanned. QR Codes are currently fashionable.
The difference between fashion and style is that fashions come and go,
but style is always in style. Or put another way, style is safe and
classic. Fashion
is bold, avant-garde.
Ridiculous is putting a QR Code on a website.
Music Association: Gerry
Rafferty - Right Down the Line
How To Look
March 12, 2012
The Disapproving
Glasses won't arrive soon enough, but they will make a
statement.
What more can you ask for $13 (+s&h)?
Music Association: Frames -
Disappointed
March 11, 2012
I've had northern Japan on my mind for much of the past year. I wish I
could do more to help them. The one thing I can offer is that the
combination earthquake-tsunami had not previously happened to modern
Japan. Build
for the future. Learn. And otherwise, let go of what happened.
Music Association: Avril Lavigne
- Remember When
That's Sweet!
March 8, 2012
Talking with my grocer, I said I wanted something that would make me
more hyper in the morning.
My grocer rolled out this chart:
I asked where Total or Special K fit in, he shook his head,
and walked back to guarding the Charmin.
► In
related news, Mars
Inc. ends king-sized candy bars, and Campbell's
soups ends BPA use in soup cans.
► Plus,
Coca-Cola
and Pepsi are voluntarily removing 4-MEI from the caramel
coloring to avoid a Californian cancer label.
Music Associations: Eurythmics -
Sweet Dreams & Beyoncé - Sweet Dreams
Optimism Explained
March 7, 2012
Optimism is real. Pessimism is fake.
There's plenty of fake pessimism around today, maybe because it's
election season, I don't know.
I just know it's fake pessimism because all pessimism is fake.
Let's look at this mathematically.
Is the glass half-full or half-empty?
If you take 1/2 of a full glass, you have half a glass. The glass is
half full.
If you take 1/2 of an empty glass, you still have an empty glass. Half
of nothing is nothing.
Doesn't that make you feel better? Things are good, and they're looking
up... at least halfway.
Music Associations: David Cassidy - I'll Meet You
Halfway, Black Eyed Peas - Meet Me
Halfway, & Lifehouse - Halfway Gone
Neanderthals Died Out Long Ago
March 5, 2012
According to the latest Neanderthal news, the Neanderthals died out a
long time ago.
Show's over. Let's move along. No, there won't even be a trial.
And yet, for some reason, I remain, unconvinced.
You see, I've met some Neanderthals... not that they were the brightest
bulbs on the evolutionary tree, but they're doing just fine in the
modern world. Their hand-to-eye coordination isn't the greatest. They
aren't the greatest at looking over their shoulder before changing
lanes. But they are excellent in mind-numbing meetings. They'll even
throw in a grunt or two.
They aren't fully evolved, but they're hardly extinct.
Music Association: U2 -
Mysterious Ways
In Depth Analysis
A Look at the Vikings
ICNH Stadium
March 2, 2012
Some of the literature about the new stadium call it the People's
Stadium. Right.
To be accurate, it's the Insert-Corporate-Name-Here (ICNH) Stadium. It
could be the Target Stadium, completing the trilogy (Target Center -
Target Field - Target Stadium).
Naming the stadium, is far from the only business connection.
Restaurants should consider the Vikings Stadium as a part time outlet.
Part time. Big acts would come to the stadium, sometimes. U2 was
mentioned as an example, since they just came to the TCF Bank Stadium
last July. But U2 was playing outdoor venues,
due to logistics of their stage assembly, The Claw.
U2 wouldn't have played the ICNH Stadium.
The new stadium will seat 65,000 (72,000 for the Super Bowl). The
Metrodome seats 64,172.
The Vikings would like to maintain their sold out record (since 1997)
and avoid TV
revenue-sapping blackouts. If they could sell 72,000 season tickets,
the stadium would seat 72,000.
Even with a similar number of seats, ICNH Stadium is a big stadium with
a big footprint and four decks. It will be tall. You may think, they
could sink it into the ground, maybe save some HVAC costs? [laughter] No. You
see, the NFL doesn't want the Vikings to play at the University for
more than one season, so the
plan is to build for three years, demolish the Metrodome,
sell the old seats to all the people who got engaged in them or what-have-you,
and then finish the ICNH Stadium in a year to open in 2016. They
can't dig down (blast down), start building, blow up the
Metrodome, dig down (blast down), and complete the building.
The ICNH Stadium could have a green roof like the Target Center
(currently white). The plan says: The
Stadium Authority will make best efforts to ensure the stadium receives
Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification.
But then again, the plan says that "college
bowl games" might be played in Minnesota. Hang on... [cough, cough, hack, cough]
Right. College bowl games are played in northern cities. Sure. Move the
Mall of America right next door to the airport, move the ICNH Stadium
next to it, plant a Waterpark of America and an indoor lake next to it,
and connect them all with skyways and then, maybe, people would
consider coming to Minnesota for a college bowl game.
Amateur baseball...
Do they
mean the Saint Paul Saints (who are also looking for an improved
stadium), because they're professional baseball. Has anyone contacted
Bill Murray and the Goldklang Group?
Don't get me wrong, I
like the plan.
The Metrodome spot is the best spot in the state for a football
stadium. The plan provides 120-150 suites and all vending dollars to
the Vikings, shoving the team into the same revenue stream as the rest
of the NFL. And while it will cost a little and certainly a percentage
of the jobs won't go to Minnesotans, the plan beats all the former
alternatives.
Music Association: Lenny Kravitz
- Dig In
New
Vikings Stadium Deal
March 1, 2012
It's time to leverage some existing infrastructure.
Governor Dayton, Zygi Wilf, R.T. Rybak, and several
Minnesota Legislators announced
a new Minnesota Vikings stadium deal that will keep the Vikings in
downtown Minneapolis (partly on the existing site) and share the costs.
The total project cost for the fixed
roof stadium will be $975 million ($475 million from the Vikings, $398
million from Minnesota, & $150 million from Minneapolis). The
plan
uses no Minnesota general fund dollars and creates no new taxes. The
Vikings will keep all football related revenue. The agreement is
subject to the approval of the Minneapolis City Council and Minnesota
Legislature.
Music Association: Skol Vikings
